Reading is one of my favorite things to do and I’m always on the hunt for book recommendations. See below for my top picks of 2016 and if you have suggestions for my 2017 list, please share!

MY TOP 5 BOOKS OF THE YEAR:

1. Rising Strong – Brené Brown

I love absolutely everything written by Brené Brown. She is a researcher who studies shame, vulnerability, and the role they play in whole-hearted living. She talks about what discomfort can teach us, and how we can find the courage to truly show up and be seen. This is a psychological/self-reflection type book (non-fiction).

2. Big Little Lies – Liane Moriarty

I couldn’t put this book down! It’s fiction – about a group of women who have kids in the same kindergarten class. It’s dark, funny, and immersive. (It’s also going to be made into a movie this year starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon so read it before it comes out!)

3. Love Warrior – Glennon Doyle Melton

This is an intense non-fiction read. It’s about the implosion of the author’s marriage and the healing that follows. The writing is raw, heart-breaking, honest, brutal and beautiful. It’s about how we need to be strong and brave in order to have deeper, truer relationships. (It’s also a #1 New York Times Bestseller and on Oprah’s Bookclub 2016 List).

4. The Vacationers – Emma Straub

This is a fantastic beach read! It’s light but still has substance. A fictional story about a 2 week long family vacation (each chapter marks one day of the trip – I loved the organization of this!). I found it to be well-written, funny, and satisfying.

5. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – Susan Cain

Another non-fiction, self-reflection/human-interest kind of book that got my brain crackling and popping. Read my full blog post about it here.

OTHER BOOKS I’VE READ THIS YEAR:

1. Why Not Me? – Mindy Kaling
2. Better Than Before – Gretchen Rubin
3. What I Know For Sure – Oprah
4. The Psychopath Test – Jon Ronson
5. Being Mortal – Atul Gawande
6. All The Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr
7. The Ocean At The End of the Lane – Neil Gaiman
8. The 4 Hour Workweek – Timothy Ferriss
9. The Giver – Lois Lowry
10. Be Frank With Me – Julia Clairborne Johnson
11. The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
12. Paulina & Fran – Rachel Glaser
13. The Perfectionists – Sara Shepard
14. The Good Girls – Sara Shepard
15. All The Single Ladies – Dorothea Benton Frank
16. Are You There Vodka? It’s me, Chelsea – Chelsea Handler
17. The One & Only – Emily Griffin
18. Beautiful Ruins – Jess Walter
19. This One is Mine – Maria Semple
20. The Penderwicks – Jeanne Birdsall
21. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Jack Thorne
22. Night – Elie Wiesel
23. milk and honey – rupi kaur
24. The Highly Sensitive Person – Elaine Aron
25. Other People We Married – Emma Straub

NEXT UP…

• Where’d You Go Bernadette – Maria Semple
• The Buried Giant – Kazuo Ishiguro
• Kitchens of the Great Midwest – J. Ryan Stradal

Happy reading!

❤ Kailea