Are you a mood reader? A seasonal reader? A just because reader? 

We all have different ways of deciding what to read next and sometimes, the season we are in can give us a clue to what our reading life might need next. This might be a life season, like heading to college, parenting or empty-nesting, but the actual seasons of the calendar can give our reading life a nudge, too. 

The autumn months might bring cozy mysteries. Winter reading might be full of holiday-themed family sagas. Spring reading might focus on growing and changing and Summer reading might bring us light beachy reads.

As you know, I love bringing a theme to my reading each month and to celebrate the arrival of Spring (it’s FINALLY feeling Spring-like here in NY), I’ve curated ten books that promote growth and renewal in all aspects of our lives. These books are sure to make you think AND take action so that our actual lives can grow alongside our reading lives. 

That’s my favorite thing. 

Here they are with a blend of my own reviews and the descriptions from Goodreads. Just click on the image or title to see the book on my Amazon link or browse my collection on Bookshop instead. 

And remember…if you’re a member of my Get Lit(erate) community, you’ll get even more book lists in a special podcast episode to add to your TBR stack this month. 

Ten Books to Help You Grow:

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

This book has changed the way I look at the world, especially how I look at myself. Each page is inspiring and uplifting, but also complex and challenging, as Glennon invites us to rethink the memos we have accepted as the status quo of our lives. I devoured this book quickly on the first reading and savored each word on the second, truly using Glennon’s stories to rewrite my own. I imagine I’ll continue this transformative work on the third reading as well. It’s a book I think every woman needs to read so she can truly live into her own worth. 

Boundary Boss by Terri Cole
This book spoke directly to my heart and Terri Cole’s no-nonsense, conversational and heartful voice felt like I was having a conversation with a dear, and very real, friend. I don’t have enough space to share what I’ve learned here, but here was my BIG take-away: Boundaries matter. And most important, the boundaries we create for OURSELVES matter most. In the past, I’ve put too much focus on the boundaries outside of my control, trying to change everything and everyone around me instead of doing the hard work inside my head and heart to truly change from within. But after reading, I can’t go back and can feel a tangible shift in my energy for what’s to come.
Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo

This was exactly the book I needed at the exact time that I needed it. I read it quickly, devouring each page full of wisdom. I learned that indeed, everything is figureoutable and we have the power to change our beliefs, make our own choices and control our future moving forward. With just a few concrete, within-our-reach mindset shifts and actions, we can transform the way we think and the possibilities we can offer to the world. Forleo includes Insight to Action Challenges and Figureoutable Field Notes that inspire dreaming, but demand practical action. But the best part? This book isn’t just for those of us with grand or epic dreams, it’s for anyone who simply wants to be the best version of themselves. Please read this book.

Let It Be Easy by Susie Moore

This was a little book with a big punch. While I read it cover to cover, you don’t have to. No matter what page you turn to, you’re sure to find wit and wisdom on the page that you can immediately apply to your own life. From simple language shifts to new ways of thinking, Susie reminds us that we truly can let it be easy, a mantra that I’ve started repeating to myself often. And honestly? It really works. Everyone will find a message just right for them inside these pages. Go get it.

You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero

I love a good self-help book and this one was one of the best. This no-nonsense, yet humorous, book was REAL. It didn’t sugarcoat and it wasn’t full of fluff. It was raw, honest and shockingly practical. My biggest take-away? We can literally have anything we want in life if we think we deserve it first. The rest is just icing on the cake. Icing that takes hard work to bring to life, but that comes effortlessly if our minds are willing to accept new possibilities. I absolutely loved this book.

You, Happier: The 7 Neuroscience Secrets of Feeling Good Based on Your Brain Type by Daniel G. Amen

After studying more than 200,000 brain scans of people from 155 countries, Dr. Amen has discovered five primary brain types and seven neuroscience secrets that influence happiness. In You, Happier, he explains them and offers practical, science-based strategies for optimizing your happiness. He walks you through neuroscience-based habits, rituals, and choices that will boost your mood and help you live each day with clearly defined values, purpose, and goals.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey

The 7 Habits have become famous and are integrated into everyday thinking by millions and millions of people. Why? Because they work! This beloved classic presents a principle-centered approach for solving both personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and practical anecdotes, Stephen R. Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity—principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.

Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies: And Other Rituals to Fix Your Life, from Someone Who’s Been There Hardcover by Tara Schuster

By the time she was in her late twenties, by all appearances, Tara Schuster  had mastered being a grown-up. But beneath that veneer of success, she was a chronically anxious, self-medicating mess. No one knew that her road to adulthood had been paved with depression, anxiety, and shame, owing in large part to her minimally parented upbringing. She realized she’d hit rock bottom when she drunk-dialed her therapist pleading for help. Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies is the story of Tara’s path to re-parenting herself and becoming a “ninja of self-love.” Through simple, daily rituals, Tara transformed her mind, body, and relationships, and shows how we can, too.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

I used to be one of those people who said they didn’t have a creative bone in their body, but this book just blew everything I knew right out of the water. We are ALL creative.

It all started with her view on ideas: what they are, where they come from and where they go next if not nurtured. I devoured every word, trying to figure out how I’d nurture my own creativity (after I figured out what it was, of course) until Gilbert wrote about moving away from passion and toward curiosity. Every fiber of my being was at attention when she described how a tiny interest in keeping a garden ultimately led to her writing The Signature of All Things….simply by saying yes to the trail of curiosity. Now THAT I can relate to. I want to fill my life with lots of little yesses that ultimately lead to a live well lived, because we never know where one little yes will take us. Big Magic.

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes

With three children at home and three hit television shows, it was easy for Shonda Rimes to say she was simply too busy. But in truth, she was also afraid. Then, over Thanksgiving dinner, her sister muttered something that was both a wake up and a call to arms: You never say yes to anything. Shonda knew she had to embrace the challenge: for one year, she would say YES to everything that scared her. This poignant, intimate, and hilarious memoir explores Shonda’s life before and after her Year of Yes when she forced herself out of the house and onto the stage; when she learned to explore, empower, applaud, and love her truest self. Yes.

There you have it! A bibliotherapy book list full of titles sure to help you grow in all aspects of you life. Tell me: What are your favorite books for Spring reading? Share them in the comments below!