We asked you to list the books that ignited a fire in your soul we could share the ultimate must read list!

The Original Request:

"Hey guys! We’re thinking of starting a little book club or at

least a “must read list”! What books have inspired you to live a

more mindful life?! Doesn’t have to be about the environment-

but maybe something with a message that really made you

feel more connected to what matters in life. Let us know which

books ignited a fire in your soul, and leave us a quick little note of

why you recommend others give them a read! "

 

- T H E   L I S T  - 

1. The Alchemist

 

The Alchemist (1988)
by Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.

(recommended by melanievert4)

2. The Giver

The Giver (1993)
by Lois Lowry 

Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind this fragile community.

(recommended by melanievert4)

3. Last Child in the Woods

Last Child in the Woods (2005)
by Richard Louv

In this influential work about the staggering divide between children and the outdoors, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today's wired generation—he calls it nature-deficit—to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.

Last Child in the Woods is the first book to bring together a new and growing body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. More than just raising an alarm, Louv offers practical solutions and simple ways to heal the broken bond—and many are right in our own backyard.

(recommended by onewarmline)

4. The Celestine Prophecy

The Celestine Prophecy (1993)
By James Redfield

The Celestine Prophecy contains secrets that are currently changing our world. Drawing on ancient wisdom, it tells you how to make connections among the events happening in your own life right now...and lets you see what is going to happen to you in the years to come!

A book that has been passed from hand to hand, from friend to friend, since it first appeared in small bookshops across America, The Celestine Prophecy is a work that has come to light at a time when the world deeply needs to read its words. The story it tells is a gripping one of adventure and discovery, but it is also a guidebook that has the power to crystallize your perceptions of why you are where you are in life...and to direct your steps with a new energy and optimism as you head into tomorrow.

(recommended by minimalwastevegan & carinanoyes)

5. Witch: Unleashed, Untamed, Unapologetic

Witch: Unleashed, Untamed, Unapologetic
by Lisa Lister

A witch is a wise woman, a healer. Yet for so long the word “witch” has had negative connotations. In this book, third generation hereditary witch Lisa Lister explains the history behind witchcraft, why identifying as a healer in past centuries led women to be burned at the stake, and why the witch is reawakening in women across the world today.
 
All women are witches, and when they connect to source, trust their intuition, and use their magic, they can make medicine to heal themselves and the world. This book is a re-telling of Herstory, an overview of the different schools of witchcraft and the core principles and practices within them.  Discover ancient wisdom made relevant for modern witches: 
 
The wheel of the year, the sabbats, the cycles of the moon.
Tools to enhance your intuition, including oracle cards and dowsing, so that you can make decisions quickly and comfortably.
Understanding the ancient use of the word “medicine”.
How to work with herbs, crystals, and power animals so that you have support in your spiritual work.
How to build and use a home altar to focus your intentions and align you with seasonal cycles, the moon cycles, and your own intentions for growth.
Cleanse, purify, and create sacred space.
Work with the elements to achieve deep connection with the world around you.
In addition, Lisa teaches personal, hands-on rituals and spells from her family lineage of gypsy witch magic to help you heal, manifest, and rediscover your powers. Above all, Lisa shows that we really are “the granddaughters of the witches that they couldn't burn”.

(Recommended by natashaliann -- natashaliann says: "This book is about going back to our witchy roots... connecting women before patriarchy and "his"tory ... It's the coming together of a circle of knowledge engrained in each of us in different ways ... A reminder to treat eachother openly and support our sisters even if our views and opinions are not the same as we are all navigating this life as well as taking the he negative condentation out of the word witch itself ... Another book is Persuing consciousness by Peter Ralston ... Basically a book that assists in thinking clearly and unattached as well as in the moment." )

6. Between the World and Me

Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates

In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?

Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

(Recommended by lauren.engelke -- lauren.engelke says : "It’s the most beautiful book I’ve ever read.")

7. Ecoholic

Ecoholic 
by Adria Vasil

When the world’s environmental woes get you down, turn to Ecoholic – Canada’s best resource for practical tips and products that help you do your part for the earth. You’ll get the dirt on what not to buy and why, the dish on great gifts, clothes, home supplies and more, as well as advice on what seafood is safe to eat, what green cleaners actually work and a whack of solutions that’ll help you save the earth and cash. Based on the popular and authoritative “Ecoholic” column that appears weekly in NOW, Ecoholic is a cheeky and eye-opening guide to all of life’s greenest predicaments.

REVIEW

This book is for people who want to do something to lighten their impact on the planet. The small steps cost us little in the way of effort, money or time, but the cumulative effects can be enormous.

(Recommended by: lightbulbstring -- lightbulbstring says: "Adria Vasil’s Ecoholic books are what got me into living a cleaner life. She’s a local-ish Canadian journalist, too!!")

8. Ecoholic Home

Ecoholic Home
by Adria Vasil

The most comprehensive green home book ever to hit Canadian shelves!

Your home may be your refuge from the outside world, but it’s also ground zero for some serious green crimes. There’s a whole underworld of toxins and energy-hoggin’ happenin’ in that pad of yours. Luckily, Ecoholic Home gives homeowners, renters, condo nesters and even you dorm dwellers all the most up-to-date Canadian product and service info you need to eco-fy your private space—all while pocketing planet-friendly cash savings. So stop stewing in toxins, chucking energy out the window and feeding the trash treadmill, and start transforming your abode into an Ecoholic haven.

REVIEW

If you’re looking for an in-depth well-rounded guide to environmentally friendly living, Ecoholic is a great choice.

9. Ecoholic Body

Ecoholic Body
by Adria Vasil

Adria Vasil, Canada’s straight-shooting green living expert, is back, and this time it’s personal . . . care, that is. Her latest eco bible delivers the lowdown on virtually every product that comes into contact with our bodies. From the pollutants clogging your sinus meds all the way to the outlaw toxins leaching from your sandals, Ecoholic Body has you covered, head to toe. Never shy to blow the whistle, Adria calls out supplement and shampoo makers that exaggerate their green cred. This witty, indispensable guide will arm you with the knowledge you need to keep you and your family healthy, happy and green, all while detoxing the planet.

(Recommended by: lightbulbstring -- lightbulbstring says: "Adria Vasil’sEcoholic books are what got me into living a cleaner life. She’s a local-ish Canadian journalist, too!!")

10. Silent Spring 

Silent Spring
by Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was first published in three serialized excerpts in the New Yorker in June of 1962. The book appeared in September of that year and the outcry that followed its publication forced the banning of DDT and spurred revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. Carson’s passionate concern for the future of our planet reverberated powerfully throughout the world, and her eloquent book was instrumental in launching the environmental movement. It is without question one of the landmark books of the twentieth century.

(Recommended by newtonwylie -- newtonwylie says: "Rachel Carson's  Silent Spring is a good start.")

11. The Untethered Soul : The Journey Beyond Yourself

The Untethered Soul : The Journey Beyond Yourself
by Michael A. Singer

The chapters of this book are nothing but mirrors for seeing your ''self'' from different angles. And though the journey we are about to embark on is an inner one, it will draw upon every aspect of your life. .

(Recommended by katrinajs_) 

12. The Subtle Art of Giving a F@# 

The Subtle Art of Giving a F@# 
by Mark Manson

In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be "positive" all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.

For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. "F**k positivity," Mark Manson says. "Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it." In his wildly popular Internet blog, Mason doesn’t sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is—a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let’s-all-feel-good mindset that has infected American society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up.

Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited—"not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault." Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.

There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives.

(Recommended by clarkesac1985 & jadorelevintage) 

13. How to unfu*k yourself : Get out of your head and into your life

How to unfu*k yourself : Get out of your head and into your life
by Gary John Bishop

Have you ever felt like a hamster on a wheel, furiously churning your way through life but somehow going nowhere? It seems like there’s a barrage of information surrounding us in our everyday lives with the keys to this thing or that thing, be it wealth, success, happiness or purpose. The truth is, most of it fails to capture what it truly takes to overcome our greatest barrier to a greater life…ourselves. What if everything you ever wanted resided in you like a well of potential, waiting to be expressed? Unfu*k Yourself is the handbook for the resigned and defeated, a manifesto for real life change and unleashing your own greatness.

(Recommended by jadorelevintage)

14. You Are a Badass at Making Money

You Are a Badass at Making Money
by Jen Sincero

“A cheerful manifesto on removing obstacles between yourself and the income of your dreams.” —New York Magazine

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of You Are a Badass, a life-changing guide to making the kind of money you’ve only ever dreamed of

You Are a Badass at Making Money will launch you past the fears and stumbling blocks that have kept financial success beyond your reach. Drawing on her own transformation—over just a few years—from a woman living in a converted garage with tumbleweeds blowing through her bank account to a woman who travels the world in style, Jen Sincero channels the inimitable sass and practicality that made You Are a Badass an indomitable bestseller. She combines hilarious personal essays with bite-size, aha concepts that unlock earning potential and get real results.

Learn to:

• Uncover what's holding you back from making money
• Give your doubts, fears, and excuses the heave-ho
• Relate to money in a new (and lucrative) way
• Shake up the cocktail of creation
• Tap into your natural ability to grow rich
• Shape your reality—stop playing victim to circumstance
• Get as wealthy as you wanna be

“This book truly crystallizes the concept that financial abundance is an inside job—in that it all begins with your mindset—and Sincero gets serious (in the funniest ways possible) about helping you identify your particular limiting beliefs surrounding money.” —PopSugar

(Recommended by jadorelevintage)

15. Out of Africa 

Out of Africa
by Karen Blixen

In 1914 Karen Blixen arrived in Kenya with her husband to run a coffee farm. Instantly drawn to the land, she spent her happiest years there until the plantation failed. Karen Blixen was forced to return to Denmark in 1931 and it was there that she wrote this classic account of her experiences. A poignant farewell to her beloved farm, Out of Africa describes her strong friendships with the people of her area, her affection for the landscape and animals, and great love for the adventurer Denys Finch-Hatton.

Written with astonishing clarity and an unsentimental intelligence, Out of Africa portrays a way of life that has disappeared for ever.

(Recommended by bridgetditchburn)

16. Random Acts of Kindness 
(Recommended by tiffanytabone)

17. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
by Marie Kondo

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?

Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you'll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo's clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list).

With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house "spark joy" (and which don't), this international best seller featuring Tokyo's newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home - and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

(Recommended by theelephantinthewomb -- theelephantinthewomb says "The life changing magic of tidying up SERIOUSLY got my life together. And my parents, realizing the hoarding, clutter, and buying addictions have an impact on your family once you’re gone speaks volumes to consumerism 🙏🏻"

18. Simple Matters : Living with Less and Ending up with More

Simple Matters : Living with Less and Ending up with More
by Erin Boyle

For anyone looking to declutter, organize, and simplify, author Erin Boyle shares practical guidance and personal insights on small-space living and conscious consumption. At once pragmatic and philosophical, Simple Matters is a nod to the growing consensus that living simply and purposefully is more sustainable not only for the environment, but for our own happiness and well-being, too. Boyle embraces the notion that “living small” is beneficial and accessible to us all—whether we’re renting a tiny apartment or purchasing a three-story house.
 
Filled with personal essays, projects, and helpful advice on how to be inventive and resourceful in a tight space, Simple Mattersshows that living simply is about making do with less and ending up with more: more free time, more time with loved ones, more savings, and more things of beauty.

( Recommended by lekkolifegoods -- lekkolifegoods says "Simple Matters made going low waste and living meaningfully so beautiful and idyllic for me"

19. The Book of Joy 

The Book of Joy 
by the Dalai Lama XIV and Desmond Tutu

Two great spiritual masters share their own hard-won wisdom about living with joy even in the face of adversity.
 
The occasion was a big birthday. And it inspired two close friends to get together in Dharamsala for a talk about something very important to them. The friends were His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The subject was joy. Both winners of the Nobel Prize, both great spiritual masters and moral leaders of our time, they are also known for being among the most infectiously happy people on the planet.

From the beginning the book was envisioned as a three-layer birthday cake: their own stories and teachings about joy, the most recent findings in the science of deep happiness, and the daily practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. Both the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu have been tested by great personal and national adversity, and here they share their personal stories of struggle and renewal. Now that they are both in their eighties, they especially want to spread the core message that to have joy yourself, you must bring joy to others.

Most of all, during that landmark week in Dharamsala, they demonstrated by their own exuberance, compassion, and humor how joy can be transformed from a fleeting emotion into an enduring way of life.

(Recommended by michelle_angeline_ -- michelle_angeline_ says "Hands down “The Book of Joy” by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu!! The title says it all 😂 but it really is such an amazing book.")

20. So Much I Want To Tell You : Letters to My Little Sister

So Much I Want To Tell You : Letters to My Little Sister
by Anna Akana

From Internet sensation Anna Akana comes a candid and poignant collection of essays about love, loss, and chasing adulthood.

In 2007, Anna Akana lost her teen sister, Kristina, to suicide. In the months that followed, she realized that the one thing helping her process her grief and begin to heal was comedy. So she began making YouTube videos as a form of creative expression and as a way to connect with others. Ten years later, Anna has more than a million subscribers who watch her smart, honest vlogs on her YouTube channel. Her most popular videos, including "How to Put On Your Face" and "Why Girls Should Ask Guys Out," are comical and provocative, but they all share a deeper message: Your worth is determined by you and you alone. You must learn to love yourself.

In So Much I Want to Tell You, Anna opens up about her own struggles with poor self-esteem and reveals both the highs and lows of coming-of-age. She offers fresh, funny, hard-won advice for young women on everything from self-care to money to sex, and she is refreshingly straightforward about the realities of dating, female friendship, and the hustle required to make your dreams come true. This is Anna's story, but, as she says, it belongs just as much to Kristina and to every other girl who must learn that growing up can be hard to do. Witty and real, Anna breaks things down in a way only a big sister can.

Advance praise for So Much I Want to Tell You

"This book is filled with the kind of honesty, vulnerability, and determination that makes Anna such a captivating person. One warning: You'll want to hug her a lot while reading this."--Natalie Tran, actress and comedian

"As a woman working in entertainment, Anna Akana is accustomed to feeling vulnerable. Which means that she's used to being brave. This book is a tribute to the duality of bravery and fear as told through Anna's experiences to date."--Hannah Hart, New York Times bestselling author of Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded

"Frank advice on how to live a productive, happy life . . . written in tribute to a 'fearless, talented, and bold' sister."--Kirkus Reviews

Recommended by morgandemeau)

21. The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store

The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store
by Cait Flanders

In her late twenties, Cait Flanders found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat. Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again. When she realized that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy—only keeping her from meeting her goals—she decided to set herself a challenge: she would not shop for an entire year.

The Year of Less documents Cait’s life for twelve months during which she bought only consumables: groceries, toiletries, gas for her car. Along the way, she challenged herself to consume less of many other things besides shopping. She decluttered her apartment and got rid of 70 percent of her belongings; learned how to fix things rather than throw them away; researched the zero waste movement; and completed a television ban. At every stage, she learned that the less she consumed, the more fulfilled she felt.

The challenge became a lifeline when, in the course of the year, Cait found herself in situations that turned her life upside down. In the face of hardship, she realized why she had always turned to shopping, alcohol, and food—and what it had cost her. Unable to reach for any of her usual vices, she changed habits she’d spent years perfecting and discovered what truly mattered to her.

Blending Cait’s compelling story with inspiring insight and practical guidance, The Year of Less will leave you questioning what you’re holding on to in your own life—and, quite possibly, lead you to find your own path of less.

(Recommended by laurabakes102)

22. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
by Rachel Joyce

A novel of unsentimental charm, humor, and profound insight into the thoughts and feelings we all bury deep within our hearts, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry introduces Rachel Joyce as a wise - and utterly irresistible - storyteller.

Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack of quotidian minutiae is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl from a woman he hasn't seen or heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye.

Harold pens a quick reply and, leaving Maureen to her chores, heads to the corner mailbox. But then, as happens in the very best works of fiction, Harold has a chance encounter, one that convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. And thus begins the unlikely pilgrimage at the heart of Rachel Joyce's remarkable debut. Harold Fry is determined to walk six hundred miles from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed because, he believes, as long as he walks, Queenie Hennessey will live.

Still in his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold embarks on his urgent quest across the countryside. Along the way he meets one fascinating character after another, each of whom unlocks his long-dormant spirit and sense of promise. Memories of his first dance with Maureen, his wedding day, his joy in fatherhood, come rushing back to him - allowing him to also reconcile the losses and the regrets. As for Maureen, she finds herself missing Harold for the first time in years.

And then there is the unfinished business with Queenie Hennessy.

(Recommended by ccwiersma -- ccwiersma says "This book creeps into my memory every time I venture out on an unexpected stroll. It reminds me to tell the people close to me that I love them and to never leave rifts in relationships unresolved.")

23. First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety

First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety
by Sarah Wilson

"This journey is what I do now. I bump along, in fits and starts, on a perpetual path to finding better ways for me and my mate, Anxiety, to get around. It's everything I do."

Sarah Wilson - bestselling author and entrepreneur, intrepid solver of problems and investigator of how to live a better life - has helped over 1.2 million people across the world to quit sugar. She has also been an anxiety sufferer her whole life.

In her new book, she directs her intense focus and fierce investigatory skills onto this lifetime companion of hers, looking at the triggers and treatments, the fashions and fads. She reads widely and interviews fellow sufferers, mental health experts, philosophers, and even the Dalai Lama, processing all she learns through the prism her own experiences.

Sarah pulls at the thread of accepted definitions of anxiety, and unravels the notion that it is a difficult, dangerous disease that must be medicated into submission. Ultimately, she re-frames anxiety as a spiritual quest rather than a burdensome affliction, a state of yearning that will lead us closer to what really matters.

Practical and poetic, wise and funny, this is a small book with a big heart. It will encourage the myriad sufferers of the world's most common mental illness to feel not just better about their condition, but delighted by the possibilities it offers for a richer, fuller life.

(Recommended by gemma.digby -- gemma.digby  says "Such a uplifting read! entertaining, well- researched and overall the best book I’ve ever read on mental health (specifically anxiety)")

24. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan

Today, buffeted by one food fad after another, America is suffering from what can only be described as a national eating disorder. Will it be fast food tonight, or something organic? Or perhaps something we grew ourselves? The question of what to have for dinner has confronted us since man first discovered fire. But, as Michael Pollan explains in this revolutionary book, how we answer it now, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, may determine our survival as a species. Packed with profound surprises, The Omnivore' s Dilemma is changing the way Americans think about the politics, perils, and pleasures of eating.

(Recommended by gen.and.tonic)

25. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
by Barbara Kingsolver

Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they'd only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is an enthralling narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.

(Recommended by gen.and.tonic)

26. The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge
by Carlos Castaneda

The story of a remarkable spiritual journey, the first awesone steps on the road to becoming "a man of knowledge," the road that continues with A Separate Reality and Journey To ixtlan. Includes The Teachings and A Structural Analysis.

Recommended by kokobelo_ -- kokobelo_ says "The teaching of don juan-- Speaks to My soul and forces you to look at the world in a very different way"

27. Siddhartha

Siddhartha
by Herman Hesse

Herman Hesse's classic novel has delighted, inspired, and influenced generations of readers, writers, and thinkers. In this story of a wealthy Indian Brahmin who casts off a life of privilege to seek spiritual fulfillment. Hesse synthesizes disparate philosophies--Eastern religions, Jungian archetypes, Western individualism--into a unique vision of life as expressed through one man's search for true meaning.

(Recommended by lifeaccording2ben -- lifeaccording2ben says "Siddhartha by Herman Hesse ....it puts forward a moving argument about how we find our path to enlightenment by not imitating others’ ideologies but by getting to know ourselves and appreciating the little things in life. It also inspired much of the 60s counterculture movement.")

28. Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Jonathan Livingston Seagull
by Richard Bach

This is a story for people who follow their hearts and make their own rules...people who get special pleasure out of doing something well, even if only for themselves...people who know there's more to this living than meets the eye: they’ll be right there with Jonathan, flying higher and faster than ever they dreamed.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is no ordinary bird. He believes it is every gull's right to fly, to reach the ultimate freedom of challenge and discovery, finding his greatest reward in teaching younger gulls the joy of flight and the power of dreams. The special 20th anniversary release of this spiritual classic!

(Recommended by brenda1vintex -- brenda1vintex says "small powerful every one should read this book about overcoming status quo")

29. Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

 

Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter 
by Adeline Yen Mah

Born in 1937 in a port city a thousand miles north of Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family who enjoyed rare privileges during a time of political and cultural upheaval. But wealth and position could not shield Adeline from a childhood of appalling emotional abuse at the hands of a cruel and manipulative Eurasian stepmother. Determined to survive through her enduring faith in family unity, Adeline struggled for independence as she moved from Hong Kong to England and eventually to the United States to become a physician and writer.

A compelling, painful, and ultimately triumphant story of a girl's journey into adulthood, Adeline's story is a testament to the most basic of human needs: acceptance, love, and understanding. With a powerful voice that speaks of the harsh realities of growing up female in a family and society that kept girls in emotional chains, Falling Leaves is a work of heartfelt intimacy and a rare authentic portrait of twentieth-century China.

(Recommended by ikatycastro)

30. Nineteen Eighty Four

Nineteen Eighty Four
by George Orwell

Newspeak, Doublethink, Big Brother, the Thought Police - the vocabulary of George Orwell's classic political satire, 'Nineteen Eighty-Four', has passed into the English language, symbolising the horrors of totalitarianism.

(Recommended by hughuet)

31. On the Shortness of Life

On the Shortness of Life
by Seneca

The Stoic writings of the philosopher Seneca offer powerful insights into the art of living, the importance of reason and morality, and continue to provide profound guidance to many through their eloquence, lucidity and timeless wisdom.

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves—and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives—and destroyed them.

Now, Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are. Penguin's Great Ideas series features twelve groundbreaking works by some of history's most prodigious thinkers, and each volume is beautifully packaged with a unique type-drive design that highlights the bookmaker's art. Offering great literature in great packages at great prices, this series is ideal for those readers who want to explore and savor the Great Ideas that have shaped the world.

(Recommended by flaviaalvesmartinsde)

32. Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste

Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste
by Bea Johnson.

Part inspirational story of Bea Johnson (the “Priestess of Waste-Free Living”) and how she transformed her family’s life for the better by reducing their waste to an astonishing one liter per year; part practical, step-by-step guide that gives readers tools and tips to diminish their footprint and simplify their lives.Many of us have the gnawing feeling that we could and should do more to limit our impact on the environment. But where to begin? How? Many of us have taken small steps, but Bea Johnson has taken the big leap. Bea, her husband Scott, and their two young sons produce just one quart of garbage a year.

In Zero Waste Home, Bea Johnson shares her story and lays out the system by which she and her family have reached and maintained their own Zero Waste goals—a lifestyle that has yielded bigger surprises than they ever dreamed possible. They now have more time together as a family, they have cut their annual spending by a remarkable 40%, and they are healthier than they've ever been, both emotionally and physically.

This book shares how-to advice and essential secrets and insights based on the author’s own experience. She demystifies the process of going Zero Waste with hundreds of easy tips for sustainable living that even the busiest people can integrate: from making your own mustard, to packing kids' lunches without plastic, to cancelling your junk mail, to enjoying the holidays without the guilt associated with overconsumption.

Stylish and completely relatable, Zero Waste Home is a practical, step-by-step guide that gives readers the tools and tips to improve their overall health, save money and time, and achieve a brighter future for their families—and the planet.

(Recommended by sandiegozero -- sandiegozero says "Inspired me almost 2 years ago, and I haven't looked back!")

MaddAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood :
(Recommended by livinglifeauthenticallyforme) 

33  Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake
by Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining.

(Recommended by livinglifeauthenticallyforme) 

 

34 . The Year Of The Flood

The Year Of The Flood
by Margaret Atwood

The times and species have been changing at a rapid rate, and the social compact is wearing as thin as environmental stability. Adam One, the kindly leader of the God's Gardeners--a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion, as well as the preservation of all plant and animal life--has long predicted a natural disaster that will alter Earth as we know it. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women have survived: Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, a God's Gardener barricaded inside a luxurious spa where many of the treatments are edible.

Have others survived? Ren's bioartist friend Amanda? Zeb, her eco-fighter stepfather? Her onetime lover, Jimmy? Or the murderous Painballers, survivors of the mutual-elimination Painball prison? Not to mention the shadowy, corrupt policing force of the ruling powers...

Meanwhile, gene-spliced life forms are proliferating: the lion/lamb blends, the Mo'hair sheep with human hair, the pigs with human brain tissue. As Adam One and his intrepid hemp-clad band make their way through this strange new world, Ren and Toby will have to decide on their next move. They can't stay locked away...

By turns dark, tender, violent, thoughtful, and uneasily hilarious, "The Year of the Flood" is Atwood at her most brilliant and inventive.

(Recommended by livinglifeauthenticallyforme) 

 

35. MaddAddam

MaddAddam
by Margaret Atwood

A man-made plague has swept the earth, but a small group survives, along with the green-eyed Crakers – a gentle species bio-engineered to replace humans. Toby, onetime member of the Gods Gardeners and expert in mushrooms and bees, is still in love with street-smart Zeb, who has an interesting past. The Crakers’ reluctant prophet, Snowman-the-Jimmy, is hallucinating; Amanda is in shock from a Painballer attack; and Ivory Bill yearns for the provocative Swift Fox, who is flirting with Zeb. Meanwhile, giant Pigoons and malevolent Painballers threaten to attack.

Told with wit, dizzying imagination, and dark humour, Booker Prize-winning Margaret Atwood’s unpredictable, chilling and hilarious MaddAddam takes us further into a challenging dystopian world and holds up a skewed mirror to our own possible future.

(Recommended by livinglifeauthenticallyforme)