Even for the bookworms among us, it can be hard to focus long enough with a modern-era attention span to read a whole book. Still, while Instagram might educate you on what your friend’s cousin had for breakfast this morning, we dare say it’s not going to change your life in the way that reading can. Here, nine books that’ll help you sort through every personal issue you’re looking to remedy this year, social media addiction excluded.
Read These To Make 2017 Your Best Year Yet
If You're Constantly Stressed...
This book discusses the ways in which stress makes us physically sick and gives practical, research-based tips for reducing its negative effect on our lives. We all know largely unnecessary stress is ruling—and ruining—our lives, so this is a must-read over break in preparation to turn things around in the new year (and potentially save our lives in the process).
, $13
If You Care Too Much...
This is not to be confused with The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck: How to Stop Spending Time You Don't Have with People You Don't Like Doing Things You Don't Want to Do (A No F*cks Given Guide)
though we recommend both equally. Mark Mason's version focuses on the pointlessness of positivity and yes, you read that right. If you want to be more resilient in 2017, this is a good place to start.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
, $15
If You're Creatively Stuck...
If you're an artist who isn't making art, this is the book for you. It uses a science-based approach to unlocking creativity, which helps those who are blocked approach the problem from a practical perspective.
Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind
, $12
If You Feel Alone...
This collection of letters written to and answered by advice-columnist Heather Havrilesky of The Cut's "Ask Polly" is replete with non-generic words of wisdom, many of which can be applied universally. If you liked Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
(swoon!), this one's a must-read.
How to Be a Person in the World: Ask Polly's Guide Through the Paradoxes of Modern Life
, $17
If Your Life Feels Kinda "Meh"...
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi investigates what he calls "optimal experience," or that state of being in which everything just feels easy and right, unconsciously so. If you're feeling like you're forcing or faking it a lot, this might be a good read with which to ring in 2017.
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
, $14
If You Can't Seem To Make A Decision...
This book won basically every award available to it the year it came out, and for good reason. Author and Nobel Prize-winner Daniel Kahneman dives deep into the workings of the brain to help us understand the unconscious biases that influence our judgment, so that we can make better decisions moving forward.
, $10
If You're Having Financial Problems...
We have a lot of options for you on this one—click here to see our list of books that'll make you rich in 2017.
Why Didn't They Teach Me This in School?: 99 Personal Money Management Principles to Live By
, $13
If Love Is The Issue...
Everyone we know swears by this book, and we have to admit that its perspective on relationships is pretty life changing.
The Mastery of Love: A Practical Guide to the Art of Relationship: A Toltec Wisdom Book
, $12
If You Don't Know What To Do Next
According to intuitive (read: psychic) Jill Willard, you already know the answers to every question in your life. If you're thinking,"Sounds cool, but I have no idea how to tap into this purported power," read this book, touted by the likes of Goop and Moon Juice's Amanda Chantal Bacon (because, of course), to find out.
Intuitive Being, $18
