The Book Report by Rebecca Traver - Our Online Bookshop Curator
Included in this report are some New + Newly Discovered books with an eye toward transformational healing and support from the inside out; a selection of gift journals, some wonderful works for young readers; and a few ‘Just Because + Just for Fun’ offerings.
“there are miracles in me
waiting to happen
i am never giving up on myself”
~rupi kaur
Welcome to the Book Report! This is a big one, friends. As I step into the Winter Holiday Season my thoughts turn to gift + wish lists, extra socializing, and the need for maximizing self-care in order to survive and thrive in what can often be an overly busy time. It all makes me wonder if there’s a better way. What if we choose to pause when we feel overwhelmed, to savor the magic in the moment, and be truly grateful for the greatest gift of all – Life!
P.S. To bring much ease into your gifting quests, may I suggest a gift card
from our Paradise Found Online Bookshop?
“Stop a minute, right where you are… Tell that imperious voice in your head to be still.”
~Barbara Kingsolver
Happy Days: The Guided Path from Trauma to Profound Freedom and Inner Peace by Gabrielle Bernstein charts a path to healing trauma, unlearning fear, and remembering love. “This book is my gift to you,” Gabby writes. “It will answer your questions about why you feel blocked, scared, anxious, depressed, or alone, and it will liberate you from the belief system that has kept you small for so long…By taking this path you will become the best version of yourself. You will become new.”
The Tools: 5 Tools to Help You Find Courage, Creativity, and Willpower - And Inspire You to Live Life in Forward Motion by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels is one of the most straightforward guides I’ve encountered that offers a sensibly dynamic, accessible path to growth and well-being.
Getting to Center: Pathways to Finding Yourself Within the Great Unknown by dancer and writer Marlee Grace is an empathetic offering to those who are looking for a roadmap for finding their way back to equilibrium. This book meditates on endings, grief and joy, ease, hope, addiction, and beginnings, pairing Marlee’s own experiences and wisdom with practical exercises and tools for creating balance and understanding within the natural changes life offers.
The Little Book of Rest: 100+ Ways to Relax and Restore Your Mind, Body, and Soul by Stephanie Thomas is a gem for anyone who finds themselves wasking up tired in the morning way too often. This book is about radical self-care that asks us to take into account all the different aspects of ourselves that need to rest and take a break.
I Wish My Dad: The Power of Vulnerable Conversations Between Fathers and Sons by Romal Tune with Jordan Tune is a beautiful book about healing unfinished business between fathers and sons. With practical strategies and prompts for initiating difficult conversations and creating real connections.
Your Path of Best Existence: A Medical Guide's Roadmap is a brilliant compilation of insights and wisdom from Emergency Medicine doctor Glenn D. Wollman, M.D. With actionable and accessible content, this is a bright treasure of a book.
The Soul Solution: A Guide for Brilliant, Overwhelmed Women to Quiet the Noise, Find Their Superpower, and (Finally) Feel Satisfied by Vanessa Loder takes a deep and focused look at how women can often become so busy fulfilling everyone else’s expectations that they lose touch with themselves. Filled with practical guidance and inspiring personal stories, The Soul Solution is an effective guide to help you reclaim your feminine, intuitive soul power.
Where We Come From by John Coy, Shannon Gibney, Sun Yung Shin, and Diane Wilson with illustrations by Dion Mbd is a unique collaboration between four authors as they lyrically explore where they each come from – literally and metaphorically – as well as what unites us as humans.
Subtle Energy Work by Synthia Andrews helps us to consciously interact in the domain of subtle energy – what Andrews sees as the next step in personal and planetary transformation. Included are techniques that build energy awareness in order to deepen your spiritual path, enhance the quality of your intimate relationships, align with earth energy, clear space, create protection, manifest goals, facilitate healing, and more.
Blackthorn’s Botanical Wellness by Amy Blackthorn features essential oils, plants, meditation, tarot, astrology, and personal sigils tailored to your own specific needs and circumstances. Amy also described her own journey to well-being and shares the lessons she’s learned along the way. This is a lovely addition to your healing library.
How to Be Weird: An Off-Kilter Guide to Living a One-of-a-Kind-Life by Eric G. Wilson is a brilliant guidebook for beating the monotony of the everyday by purposefully cultivating the surprising joys that come from living an off-kilter life. With such delicious exercises as taking aimless walks, creating a reverie nook, exploring the underside of bridges, making tombstone rubbings, finding your own Narnia, and more. Doesn’t that sound like a breath of fresh air?
The Book of Boundaries: Set the Limits That Will Set You Free by Melissa Urban helps us learn how to establish healthy habits within our relationships, all toward creating better emotional connections, increase our available energy, and communicate with greater clarity and compassion. Perfect for this time of year, right?!
Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey reminds us that rest is a "divine human right" that shouldn't require explanation or justification. "Resting is generative. It's not frivolous and it's not a luxury. It's something that allows us to tap into our creativity and imagination and heal our bodies." What would it be like to live in a well-rested world? Shall we find out – together?
Self Love Philosopher Melody Godfred has three books out that are must haves for anyone who struggles with issues of self care and self love (um, so, we’re talking everyone, right?) and they are (in order of publication): The ABCs of Self Love: A Simple Guide to Loving Yourself, Reclaiming Your Worth, and Changing Your Life, Self Love Poetry: For Thinkers and Feelers, and The Shift: Poetry for a New Perspective. As we all find ways to best navigate change in our inner and outer worlds, we can look to allies like Melody for support, guidance, and fellowship along the path.
Visionary: The Mysterious Origins of Human Consciousness from Graham Hancock is an open invitation to discover the pathway to the gods. He writes, “I offer the reader an investigation that explores the human experience with psychedelics from the Stone Age to the Space Age and the role of these extraordinary plant medicines as tools to investigate the nature of reality itself.” Previously published as Supernatural, this definitive revised edition includes a new introduction by Hancock as well as restored chapters that were edited out of the original paperback release.
Casting Lots: Ancient Hebrew Divination Magic by Elisheva Nesher is a complete instruction manual for mastering the ancient Hebrew form of divination and magic that may also be used for healing, blessing, meditation, and spiritual interaction. A set of lots contains twenty-two small discs, each one bearing one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Gift Journals
For a look at the online shop’s deliciously curated gift guide, click here. And please revisit because new delights are being added daily.
Into the Lonely Woods Journal: A Journal of Blessings and Solitude from Lucy Cavendish and Dan May invites us to venture into the lonely woods and find the greatest gift of all - your true self. With uplifting message, quotes, and 44 full-page color art reproductions printed on premium quality cream-colored, wood-free paper, and a combination of lined and unlined pages.
Faery Journal: A Journal of Enchantment is the creation of renowned author and witch Lucy Cavendish and is filled with wisdom, inspired musings, and stories to guide you on your own adventure into the most wondrous land of Faerie. With 220 pages of high-quality paper and 44 full-color illustrations by Cavendish to inspire your own creative expression.
Mystic Moon Journal is so pretty! With 160 pages of beautiful paper that takes pen or pencil beautifully and comes with a pocket inside the back cover – perfect for tucking notes, mementos, and other small treasures.
Chakra Journal from Alia Sobel helps support our learning journey into the world of our body’s healing centers. With journal prompts, meditations, and checklists to uncover where we may be blocked and how best to clear and balance ourselves.
The Crystals Journal by Quinn Bouely is a lovely interactive way to deepen our knowledge of and relationships with the crystal realms. This sweet journal is comprised of 160 pages with a ribbon bookmark and has a photographic chart of crystals and their characteristics.
Breathing Under Water Companion Journal: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps from Richard Rohr is a companion to his book, shining a compassionate light onto the addiction experience – whether it’s a substance, a television series, shopping, or any number of things. This is your guide to diving deeper into the process in a way that makes the most sense for your life and experiences. With insightful reflections, topics, meaningful questions, and space for your own notes.
And then there’s the Bibliophile Reader's Journal with illustrations by Jane Mount with prompts to rate each book you finish and take notes as well as themed book recommendations to help build out your reading list.
If you don’t find something above that feels like a good fit for you or someone else on your gift list, please visit the full list of journals here.
Books for Young Readers + The People Who Love Them
The Crazy Old Maid: And How She Became Known as Flora - The Quite Sane, Age Defying, Domestic Goddess from Santa Barbara author Colleen McCarthy-Evans with illustrations by Janneke Ipenburg is a delightful story about community, mutual respect, and the sweetness of enjoying the simple pleasures in life. Happily, it comes in a Spanish language version as well.
Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults by Robin Wall Kimmerer, adapted by Monique Gray Smith, and illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt is a lovely way to make what can be somewhat complex biological and energetic processes accessible for young readers.
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Inspiring Young Changemakers is a terrific collection of stories and personal narratives from inspiring girls and women the world over, including Greta Thunberg, Bindi Irwin, Zendaya, Megan Jayne Crabbe, Te Manaia Jennings, and more. While the contributors offer diverse experiences, they all share a common goal; making the world a better place.
Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual by Carole Boston Weatherford with illustrations by Frank Morrison is a deeply moving picture book based on the popular spiritual. Its core message of faith, strength, and resilience will resonate with readers of all ages.
Good Night, Little Bookstore by Amy Cherrix with illustrations by E.B. Goodale is part lullaby, part love song, and all about the cozy joys to be found at the neighborhood bookshop at the end of a business day.
Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution by Sherri Winston tells the story of a young Black girl who summons the courage to fight against a discriminatory dress code at school and, in the process, learn to stand up for herself and her culture.
Will We Always Hold Hands? from Christopher Cheng with illustrations by Stephen Michael King is a universal story about the everlasting bonds of friendship and love. Through a series of questions and answers, Bear tells his friend Rat that best friends will always be together, in rain or shine, in good times and bad, forever and ever.
The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell tells the story of a young girl named Feo whose mother trains domesticated wolves to be able to fend for themselves in the snowy wilderness of Russia. Feo decides to follow in her mother’s footsteps and becomes a ‘wolf wilder’ as well. Full of adventure, courage, and loyalty, this is a book to remember and share.
Just Because + Just for Fun
The Joy of Quitting by Keiler Roberts tells eight hilarious and human stories in cartoon form from the author’s life – from the hectic days of early parenting, misfires in the workplace, and frustrating experiences with the medical system. This is an opus of domestic comedy bearing the truth that the most meaningful moments in life are often those that don’t seem to have much meaning at all.
Edward Gorey: Dancing Cats 300-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle and Cats – Memory Game are two special offerings from the wildly creative mind of Edward Gorey! If you are new to his work, then these are perfect introductions. And, for us long-time devoted fans, then these are sweet additions to the Gorey section of your bookshelf.
“People who express gratitude create pools of generosity in the world around them.”
~Martha Beck Finding Your Own North Star
Please visit our online Bookshop to see our full selection of lists and titles.
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May you be inspired, supported, and enriched by what you find here.
