Here are my favorite reads from the past month:
If you've already read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp you will absolutely love the One Thousand Gifts Devotional
that came out in November. The devotional consists of reflections for sixty days plus pages in the back to record your own one thousand gifts.From the back of the book:
Following the New York Times Bestseller, One Thousand Gifts -- a guide to giving thanks and finding joy in all aspects of life -- Ann Voskamp returns with this companion One Thousand Gifts Devotional. How in the world do we find real joy and experience grace in the midst of deadlines, debt, drama, and all these daily duties?While the devotional was what I read through this month, the original One Thousand Gifts
book was my top read of 2012. The book is truly life-changing. 
I had read so many great reviews of Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
and it had been on my "want to read" list for a very long time. I'm so glad that I finally got around to it because it really is the best of the personal productivity books I have read.If you want to stop procrastinating and get more done, this is the book for you. I actually didn't read this book, I listened to it! Read about why I love audio books and how I find time to listed to lots of them over at The Prudent Reader.
You will never think of morning time in the same way after reading What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast
by Laura Vanderkam. This "short guide to making over your mornings--and life" gives inspiring examples of how many successful people use the early morning hours to accomplish the things that are most important to them.This guide is available as a kindle ebook
(which I read), but I was thrilled to learn that it had been released as an audio book (through Audible.com) this past summer. I have listed to the audio over and over and have become more determined to make the best use of my morning time.
Treat your work as art and see how high you will fly. That's the challenge in Seth Godin's inspiring new book The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly?
. From Amazon:
Everyone knows that Icarus’s father made him wings and told him not to fly too close to the sun; he ignored the warning and plunged to his doom. The lesson: Play it safe. Listen to the experts. It was the perfect propaganda for the industrial economy. What boss wouldn’t want employees to believe that obedience and conformity are the keys to success?
But we tend to forget that Icarus was also warned not to fly too low, because seawater would ruin the lift in his wings. Flying too low is even more dangerous than flying too high, because it feels deceptively safe.
The safety zone has moved. Conformity no longer leads to comfort. But the good news is that creativity is scarce and more valuable than ever. So is choosing to do something unpredictable and brave: Make art. Being an artist isn’t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. It’s an attitude we can all adopt. It’s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do those things you’re an artist, no matter what it says on your business card.
The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly?Godin shows us how it’s possible and convinces us why it’s essential.
is a challenge for the new economy where a secure job is a thing of the past and finding your art is essential.
