Books to Recenter Your Mind in the New Year

A time for change, growth and meaningful self-reflection, the new year is a reinvigorating time and a fantastic opportunity to set intentions for the days to come. As readers, we love turning to the written word to guide our actions and provide thoughtful direction for the year ahead. In this spirit of rejuvenation and well-being, your favorite booksellers at Da Shop: Books + Curiosities are here to recommend a variety of titles to start your year off right by prioritizing self-care, nurturing your creativity and offering valuable reflections on love and life.

SEE ALSO: Da Shop’s Greatest Hits: Volume 1

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The Little Frog’s Guide to Self-Care

by Maybell Eequay

Selected by Dimpna, Mariko and Lani

We LOVE this book! The Little Frog’s Guide to Self-Care is full of whimsical illustrations brimming with personality. It’s not your usual self-help advice book—it’s a “go-to” companion, featuring a little frog with sassy boots and a mushroom cap who shares heartfelt advice about life and well-being. Little Frog isn’t here to lecture or overwhelm but rather to gently remind you that it’s okay to pause and show some kindness to yourself as well as to the world around you. This unique care guide is an exuberant way to jump start yourself onto a new lily pad and have some fun on this journey called life!

SEE ALSO: Da Shop’s Greatest Hits: Volume 2

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Sum: Forty Tales From the Afterlives

by David Eagleman

Selected by Kristen

A neuroscientist muses about the afterlife. Maybe that sounds a bit grim, but famed neuroscientist David Eagleman’s collection poses thought-provoking questions and asks us to reconsider our perspective on life, its value and our identity in the grand cosmos. I found the collection to be a playful invitation to join a deeper thinker as he wanders the perimeter of the great question of life after death.

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The Work of Art: How Something Comes From Nothing

by Adam Moss

Selected by Megan

Pitched as a guided tour inside the artist’s head, The Work of Art is a groundbreaking work of conversation with some of the most accomplished artists of our time. Centering the question, “What is the work of art?” author Moss dialogues with painters, filmmakers, authors, sculptors, architects, and musicians who share the many stages of their rigorous processes, even offering glimpses into their nascent sketches, napkin doodles and diary entries. This is the perfect book for creatives of any and all mediums looking to prioritize their artistic practice in the new year.

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The Last Lecture

by Randy Pausch

Selected by Jen

The first book that comes to mind that brings me perspective on the bigger picture of life and helps me reset my priorities is The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. In 2008, when this book was published, I was pre-marriage, pre-kids and pre-caretaking my older loved ones. The book offered a great roadmap of how to live life to the fullest, then it hit differently as I crossed each milestone. Randy’s lessons sink in with more clarity as I put each to practice in real life. I still get most things wrong, but the fact that I get to wake up the next day and try again, try to do better and be better, is the gift this book has brought me.

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