Here are 100 books that I Spy fans have personally recommended if you like
I Spy.
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I have been a reader and writer for most of my life. From the moment I could spell a handful of words, my mum encouraged me to write stories. With a few prompt terms, Iâd be off. As a writer, I spend countless hours editing and refining my work because it makes me better and because I love it. My favourite part of a book is often a single, beautifully structured sentence. This passion has led me to wonder what other people have to say about writing and language. The more I hear about the practice of writing, the more I fall in love with it.Â
What I love most about Bird by Bird is the way that Anne Lamott characterises writing as a gift, a giving over to someone else in a manner akin only to being a parent.
While I am not a parent, I am inspired by this idea that the written word can make a person braver and better by virtue of opening them up to the world and people in new ways. Despite the hurdles and difficulties of the practice, which Lamott deftly outlines, she ultimately decides that a writer is pursuing an act of generosity and openness. I really love this idea.
There is a real lack of pretentiousness to Lamottâs writing, which allows you to take these nuggets and accept what otherwise might be sentimental claims that âwriting is lifeâ as simple truths.Â
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER âą An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writerâs world and its treacherous swamps" (Los Angeles Times).Â
âSuperb writing adviceâŠ. Hilarious, helpful, and provocative.â âThe New York Times Book Review
For a quarter century, more than a million readersâscribes and scribblers of all ages and abilitiesâhave been inspired by Anne Lamottâs hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdomâŠ
In 1894, Annie Cohen Kopchovsky set out to ride her bicycle. Not to the market. Not around the block. Not across town. Annie was going to ride her bike all the way around the worldâbecause two men bet no woman could do it. Ha!
This picture book, with watercolor illustrationsâŠ
Growing up, I used to say, âI like reading sad stories.â It was my way of coping as I grieved the loss of my father, learned about my motherâs mental illness, and shuttled back and forth between grandparents' homes. Now, my old sentiment of reading âsad storiesâ has transformed into enjoying books that dive into a mixture of psychology, self-help, memoir, and graphic memoir. It supports me and my interest to learn other peopleâs stories, gain perspective, and journey through life with a healthy mind, body, and spirit. I carry the love with me that I was raised with, so in life, I look through the lens of love.
Iâve read this book twice and I would read it again and again because it taught me so much about myself in relation to how I want to approach and understand love. It affirmed my feelings about love and gave me the language and tools to understand the dynamics of love in platonic relationships, familial relationships, or romantic relationships.
I enjoyed how Hooks discussed themes such as spirituality, values, trauma, and greed. I consider this book to be an essential read and one I will always go back to when exploring concepts of love.
"The word "love" is most often defined as a noun, yet...we would all love better if we used it as a verb," writes bell hooks as she comes out fighting and on fire in All About Love. Here, at her most provocative and intensely personal, the renowned scholar, cultural critic, and feminist skewers our view of love as romance. In its place she offers a proactive new ethic for a people and a society bereft with lovelessness. As bell hooks uses her incisive mind and razor-sharp pen to explore the question "What is love?" her answers strike at both theâŠ
My name is Mechal Roe and I have loved creating fun and colorful art to inspire the inner child in all of us. I began my journey in children's print design and worked my way up to Clothing Designer. It was quite rewarding, and I learned so much. After, I left to create a children's book and toys to serve underrepresented youth. Creating the book was a form of introspection to move me along my heart's path. It was also a gift to those young ones who also struggle with understanding themselves in the world.
I recommend this book because it had a great influence on me as a young child. Moving through the world, particularly as a black woman, requires a great deal of self-reliance and resourcefulness. This book/essay speaks to universal truths that are often forgotten.
I found myself equipping my toolbox with quotes that have been relevant to my present day working life. I learned how to relate in a deeper way to myself and society while crafting a value system that, as I age, is allowed to become malleable.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays and poems on the transcendental movement in the United States became some of the most important literary pieces in American History. In this culmination of essays, Emerson takes the reader through different forms of philosophies that attempt to explain the world and man's purpose within it.
Heavily vested in the philosophy of transcendentalism, though not one to label himself a true follower of the movement, Emerson believed that spirituality and wholeness were central to the ways in which humans could place themselves within nature. Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a collection of integral works thatâŠ
The summer holidays have finally arrived and Scout canât wait for her adventure in the big rig with Dad. Theyâre on a mission to deliver donations of dog food to animal rescue shelters right across the state. Thereâll be dad-jokes, rock-collecting, and a brilliant plan that will make sure everyoneâsâŠ
My name is Mechal Roe and I have loved creating fun and colorful art to inspire the inner child in all of us. I began my journey in children's print design and worked my way up to Clothing Designer. It was quite rewarding, and I learned so much. After, I left to create a children's book and toys to serve underrepresented youth. Creating the book was a form of introspection to move me along my heart's path. It was also a gift to those young ones who also struggle with understanding themselves in the world.
I recommend this book because I am a survivor of the pre-social media era, where bikes and street lights reigned. The stark contrast of being a senior in high school, thinking I would never see my classmates again, to being a freshman in college and friends with the majority of them on Facebook was reminiscent of the Beagle Channel where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans meet; day and night. Watching their lives unfold twenty-plus years later has been an unexpected bonus.
With the unimaginable accessibility that social media has given, it also brought a version of myself that did not translate well online and thus weakened my connections over the years. The fear of judgment and being perceived increased, and reading Brene' Brown's book helped shed light on the involuntary actions of connection atrophy.
This book is one I will continue to read throughout my life to help my heartâŠ
Is vulnerability the same as weakness? "In our culture," teaches Dr. Brene Brown, "we associate vulnerability with emotions we want to avoid such as fear, shame, and uncertainty. Yet we too often lose sight of the fact that vulnerability is also the birthplace of joy, belonging, creativity, authenticity, and love." On The Power of Vulnerability, Dr. Brown offers an invitation and a promise-that when we dare to drop the armor that protects us from feeling vulnerable, we open ourselves to the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives. Here she dispelsâŠ
Iâm interested in everything â which is a problem, because thereâs not time for everything. So how do you find the best of the world and your own place in it? Understanding your motivations is a good place to start, hence The Molecule of More. The rest comes from exploring as much as you can, and that begins with understanding the scope of whatâs out there: ideas, attitudes, and cultures. The greatest joy in my life comes from the jaw-dropping realization that the world is so full of potential and wonder. These books are a guide to some of the best of it, and some of the breadth of it.
If youâre reading my book recommendations, itâs almost certainly because you read the book Dan Lieberman and I wrote about dopamine. In that case, youâll want to read the book that inspired us to write our book, Fred Previcâs seminal explanation of the technical aspects of dopamine and psychology. If you were hoping for a deeper diver on certain points, Previcâs text is the only way to go â and we remain grateful to him for his groundbreaking work.
What does it mean to be human? There are many theories of the evolution of human behavior which seek to explain how our brains evolved to support our unique abilities and personalities. Most of these have focused on the role of brain size or specific genetic adaptations of the brain. In contrast, in this text, Fred Previc presents a provocative theory that high levels of dopamine, the most widely studied neurotransmitter, account for all major aspects of modern human behavior. He further emphasizes the role of epigenetic rather than genetic factors in the rise of dopamine. Previc contrasts the greatâŠ
Iâm KrazeKode; Iâm a college student turned author who spent his teenage years reading a lot of web novels, and eventually, I ended up writing some. People liked them enough that I decided I wanted to do it as my job instead of writing boring code for some company, so now I do that instead. Iâve read a lot, and a good chunk of them were cultivation books. I really love this genre and find that it has a lot of potential to explore. It is generally a super fun setting and world and has a very different style and feel compared to most other Western English works, making it quite refreshing.
Set in a Western setting and with a system, itâd be easy to wonder why this book is on this list, but donât be fooled by its appearances; this story has all the basics of cultivation inside it; itâs simply hidden at first.
This book takes place in a subgenre of books that are commonly referred to as System Apocalypses or LitRPG Apocalypses, where a system arrives on Earth, giving people gamified abilities and bringing monsters that cause an apocalypse to happen.
This one, though, takes place in what is effectively a broad cultivation multiverse and expands what the genre tends to be and can be while also effectively delivering on the core premises of what makes cultivation stories so exciting: the power system. Itâs one of the most recommended books in this space, and for good reason.Â
Zac was alone in the middle of the forest when the world changed...
The whole planet was introduced to the multiverse by an unfeeling System... or God. A universe where an endless number of races and civilizations fought for power and dominion.
Zac finds himself stuck in the wilderness surrounded by deadly beasts, demons, and worse. Alone, lost and without answers, he must find the means to survive and get stronger in this new cut-throat reality.
With only a hatchet for his weapon, he'll have to seek out his family before the world collapses... or die trying.
Eleven-year-old Sierra just wants a normal life. After her military mother returns from the war overseas, the two hop from home to homelessness while Sierra tries to help her mom through the throes of PTSD.
Iâve always loved writing that explores mental health and its effect on finding love. I love characters who are their worst enemies and conflicts stemming from internal battles. Depression and anxiety have been something Iâve struggled with since childhood. My mental health issues made looking to the future with hope feel impossible sometimes. When I picked up a romance book where an anxious character found a happily ever after, it gave me hope. Seeing characters who donât have everything figured out and arenât always confident in themselves find their happy endings is a light at the end of a tunnelâpeace in the middle of a storm.Â
Sometimes, I crave a super sweet, short romance. Something thatâll be like a dopamine hit straight to the veins. This one was the perfect bite-size escape.
It is a second-chance romance set in a tattoo parlor after closing hours. The coupleâs flaws and reasons for their breakup were realistic. They were nowhere near perfect, and that makes their happy-ever-after more beautiful.Â
Two exes, an accidental run in, and one night in a tattoo shop.
It's been almost seven years since Nalo and Cori have last seen each other. Their untimely breakup sent them on their separate ways, and fear has kept them apart.
Now, with both women being in the same room with each other after so long, and after a loved one being lost, they must rehash the past and discuss what caused the rift in their relationship. But what both women have realized through it all, one thing remained the same: the love they shared.
As a child, I often wondered why people behave as they do, think and believe in certain ways, and/or rationalize away their behavior, ranging from the criminal to the bizarre. I have researched and studied the mind for nearly fifty years now. I have written or co-authored more than twenty books on the subject.
My new book, Mind Training, co-authored with my wife and student of over thirty years, is the culmination of everything weâve learned. In reality, it's a story that crosses over many disciplines, cites over 200 studies, offers multiple tools for empowerment in every chapter, and does so in the personable and friendly manner that my co-author is so very good at doing.
James Lee provides a straightforward, simplified explanation of our neurochemicalsâhow they impact our moods, our relationships, our careers, and more.
This is a neurochemical introduction for dummies in its simplicity, and a user manual for those who are not neuroscientists. The emphasis on the dopamine connection is particularly useful in light of the revelation that expecting to fail may become addictive, since when we fail, we are rewarded by a dopamine drip for being correct with our expectation.
Brand new revised and updated version of Your Brain Electric for 2017! In brain science, there are two phenomena which are becoming increasing common in modern society. Firstly, rates of depression and anxiety disorders are increasing, with as many as one in five people either clinically depressed or anxious at any given time. Secondly, our aging population is revealing a range of cognitive problems associated with aging, including memory loss and other cognitive impairments. Each of these has a common thread - They are underpinned by clear deficits in neurochemical function. You have probably heard that "depression is caused byâŠ
Thrillers are just thatâthrilling. But thrillers with lots of explosions and gunfights arenât that appealing to me since I know the hero will make it. With realistic domestic, at-home-style thrillers, the thrilling nature is how the scenarios could really happen. Those are the most thrilling ideas, the ones I can see how they could actually happen to someoneâor to me. That makes it exciting. This is why I read many of them and have written quite a few, too, because thereâs nothing more thrilling than thinking your home, or the people in it, isnât as safe as you thought.
One of the best books Iâve ever read. The storyâs puzzle is terrific, and the action is constant, intense, and entirely plausible.
This novel was one of the reasons I fell in love with the thriller genre, thanks to its continuous redirection and explosive revelations sprinkled throughout. Completely devourable.
If there was ever a novel I wish I could read again for the first time to be shocked all over again, this is unquestionably the one. Â
Every year, the Doctor David Beck and his young wife, Elizabeth, meet at the same deserted lake to rediscover their love for each other, and inscribe one more year into 'their' tree. But that year was the last. Elizabeth was kidnapped and Beck knocked unconscious. By the time he woke up, his wife had been discovered dead, and horribly mutilated. For eight years he grieves. Then one afternoon, he receives an anonymous e-mail telling him to log on to a certain web-site at a certain time, using a code that only the two of them knew. The screen opens ontoâŠ
Zeni lives in the Flint Hills of Southeast Kansas. This tale begins with her dream of befriending a miniature zebu calf coming true and follows Zeni as she works to befriend Zara. Enjoy full-color illustrations and a story filled with whimsy and plenty of opportunity for discussions around the perspectivesâŠ
All my life, I struggled to connect with people, but love and friendship evaded me. I constantly hurt others. Relationships were like a language I couldnât understand. When people loved me, I knew that they were mistaken, because I was unlovable. Then, a neuroscientist told me something that changed my life: The way we connect with othersâthe oxytocin responseâis wired into our brains in the first few years of life, before we can form conscious memories. That set me on the path of studying the neuroscience of love and connection. And I learned something amazing: I could change that wiring and learn to love.
In my younger days, I fell in love all the time but never stayed in love. After a few months, the thrill was gone, and I just didnât love the person anymore. My research showed that I was enthralled by dopamine, the brain chemical that makes us want stuff, but unable to transition to an oxytocin connection, the stage of true bonding.
This book explains the trap of dopamine: It drives us to desire and work to get a reward, but once we get it, dopamine drops and that reward no longer seems rewarding. It solves the puzzle of why romance fades but also why nothingâfood, money, successâever seems like enough. As well as the science, thereâs plenty of useful advice for getting off that dopamine treadmill to find day-to-day appreciation of what we already have. Â
