99 books like Be the Unicorn

I loved this book because little improvements lead to habits, which leads to remarkable results. I like how James Clear provides clarity about the four rules by making it obvious, making it attractive, making it easy, and making it satisfying.

The Power of the 1% Rule is something that I have always believed in for myself and with my teams to achieve any goal we are striving for. I also liked the clarity about the most effective way to change your habits is not to focus on what you want to achieve, but instead on who you want to become.

I was introduced to The One Thing by being on their Podcast. What that experience led to was understanding the core concept of the book; understanding that one thing that will aid any individual in reaching their primary goals. What I learned when reading is that the concepts reinforced for me in a different but usable way the practices of goal setting, time blocking, and defining my purpose and vision through the seasons of my influence.

By focusing their energy on one thing at a time, people are living more rewarding lives by building their careers, strengthening their finances, losing weight and getting in shape, deepening their faith, and nurturing stronger marriages and personal relationships.

YOU WANT LESS. You want fewer distractions and less on your plate. The daily barrage of e-mails, texts, tweets, messages, and meetings distract you and stress you out. The simultaneous demands of work and family… show more.

As a young, emerging leader, I needed a framework and handles to help me understand the task of leadership. I devoured Dr. Maxwell’s book and began to memorize the one-sentence statement that accompanied each leadership law. For instance, the Law of Navigation says, “Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course.”

If you don’t have this one, it is a must-read!

This is the companion book to The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Here is where the pastor in Dr. Maxwell emerges because he shows his readers the depth of leadership lessons and stories in the Bible.

Consider doing what I did…Make a flash card with the name of the leadership law on one side and the biblical character and the sentence that accompanies that leadership law on the other. Further, these daily readings will help you grow spiritually as you navigate your leadership journey.

Young readers love books with bright colors and fanciful characters. They enjoy stories that are easy to understand, yet have an interesting plot. Katherine Holabird’s series, Twinkle, has it all. Twinkle is a feisty little fairy, impeccably illustrated, and lovable at first sight. In each book in the series, Twinkle solves a different troublesome issue, such as making it through her first day at fairy school, trying to remember her spells, and dealing with her new pet dragon. The vibrant illustrations add even more enjoyment to the stories. 

In addition to the Twinkle picture books, slightly older fairy-loving children will be delighted with the leveled readers that feature further adventures of the mischievous little fairy named Twinkle.

Kylie has always played by the rules. One bad decision sends her to Shadow Falls Camp, a place for troubled teams which isn’t what it seems. Kylie finds herself surrounded by vampires, werewolves, and shifters. Believing they exist is difficult enough, facing the fact that she’s one of them is impossible. Especially when they can’t figure out what she is. 

In recent years, DC has branched out into standalone YA graphic novels that reimagine their characters, and Nubia: Real One is my favorite one yet. In the mainline comics, Nubia was Wonder Woman’s long-lost twin sister, but here McKinney and Smith reimagine her as a teenager in the southern United States, dealing with her Amazon powers as she reckons with injustice and police brutality. The book was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and McKinney and Smith’s desire to create a heroine that resonates with the issues faced by young, Black readers, and they deliver a fantastic story.

Action, romance, the apocalypse, all rolled into a tale of reincarnation with a Hunger Games twist. Intrigued? You should be. After The Flash (an event that rids the planet of most water and life), the remaining survivors have more to fear than starvation and thirst. As it turns out, the characters on tarot cards actually exist, and these magically gifted individuals must compete in a match to the death until only one is left standing. The story centers around Evie, who learns she is the Empress, as she’s hunted down by the game’s most lethal player, Death. Evie may not remember her past lives, but Death certainly does, especially the part where the two were once married…and she may have tried murdering him. All's fair in love and war, right?   

I relate so much to how Alina initially feels about the claim that she’s the sun summoner. How can I be special? I’m no one. And her connection to Mal is so intense. It reminds me of my connection to my childhood friend, who was my everything.

When we were separated, I was so unsettled. I wrote letters constantly, just like Alina, and I doubted we would ever be together again. When Alina takes control of her powers, I understand her reluctance to embrace her new life and her resistance to becoming a Grisha. After all, why would any of that matter if she couldn’t be with Mal anymore? 

I’m a huge fan of the rivalry between Superman and Lex Luthor, so I was excited to check out this new story set during their middle school years–possibly the most dramatic time in a kid’s life.

This Clark is a little spicy, which I enjoyed. I like that he doesn’t always make good choices. In Lex, he finds a brainy outsider searching for a confidant. Brendan Reichs gives us a friendship between boys that feels honest, and Jerry Gaylord’s delightfully expressive art captures their emotions nicely.

There were laughs but also a simmering tension that kept my attention, especially as it related to a little lie that became a big problem. This story is a nice reminder that heroes and villains aren’t born; they’re made.