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2018 Personal Growth Reading Challenge: Mid-Year Update!

2018 personal growth reading challenge update

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Happy writing!

At the beginning of this year, I shared the 2018 Personal Growth Reading Challenge. This is something I created to encourage myself to read more widely within the personal growth field and make sure I’m paying attention to all important aspects of life, not just the ones I usually enjoy reading about 😉

Now we’re halfway through the year, I want to share what I’ve been reading. Some of the books I’ve read so far have been on my “to read” list for ages, while some were pleasant surprises I only discovered over the past couple of months. Some of the books I loved (and I’ve shared my favourites below), while some of them I definitely did not (interestingly, some of my least favourites were the most popular books on this list!).

Overall, I’m super glad to be doing this challenge. It’s prompted me to read books I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise, books I’ve also learned a lot from in the process. I know many people ditch books they’re not particularly enjoying (and there is a lot of sense in this—life is short!), but especially with non-fiction, I still try to finish the books I don’t like or don’t agree with as I find it useful to think about why and where my own experiences, perspectives, and beliefs differ.

Reading Challenge Progress

Here is my list of challenge reads for 2018 so far. If you’re interested in checking out the books I mention, you can find links* to each book below the image. I would love to hear what you’ve been reading and enjoying so far this year too, so leave a comment at the bottom of this post and share your recommendations!

  1. How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen and Listen so Little Kids Will Talk by Joanna Faber & Julie King
  2. No Bad Kids: Toddler Discipline Without Shame by Janet Lansbury
  3. The Whole30 by Melissa & Dallas Hartwig
  4. You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
  5. The Secret Lives of Introverts: Inside Our Hidden Worlds by Jen Granneman
  6. Embracing Your Inner Critic: Turning Self-Criticism Into a Creative Asset by Hal & Sidra Stone
  7. Deep Work by Cal Newport
  8. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by Dearly Departing by Bronnie Ware
  9. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
  10. You’re Going to Survive: True stories about adversity, rejection, defeat, terrible bosses, online trolls, 1-star Yelp reviews, and other soul-crushing experiences—and how to get through it by Alexandra Franzen
  11. The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders
  12. The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to be Calm in a Busy World by Haemin Sunim
  13. DIY MFA: Write with Focus, Read with Purpose, Build Your Community by Gabriela Pereira
  14. The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga

What have you been reading so far this year? I’d love to hear your favourite so leave a comment and share your recommendations.

*These are affiliate links, which means if you click through and purchase the book, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for using these links and supporting this site!

Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash