Blog / my favorite books

Meditation book recommendations

Meditation book recommendations

I'm really trying to share a little more of myself, my practices and my story with you all. As I think about what I want to share and talk about my meditation practice and the books that inspire me always come to the forefront.

I am an avid reader and am constantly reminding myself to cultivate a beginner's mind. There is so much wisdom out there and I know in this lifetime I will barely scratch the surface but I am committed to being a lifelong learner. This learning inspires my creativity and I am so grateful to every teacher I will learn from in this lifetime.
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My favorite reads of 2020

My favorite reads of 2020

One of the things that fed my soul, my heart and my mind in 2020 was reading. I read around 60 books last year and I'm choosing a few of my favorites to share with you. If you've followed my book posts at all you might have noticed my reading is pretty heavy on nonfiction, but I tried to include some fiction and poetry to balance out the nonfiction a little this year.
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Let's talk about crystal books...

Let's talk about crystal books...

Happy 2021!
I thought it would be fun to kick off the year answering one of the questions I get asked all of the time. If you want to learn more about the meanings of crystals and stones here are some of my recommendations. My love of stones began when I was a little girl and started collecting beach pebbles in Maine. My mom nurtured our curiousity and later took us to archaeological dig sites and we got to dig in to the earth and uncover treasures from the past. This ignited an interest in history and the stories that objects told. I devoured books and visited museums to learn whatever I could about other cultures, history and maybe hoping to understand a little more about where we're headed.
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My fall reading recommendations

My fall reading recommendations

I haven't done a post about what I'm reading in a few months so it seemed like a a good...
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Summer reading recommendations

I've been reading and listening to lots of books this summer. A few of my favorites were.

All Along You Were Blooming by Morgan Harper Nichols. This book is beautiful and one you can open up anytime for a little inspiration. Morgan is one of my favorite follows on instagram and she also has created a beautiful and inspiring app.

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April reading roundup

This month I had fun setting up some lists of what I'm reading and my favorite books over on bookshop.org. Bookshop.org is a cool new platform that's trying to give an alternative to Amazon that helps support local and independent booksellers.

This month I read mostly nonfiction with the exception on The Giver of Stars.

Broken Open by Elizabeth Lesser

The Deepest Well by Nadine Burke Harris M.D.

Seeds of Hope by Jane Goodall

Brainstorm by Daniel J Siegel M.D.

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Meyes

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What I'm reading: February and March reading roundup

What I'm reading: February and March reading roundup

Reading brings me joy. I love listening to books while I work and I love settling down on my couch to enjoy reading at the end of the day. Some of these books made me laugh, some made me cry and others just taught me new things.
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10 Feel Good Books to Stay in With

10 Feel Good Books to Stay in With

I've been thinking about what I can do to help bring a little joy and peace in this unprecedented time. Books are definitely something that brings me joy.
One of my favorite yoga teachers Kathryn Budig started a virtual bookclub called The Inky Phoenix and she had the idea for people to share some of their favorite feel good books to bring us comfort while we're hunkered down in our homes away from our friends and family.
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My two favorite books I've read so far this year.

My two favorite books I've read so far this year.

I heard The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See was great and it did not disappoint. The characters were well developed and the story had lots of twists and turns. There were parts that made me laugh and others that made me cry. It told a story over many decades and you could see how the world changed. This story of the all women dive collectives on Jeju Island is one definitely worth reading.
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2019 Reading Roundup

2019 Reading Roundup

For 2019 I set a goal to read 60 books to end the decade. I completed it and read 73 bo...
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October reading roundup

October reading roundup

I finished my 2019 reading challenge this month with some great books. I mixed u...
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Another great read

Another great read

I've had this book on my to read list for a few years now and just got around to reading it. Since I live in LA I have of course heard of Homeboy industries and I've been lucky enough to talk to some of the men in person who work for Homeboy and hear their stories and see what having these jobs means to them. I think the biggest lesson I learned from this book is that we can love each other better and how to be a more compassionate and empathetic human.
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Summer reading roundup

Summer reading roundup

I fell off posting about my monthly reading on the blog, so instead of a monthly post I...
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My favorite books for 2018

My favorite books for 2018

This is my current stack of books that I want to read. This stack prompted me to want to post about by favorite books from 2018.

For 2018 I set myself a reading challenge through goodreads to read 50 books, and I ended up reading 57. I finally gave in to listening to audiobooks and this really helped me enjoy more books on my to read list than any other recent years. I also finally gave myself permission to not finish a book if I really wasn't in to it. I used to think I should always finish a book, but this year decided that was silly. I have over 200 books on my want to read list and am always adding to it, so what is the point of taking up my valuable reading time with books I don't like.

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My monthly reading recap for August

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My monthly reading recap for July

My monthly reading recap for July

So you want to talk about race is a book I think every white person should read, instead of asking a person of color on social media or your black friend to explain why they think something you did or said, or something you saw in the news was racist. Especially if you've ever caught yourself saying but I don't see color, I can't be racist because....., You're overreacting it's not about race, or even if you've thought things without letting them come out of your mouth.
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My monthly reading recap for June.

I kicked off my summer reading with these three books this month. Dan Siegel's "The Neurobiology of We" was fascinating. I love thinking about to how we really are all connected and to think about how modern technology has done some amazing things but has also isolated lots of people. The science of the brain and how it processes memories, trauma and connection is so interesting. I was surprised to learn how new so much of this science is and how not long ago no one understood PTSD and trauma at all. 
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My monthly reading recap for May

The Goldfinch was recommended to me by a friend and while I really did enjoy it, I wish I had chosen to read the physical book instead of listening to it on audiobook. I didn't realize it was over 700 pages so I just got tired of listening to the narrator's voice. The story itself though was very interesting and I really enjoyed following along with the twists and turns of Theo's life and liked the fine art and antique furniture restoration details.

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Some of my favorite books I've read lately.

I was always encouraged to read books and to see them as not only a form of education but also entertainment. How I read has changed over the years as I'm sure it has for a lot of you. I fought getting a nook or kindle for years, but now I love mine. Then I was not up for listening to audio books because I thought I needed to carve out time to sit and read my books. But I really love mixing in audio books now with my music and podcasts while I'm in the car or working in the studio. 

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