Get Inspired: The Top 20 Books Every Home Library Needs

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In this post, we list the books that have had a notable impact on our lives, and we are so excited to share them with you.

Our goal is to help you achieve balance, so we chose a wide range of books that will provide direction and insight for all areas of life.

We have hand selected 20 books that give you everything you need for growth & success, health & wellness, balance, simplicity and peace.

Let’s get started..

Creating Your Home Library

When it comes to creating your very own home library, a common question you may ask is: How many books should a home library have?

There are several factors to consider. Space constraints, topic interests, and the number of people this home library will serve can all lead to differing answers to that simple question.

Maybe you even prefer audio books over a physical copy.

While that specific number is ultimately up to you, the main objective of this book list was to focus less on the number, and more on the breadth and balance of topics covered.

The books on this list are geared towards the enhancement, growth, and development of your life as a whole. And as your life unfolds, these books can be revisited again and again, giving new insights and wisdom with each season of life.

So if you are still wondering: How do I create a personal library at home?

The books and categories within this post are meant to give you the inspiration and motivation to do just that!

Mindful Living

Mindfulness has been shown to improve cognitive function, reduce stress, and increase our overall sense of well being. Yet, it takes a bit of intention and patience to train our minds to stay present. 

The books in this section provide you with tools to help achieve this. By applying the simple practices within these books, you can begin reaping all the benefits mindful living has to offer. 

Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World

Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World

This book reveals a set of simple yet powerful practices that can help break the cycle of stress, unhappiness, and exhaustion. It promotes the kind of peace that gets into your bones. By investing just 10 minutes each day, you can learn simple mindfulness meditations, and fully reap their benefits.

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

If you want to know how to actually live in the present moment, this book is for you. Here, the author talks of mindfulness as learning to pay attention intentionally. He maps a path for cultivating mindfulness in one's own life, with simple exercises that can be done by anyone, anywhere, at any time.

Health & Wellness

The books in this section focus on the foundation, as well as optimization, of your health. Having energy, stamina and a sense of well-being is going to be key in getting the most out of life. 

When you put an effort into your health and wellness you will truly be able to maximize each day.

The 100 Year Lifestyle: Breakthrough Solutions For Real, Lasting Personal and Cultural Change

The 100 Year Lifestyle: Breakthrough Solutions For Real, Lasting Personal and Cultural Change

This book hammers home the point that, since you're likely to reach 100 years, you'd better plan accordingly. Things like preventing the top 10 diseases, building multi-generational relationships, building work and rest periods throughout life, and so much more.

Boundless: Upgrade Your Brain, Optimize Your Body & Defy Aging

Boundless: Upgrade Your Brain, Optimize Your Body & Defy Aging

This is basically the encyclopedia when it comes to optimizing your mind, body, and spirit. Learn to reverse aging, stay in shape, and get the peak performance from your body. You'll learn about proactive medical treatments, supplements, and more.

Personal Development

Within this section are books that will help you work on your mindset, self-image, and habits.

These books will lay the foundation needed to get you to the place where you feel capable and confident when setting and moving forward on your goals & all the things you seek to achieve in life.

The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness

The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness

The message of this book is direct: turn simple disciplines into massive success & happiness. Our lives are divided into days, and if each day is a success, you can't help but have a successful life. It gives you an easy formula that works in all areas of your life.

The DNA of Success: Know What You Want to Get What You Want

The DNA of Success: Know What You Want to Get What You Want

In this book, the author reveals how we all possess what it takes to achieve great success. But first, to uncover the motivation required, we must pinpoint our Core Desires -- that intense want that drives you from within. Whatever your goals might be, your Core Desires are key to reaching them.

Simplified Finance

This section will provide you the knowledge needed to achieve financial success. Having your finances in order allows you peace of mind and life opportunities that you may not have otherwise. 

The books listed below are based on timeless principles, and can be applied and implemented from any starting point.

The Richest Man In Babylon

The Richest Man In Babylon

This book teaches you the basics of managing your personal finances. It is easy to digest, contains timeless principles, and is told in the form of "Babylonian Parables". While not exactly a "how-to" book, you'll learn the fundamentals and be able to adapt them to your life.

Fail-Safe Investing: Lifelong Financial Security in 30 Minutes

Fail-Safe Investing: Lifelong Financial Security in 30 Minutes

Inside, you will learn the "17 Simple Rules of Investing", and how to create a "Permanent Portfolio". You get the tools and know how to make your own decisions. The advice is easy to follow, and implementing & managing your portfolio is practically effortless.

Relationships

The quality of our relationships directly impacts the quality of our lives, including the one with ourselves. They can provide a sense of belonging, community, and a multifaceted view of the world. They also require some effort, effective communication and compassion to keep them great.

The books in this section focus on the fundamental components that great relationships are built upon.

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

Nonviolent Communication is all about knowing how to ask for what we want, how to hear others even in disagreement, and how to move toward solutions that work for all. Putting it into action will help you to be authentic and strengthen your relationships with others

Good Vibes, Good Life: How Self-Love Is the Key to Unlocking Your Greatness

Good Vibes, Good Life: How Self-Love Is the Key to Unlocking Your Greatness

In this book, the author stresses the importance of self-love, and how it is key to achieving lasting happiness. He provides tried-and-tested techniques to help you prioritize well-being, cultivate positive lifestyle habits, and overcome all of the things holding you back from living a richer, more meaningful life

Slow Living

Slow living encourages us to adopt a slower pace, but it is much more than just slowing down. It's about bringing a quality of awareness, attention, and mindful engagement to our everyday life.

The books in this section cover the joys and simple pleasures this way of life contains, and helps you combat the struggles of our fast paced modern world. 

The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living

The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living

The Little Book of Hygge introduces you to this cornerstone concept of Danish life. Loosely translated, Hygge is defined as a sense of comfort, togetherness, and well-being. This book invites you to slow down, get cozy, turn off the phones, turn down the lights, bring out the candles and be here now.

A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life

A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life

We are living through the most prosperous age in all of human history, yet many are listless, divided, and miserable. The rate of change in our modern world has outpaced our capacity to adapt. A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide outlines a worldview that will empower you to live a slower, wiser life.

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Minimalist Home

Creating a minimalist home is not about having a specific number of items, but having the amount that’s right for you, your space, and your lifestyle.

The books in this section provide a mix of inspiration, ideas, how-to's and simple processes to guide you in curating your ideal minimalist home. 

Minimalista: Your Step-by-Step Guide to a Better Home, Wardrobe, and Life

Minimalista: Your Step-by-Step Guide to a Better Home, Wardrobe, and Life

Minimalista offers a fun, approachable framework for functional minimalism. As a professional home organizer, Shira observed that clutter is a universal stress trigger. Over the years, she created a signature decluttering & organization process built around five key steps: Clarify, Edit, Organize, Elevate, and Maintain.

This is Home: The Art of Simple Living

This is Home: The Art of Simple Living

This is Home is a back-to-basics guide on how to create authentic wholehearted interiors. It's about living simply—finding the essence of what makes you happy at home and creating spaces that reflect your needs and style. Learn how our homes can function as a place to rest our bodies, rejoice in our relationships, and restore our values.

Home Organization

Creating simple and functional organization solutions is one of the best ways to keep your space clean & clutter free. Clutter can be overwhelming if it doesn't have a designated place within your home.

The books in this section consider a mix of function, aesthetic, and practicality to help you with the task of organizing.

Beautifully Organized: A Guide to Function and Style in Your Home

Beautifully Organized: A Guide to Function and Style in Your Home

Create an organized, warm, and welcoming home with professional organizer Nikki Boyd. With her keen eye for detail, Nikki guides readers through her signature steps, teaching how to graciously share your homes with family and friends to create treasured shared experiences and memories.

Top-To-Bottom Home Organizing: A Complete Guide to Organizing Every Room in the Home

Top-To-Bottom Home Organizing: A Complete Guide to Organizing Every Room in the Home

You will never need another organizational book; this one is an encyclopedia. Here you will learn a systematic approach to home organization, inspired by the minimalist lifestyle. Whether you want to confront your household clutter with confidence or establish functional storage solutions, this book has you covered.

Daily Readers

A daily dose of insight and inspiration can profoundly impact your mindset, attitude, and outlook on life.

The books in this section contain short, single page thought provoking messages meant to improve the quality of your thoughts, and thus your life. 

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

This book provides you with an entire year of insights and exercises to help you live well, drawn from the timeless wisdom of Stoic Philosophy. Following this advice will increase your resilience & self-knowledge, and keep you in control of your emotions.

Simple Abundance: 365 Days to a Balanced and Joyful Life

Simple Abundance: 365 Days to a Balanced and Joyful Life

With daily inspirational reflections, Simple Abundance helps you reclaim your true authentic self, and find balance during life's busiest moments. Sarah's work celebrates quiet joys, simple pleasures, and well-spent moments to remind us how to find beauty in the everyday.

Guided Journals

The previous books in this guide are meant to be consumed. The ones in this section put the pen in your hand.

While we can gain a lot of knowledge from others, we also learn valuable lessons from our own life experiences. With the help of these journals, take the time to observe, reflect, dream, and explore the wealth of knowledge within yourself.

The 5 Minute Journal

The Five Minute Journal

Start your day with appreciation and end it with reflection. This popular journal has enough pages for 6 months. It features thoughtfully designed prompts, such as weekly challenges, gratitude, daily highlights, inspirational quotes, daily affirmations, and self-reflection.

Daily Greatness Journal

Dailygreatness Journal and Planner

Dailygreatness combines a yearly mindset journal, goal and appointment planner, as well as daily tools for self-mastery. Based on positive psychology and peak performance strategies, the Daily Greatness System helps you manage stress, defeat overwhelm, and create positive habits so you can achieve your goals faster.

Final Thoughts

We hope this list was able to provide you with some inspiration and a few home library ideas to try out for yourself!

Books are a great way to gain perspectives and lessons we might have otherwise missed out on. These lessons can have lasting impacts on our health, mindset, relationships, and so much more; they can truly transform our life.

When adding a physical copy of a book to the shelf, consider whether or not it can be revisited again and reflected upon in the future, yet still provide new insight.

What About You?

What book has had the biggest impact on your life?

Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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