I'm a book worm.
Diving into new worlds, expanding my horizon, hearing about different perspectives and completely new revelations has always been one of the best parts of my life. As a kid, I used to look forward to bedtime to escape reality for a few moments before going back to the daily grind of a student's life. And this love for books has never vanished.
I read everything, from novels to non-fiction, from books about God to cheesy romances because I believe that there's something to be learned in every single book (well, in almost every book...). My book shelves back in Germany are packed and my future dream office will be filled with tons of new and old wisdom in the form of books.
I thought that I'd share my love for books by going back and putting together a list of my top seven books. It wasn't easy, but here they are. Enjoy!
1. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown
Brené Brown is a leading expert on shame, authenticity, and belonging.
She changed my life with her powerful and vulnerable talk at the World Domination Summit last year. I wrote a blog post about it called: https://annesophie.us/brenebrown
This is a very sensitive book about human longings and the quest to live and love fully. I love Brene Brown and I find her approach of creating a whole life with rest and play, authenticity and self-love, boundaries and gratitude not only immeasurably inspiring, but also eye-opening.
In this book, she shares ten guideposts on the power of Wholehearted living—a way of engaging with the world from a place of worthiness.
In her ten guideposts, Brown engages our minds, hearts, and spirits as she explores how we can cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, "No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough," and to go to bed at night thinking, "Yes, I am sometimes afraid, but I am also brave. And, yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable, but that doesn't change the truth that I am worthy of love and belonging."
1. CultivatingAuthenticity: Letting Go of What People Think
2. Cultivating Self‐Compassion: Letting Go of Perfectionism
3. Cultivating a Resilient Spirit: LettingGo of Numbing and Powerlessness
4. CultivatingGratitude and Joy: Letting Go of Scarcity and Fear of the Dark
5. Cultivating Intuition and Trusting Faith: LettingGo of the Need for Certainty
6. Cultivating Creativity: Letting Go of Comparison
7. Cultivating Play and Rest: Letting Go of Exhaustion as a Status Symbol and Productivity as Self‐Worth
8. Cultivating Calm and Stillness: Letting Go of Anxiety as a Lifestyle
9. Cultivating MeaningfulWork: LettingGo of Self‐Doubt and “Supposed To”
10.Cultivating Laughter, Song, andDance: LettingGo of Being Cool and “Always in Control”
You can watch her brilliant TedX talk here.
2. Desert Flower by Waris Dirie
A story of a true heroine who escaped her nomad life right before an arranged marriage with an older guy and slowly worked her way up to the top of the modeling business. Waris Dirie now speaks up against the female genital mutilation in Somalia. I read this book when I was 11 years old and it opened my eyes for the very first time to the realities of other children’s lives and their destinies. I can honestly say that I’ve never looked at the world the same way again after being drawn into this powerful biography and witnessing the immeasurable strength with which women deal with their fates in other parts of the world.
3. Pack Up the Moon by Anna McPartlin
The best novel I’ve read in my entire life. This novel makes you sit up and think about the fleeting nature of life in a more impacting way than anything else I’ve ever read. This novel captures you from the first word until the last page. It makes you laugh, cry, cheer, grieve and reminisce about your own life. Simply brilliant and good for your soul.
4. Lost and Found by Geneen Roth