The Bookshelf

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo write-up by Kalmia Hockin

Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin write-up by Connie Sobchak

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven write-up by Danielle Saul

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed write-up by Zoé Martin

Strawbale Gardens by Joel Karsten write-up by Dawn Johnson

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield write-up by Shannon Didier

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom write-up by Paul Edgington

The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery write-up by Michelle Beks

The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo write-up by Janet Ouchterlony

Peace is Every Step: An Accessible Guide to Mindful Living by Thich Naht Hahn write-up by Cindy Filipenko

The Lil’wat World of Charlie Mack by Dorothy Kennedy and Randy Bouchard write-up by Sheldon Tetreault

They Called Me Number One by Bev Sellars write-up by Sheldon Tetreault

Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese write-up by Harriet Van Wart

Buffalo Shout Salmon Cry, an anthology write-up by Paul Cumin

Background

In the fall of 2014, Marilyn Marinus at the Pemberton & District Public Library took our #50DayWellnessChallenge for a little spin, turning it into a list that she workshopped over and over in her mind to come up with the 50 Books to Wellness that changed her life – in her words, “books that challenged me. Books that I connected with.  Books that literally fell off the shelf in front of me saying “Read me!”.

We have shared the occasional book review on The Wellness Almanac, (see the list below and click through for the links), but Marilyn’s 50 Books to Wellness, as well as the Canada Reads 2015 goal to identify the One Book to Break Barriers, inspired us to kick off a #WellnessReads challenge of our own.

This is your invitation to nominate a great wellness read.

Be it cookbook, stories, memoir, self-help, travel, how-to, fitness, nature-oriented, parenting, fiction or poetry – anything can be a Wellness Read.

Wellness journeys are wide-ranging and varied and the books that awaken some mind-shift, growth in awareness, or boost in vitality, are worth passing around.

How to Play Along

They’re not “book reviews” in that grade 10 English sense. Think of it more as a book parade…

Book profiles. Book shout-outs. Book passalongs. The things you say to a friend/boss/colleague/partner/kid when you push a book into their arms and say, you’ve got to read this.

If you want to nominate a book, email thewellnessalmanac@gmail.com with the book, and a few words about why it moved you, why you’d recommend it. In what way did you feel more well (or more likely or motivated to be well) after reading it? (For a list of questions to get you thinking, click here.) Share a quote you liked from it. Snap a photo. Spread the love.