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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,624 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

Gina Meyers Why did I love this book?

I read Don Miguel Ruiz's, The Four Agreements. I also listened to his book on tape and watched YouTube videos that further dive into the agreements we make with ourselves and others. 

This book reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the book offers a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.

Don Miguel Ruiz has dedicated his life to sharing the wisdom of the ancient Toltecs. I initially started reading this book while visiting friends in the Bahamas. As I have been out and about, I noticed a young woman reading this book at a grocery co-op in Isla Vista next to UC Santa Barbara. I also ran into another young woman who works at Target, and both young women and myself agreed that this book is life-changing.

The most critical part of this book is the tapes we play in our mind in regard to our own identity and how other people's tapes about us are fictional in nature. Breaking through the bonds of these "character analyses" we must learn to grow outside of the "tapes we replay in our minds." We must rewrite our story to grow.

By Don Miguel Ruiz,

Why should I read it?

13 authors picked The Four Agreements as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In The Four Agreements, bestselling author don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.

•  A New York Times bestseller for over a decade
•  Translated into 46 languages worldwide
 
“This book by don Miguel Ruiz, simple yet so powerful, has made a tremendous difference in how I think and act in every encounter.” — Oprah Winfrey

“Don Miguel Ruiz’s…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

Gina Meyers Why did I love this book?

I just finished listening to the book, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. In the book, it teaches us to live in the now. How often are you living with intent? Often, based upon life stressors, we live by the seat of our pants, everyone becoming amateur firefighters, dealing with whatever emergency is critical to extinguish in the moment.

Living with a life full of gratitude helps to calm the nerves and build a plan for each day. By having an attitude of gratitude, we can have the life of our dreams.

Mallika Choprka, daughter of Deepak Choprka, recounted a story of arranging a meeting in San Francisco with Eckhart Tolle, which was nine months in the making. She described not feeling great and needing to catch a plane from Southern California to Northern California for their very important meeting, which she hoped to use some tidbits of wisdom from Mr. Tolle for her Power of Intent book she was still in the process of writing. What she learned from Mr. Tolle, as I too have learned, is to live in the present moment and all its’ glory and joy.

Living in the now has helped me to enjoy each moment.

By Eckhart Tolle,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked A New Earth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

LOVED THE POWER OF NOW? DISCOVER THE LIFE-CHANGING FOLLOW-UP FROM THE MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLER

'A wake-up call for the entire planet. A New Earth helps us to stop creating our own suffering and obsessing over the past and what the future might be and to put ourselves in the now' OPRAH WINFREY

'My No. 1 guru will always be Eckhart Tolle' CHRIS EVANS

THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE CHART-TOPPING PODCAST OPRAH & ECKHART TOLLE: A NEW EARTH
_________

Are you ready to change your life?

In Eckhart Tolle's ground-breaking book, he gives you the spiritual framework to:
- Understand yourself…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy

Gina Meyers Why did I love this book?

I absolutely loved this book because it really followed the lives of many American families and how they became millionaires.

It gave simple and yet effective strategies to become wealthy. It dispelled many rumors as well. I loved the fact that the book talked about how most, if not all, families valued education for their children. The families, no matter what, made sure their children had education paid for so their children could focus on education.

By Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Millionaire Next Door as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The bestselling The Millionaire Next Door identifies seven common traits that show up again and again among those who have accumulated wealth. Most of the truly wealthy in this country don't live in Beverly Hills or on Park Avenue-they live next door. This new edition, the first since 1998, includes a new foreword for the twenty-first century by Dr. Thomas J. Stanley.


My project is...

Dream It Alive Dream Board Kit

Dream It Alive includes all the supplies you need to make a dream board--a sturdy poster board, a non-toxic glue stick, a Dream It Alive Dream Board Kit Book, assorted magazines with hundreds of pictures, a collage of words, quotes, and pictures that visually represent the life and future you want.

It also includes sections on How to make a Dream Board, Steps to Achieving all of your Dreams and Goals, Holistic Healing Exercises, a guided journal filled with reflections, writing prompts, and exercises to help you plan your goals and get inspired to attain them with successful living quotes and journal writing prompts. Creating a dream board that is uniquely tailored to your dreams will help you focus your energy toward actually making them happen.

My book recommendation list