Year of Words Book Recommendations for Success

This week, in looking at books for the word success it was easy to get sucked into the “how to be successful” department on Amazon.com. You know, 10 steps to make you successful, and I’ll show you how. Funny thing, they were almost all about how to be successful in business. I spent many years reading those books, in fact, I’d read a lot of the ones that immediately showed up. But this journey is different… this journey isn’t about succeeding in business, it’s about succeeding in life. I decided to dig a little deeper, and find stories about people who succeeded in life. Some fiction, some non fiction. I really wanted to dig deeper into how people do it, and what does success really mean, to them, and to me (and hopefully to you!). So as always, I chose books I would actually read, based on ideas I want to explore. I hope some of them overlap with your desires as well.

I also have been doing a terrible job sticking with the books I choose to read. I go to get the book, and find something that sounds better lol. I’m not going to share the book I’m choosing today. I’ll share a few teasers from the book, and the book itself tomorrow on Teaser Tuesday, so make sure you stop back by. 🙂

On to the books…

Memoirs:

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened description from Amazon.com:

When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father and a morbidly eccentric childhood. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame-spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for it.

In the irreverent Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson’s long-suffering husband and sweet daughter help her uncover the surprising discovery that the most terribly human moments—the ones we want to pretend never happened—are the very same moments that make us the people we are today. For every intellectual misfit who thought they were the only ones to think the things that Lawson dares to say out loud, this is a poignant and hysterical look at the dark, disturbing, yet wonderful moments of our lives.

 

If you recall, I wasn’t a huge fan of Jenny’s latest book, Furiously Happy (my review). But I am still incredibly interested in her, and how she became so successful… and she is successful. Even with a debilitating case of anxiety, she’s managed to rise to the top of the blogosphere, and publish two best selling books! That’s something. So I’ve put her first book on the list, because a friend of mine told me I’d like it better than the first, and it was more “her story” than the second.

 

#GirlBoss description from Amazon.com

The first thing Sophia Amoruso sold online wasn’t fashion—it was a stolen book. She spent her teens hitchhiking, committing petty theft, and dumpster diving. By twenty-two, she had resigned herself to employment, but was still broke, directionless, and working a mediocre day job she’d taken for the health insurance.

It was there that Sophia decided to start selling vintage clothes on eBay. Eight years later, she is the founder, CEO, and creative director of Nasty Gal, a $100 million plus online fashion retailer with more than 350 employees. Sophia’s never been a typical CEO, or a typical anything, and she’s written #GIRLBOSS for outsiders (and insiders) seeking a unique path to success, even when that path is winding as all hell and lined with naysayers.

#GIRLBOSS includes Sophia’s story, yet is infinitely bigger than Sophia. It’s deeply personal yet universal. Filled with brazen wake-up calls (“You are not a special snowflake”), cunning and frank observations (“Failure is your invention”), and behind-the-scenes stories from Nasty Gal’s meteoric rise, #GIRLBOSS covers a lot of ground. It proves that being successful isn’t about how popular you were in high school or where you went to college (if you went to college). Rather, success is about trusting your instincts and following your gut, knowing which rules to follow and which to break.

A #GIRLBOSS takes her life seriously without taking herself too seriously. She takes chances and takes responsibility on her own terms. . She knows when to throw punches and when to roll with them. When to button up and when to let her freak flag fly.

As Sophia writes, “I have three pieces of advice I want you to remember: Don’t ever grow up. Don’t become a bore. Don’t let The Man get to you. OK? Cool.  Then let’s do this.”

 

These are the stories I find incredibly intriguing.  Down and out, seemingly on one path, and then something happens, and boom… a completely different path. I’m not much of a fashion person (ha not one at all!) but this book is on my list because I want to know what happened, what was that moment when it all turned around, and how did she make it happen?

 

Bossy Pants description from Amazon.com:

Before Liz Lemon, before “Weekend Update,” before “Sarah Palin,” Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey’s story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty onSaturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon — from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we’ve all suspected: you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.

 

As someone, way too often, called bossy growing up, I’m always excited to read books about bossy girls succeeding. Growing up it felt like being bossy was something that most definitely KEPT you from succeeding, or having any friends. This one also makes my list because she’s not only very successful in her career, which is very male driven, but she’s now also a mother, and her success just keeps growing. I love reading about how women do that. 🙂

 

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me description from Amazon.com

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”

Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!

In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

 

These are the success stories I love to read. The deck is stacked against you, and yet you succeed anyway. Mindy isn’t your typical Hollywood actress, and yet she’s been cast in a very popular show, and then to top that off she succeeded in creating her very own spin off show where she’s the star. I want to know what she has to say, about anything… because I think what she thinks about anything is probably how she does everything and manages to succeed, when most thought she’d fail.

 

Fiction:

When I Found You description from Amazon.com

While duck hunting one morning, childless, middle-aged Nathan McCann finds a newborn abandoned in the woods. To his shock, the child—wrapped in a sweater and wearing a tiny knitted hat—is still alive. To his wife’s shock, Nathan wants to adopt the boy…but the child’s grandmother steps in. Nathan makes her promise, however, that one day she’ll bring the boy to meet him so he can reveal that he was the one who rescued him.

Fifteen years later, the widowered Nathan discovers the child abandoned once again—this time at his doorstep. Named Nat, the teenager has grown into a sullen delinquent whose grandmother can no longer tolerate him. Nathan agrees to care for Nat, and the two engage in a battle of wills that spans years. Still, the older man repeatedly assures the youngster that, unlike the rest of the world, he will never abandon him—not even when Nat suffers a trauma that changes both of their lives forever.

From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward comes When I Found You, an exquisite, emotional tale of the unexpected bonds that nothing in life can break.

 

This book has popped up on my radar a  few times. Now it may not appear to have anything to do with the word success at first glance, however, when exploring what being a successful parent means, I think it fits the bill. What does it mean to succeed in keeping your word, and being there? I think this book offers an interesting opportunity to look at those ideas.

 

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake description from Amazon.com:

You’ve Got Mail meets How to Eat a Cupcake in this delightful novel about a talented chef and the food critic who brings down her restaurant—whose chance meeting turns into a delectable romance of mistaken identities.

In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lou works tirelessly to build her beloved yet struggling French restaurant, Luella’s, into a success. She cheerfully balances her demanding business and even more demanding fiancé…until the morning she discovers him in the buff—with an intern.

Witty yet gruff British transplant Al is keeping himself employed and entertained by writing scathing reviews of local restaurants in the Milwaukee newspaper under a pseudonym. When an anonymous tip sends him to Luella’s, little does he know he’s arrived on the worst day of the chef’s life. The review practically writes itself: underdone fish, scorched sauce, distracted service—he unleashes his worst.

The day that Al’s mean-spirited review of Luella’s runs, the two cross paths in a pub: Lou drowning her sorrows, and Al celebrating his latest publication. As they chat, Al playfully challenges Lou to show him the best of Milwaukee and she’s game—but only if they never discuss work, which Al readily agrees to. As they explore the city’s local delicacies and their mutual attraction, Lou’s restaurant faces closure, while Al’s column gains popularity. It’s only a matter of time before the two fall in love…but when the truth comes out, can Lou overlook the past to chase her future?

Set in the lovely, quirky heart of Wisconsin, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is a charming love story of misunderstandings, mistaken identity, and the power of food to bring two people together.

 

Yet another book that doesn’t, at first glance, scream success, and maybe it’s a little fluffy, but even the fluffy stories can get us thinking. What does it take to make a successful romance? What does it mean to succeed in love? I think this book, while a light read, can help us look at those ideas.

 

The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street description from Amazon.com

Now in paperback, bestselling author Susan Jane Gilman’s IndieNext Pick novel about an immigrant girl’s transformation into an indomitable businesswoman in early 20th century New York.

As a child in 1913, Malka Treynovsky flees Russia for New York with her family–only to be crippled and abandoned in the streets. Taken in by a tough-loving Italian ices peddler, Malka survives. When she falls in love with Albert, they set off together across America in an ice cream truck to seek their fortune; slowly, she transforms herself into Lillian Dunkle, “The Ice Cream Queen of America”–doyenne of an empire of ice cream franchises and a celebrated television personality.

Spanning 70 years, Lillian’s rise–fraught with setbacks, triumphs, and tragedies–is inextricably linked to the course of American history itself, from Prohibition to the disco days of Studio 54. And when her past starts catching up with her, her world implodes spectacularly.

 

This book I have read. We read it for book club a while back and I really enjoyed it. This is absolutely a wonderful book to read for the word success. Lillian’s rise to success was based on one thing… her behavior and what she was willing to do. Our discussion mostly surrounded who she became as a person, and whether it was the only way she could have become as successful as she was, and if she’d chosen another route would things have ended as they did? It’s an excellent (and long) book at 528 pages, but easy to read and very engaging. (This coming from a woman who is not generally a fan of historical fiction.) 😉

 

Self Improvement:

You are a Badass description from Amazon.com:

Bestselling author, speaker and world-traveling success coach, Jen Sincero, cuts through the din of the self-help genre with her own verbal meat cleaver in You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life. In this refreshingly blunt how-to guide, Sincero, serves up 27 bite-sized chapters full of hilariously inspiring stories, life-changing insights, easy exercises and the occasional swear word.

Via chapters such as “Your Brain is Your Bitch,” “Fear is for Suckers” and “My Subconscious Made Me Do It,” Sincero takes you on a wild joy ride to your own transformation, helping you create the money, relationships, career and general all around awesomeness you so desire. And should you be one of those people who would rather take a bullet than get busted with a self-help book in your hands, fear not. Sincero, a former skeptic herself, delivers the goods minus the New-Age cheese, giving even the snarkiest of poo-pooers exactly what they need to get out of their ruts and start kicking some ass.

By the end of You Are a Badass, you will understand why you are how you are, how to love what you can’t change, how to change what you don’t love, and how to start living the kind of life you used to be jealous of.

 

This book has been on my Amazon wishlist for a while. I love books that are so straight forward, bold, and add a little cussing. It feels like they’re breaking all the rules, and yet succeeding. 🙂 So this one is without “new age cheese”… the next one is not. 🙂

Finding Your Own North Star description from Amazon.com:

“The North Star — Stella Polaris — is a fixed point that can always be used to figure out which way you’re headed. Explorers and mariners can depend on Polaris when there are no other landmarks in sight. The same relationship exists between you and your right life, the ultimate realization of your potential for happiness. I believe that a knowledge of that perfect life sits inside you just as the North Star sits in its unaltering spot. You may think you’re utterly lost, but brush away the leaves, wait for the clouds to clear, and you’ll see your destiny shining as brightly as ever; the fixed point in the constantly changing constellations of your life.” — Martha Beck

As the creator of Life Designs, Inc., Martha Beck has helped hundreds of clients find their own North Star and figure out how to fulfill their potential and create joyful lives through her lectures, seminars, and one-on-one counseling. In her new book, she shares her step-by-step program that will guide you to fulfill your own potential. You’ll start by learning how to read the internal compasses already built into your brain and body — and why you may have spent your life ignoring their signals. As you become reacquainted with your own deepest desires, you’ll identify and repair any unconscious beliefs or unhealed emotional wounds that may be blocking your progress. This will change your life, but don’t worry — although every life is unique, major transformations have common elements, and Beck provides a map that will guide you through your own life changes. You’ll learn how to navigate every stage, from the first flickering appearance of a new dream to the planning and implementation of your own ideal life.

Based on Dr. Beck’s work as a Harvard-trained sociologist, research associate at Harvard Business School, instructor at Thunderbird Business School, and especially on her experiences with her clients over the last six years, Finding Your Own North Star offers thoroughly tested case studies, questionnaires, and exercises to help you articulate your core desires and act on them to build a more satisfying life.

It’s exhilarating and frightening to change your life. Finding Your Own North Star is a trusted companion for the journey. Filled with inspiration, wisdom, and Martha Beck’s trademark wit, this is the right book for anyone whose life ever took a wrong turn.

 

It seems I like my self improvement books one of two ways… straight forward and cussy, or filled with new age cheese. 😉 I am a huge fan of Martha Beck. I do not find her books “new agey” but they do include many things that would probably be considered out of the ordinary. Her book Steering by Starlight absolutely changed the way I look at the world, and who I am… I think this book would do the exact same thing for how I look at success. I have a pretty good feeling about it, because I watched a friend of mine completely transform after reading this book.

There you go, that’s the list. It’s not a typical reading list for success, but I hope you find it enjoyable! I’ll be back tomorrow to share my book for the week, and a couple teasers as well.

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