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Looking for your next great read? I’m sharing 10 of my all-time favorite non-fiction books—covering everything from marriage and time management to friendship and spirituality. These titles have challenged, inspired, and guided me over the years, and I hope they do the same for you. Whether you’re loading up your summer reading list or just love a good book recommendation, this episode is for you!
I’m Mindy Peterson, host of Enhance Life with Music podcast, where we explore the ways music can make our lives better. And this is Microhance, a micro-dose of musical enhancement.
Today’s micro episode is the result of a listener suggestion, which was to share my top favorites of a particular category, whether it’s in my field of expertise or not. I loved this cross-disciplinary idea; it’s like a form of holistic cross-training—not for your muscles, but for your life; and the idea resulted in Micro 32, where I shared my top 5 favorite podcasts. Today’s micro episode is a companion episode, where I’ll share my top favorite books.
Here in the US, we just celebrated Memorial Day, a day to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service of our country. This holiday is also the unofficial start of summer here, and a time when many of us may be looking for some summer reading material. If you’ve listened to this podcast for long, you know I LOVE reading and books, and have ever since I can remember. (Shoutout to my Mom, who read to my siblings and me tons when we were little, always had lots of books around, regularly took us to the library, and modeled reading herself). So trying to pick my top favorite books is kind of like having to pick a favorite child. But here goes.
Note: In the spirit of cross-training, these books will not be directly music-related, but I have interviewed MANY incredible authors of amazing music-related books on this show, and I’ll include a link to those in the show notes. One other note: I rarely read fiction, so these recommendations are all non-fiction.
Here we go! Some of my top favorite books on 10 topics:
- Marriage: The Exceptional Seven Percent, by Gregory Popcak
- Communication: Crucial Conversations (multiple authors)
- Politics: I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening), by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers
- Spirituality: Unoffendable, by Brant Hansen
- Mindset & Cognitive Behavior: The Chimp Paradox, by Steve Peters
- Habits & Human Nature: Better Than Before, by Gretchen Rubin
- Life Balance: (both are oldies but goodies)
- Margin, by Richard Swenson
- Boundaries, by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Shoutout to my Dad here, as I discovered both those titles on his bookshelves when I was in high school.)
- Time Management: 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, by Laura Vanderkam
- Friendship: Frientimacy, by Shasta Nelson
- Women:
- 13 Things Mentally Strong Women Don’t Do, by Amy Morin
- The Confidence Code, by Katty Kay & Claire Shipman
I’ll include links to all these in the show notes, as well as those music-related books that have been featured on the show.
I hope this top favorite roundup gives you some ideas and inspiration for your own holistic cross-training and summer reading. I know each one of these titles has impacted my life and perspective for years after reading it. That’s the thing about great books: they don’t just inform; they transform. Reading really is one of the simplest, most powerful ways to invest in who you’re becoming – and the benefits extend to everyone in our orbit.
I would love to hear what your top favorite books are!
You can always connect with me on email (mindy@mpetersonmusic.com), Facebook, Instagram, X, or LinkedIn.
I’m Mindy Peterson, and I hope this inspires you to enhance your life with music.
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