Bibliophiles unite; our favorite time of the year is upon us, book club time! The girlies (and some guys) have worked hard this year to compile a dozen books to help you level up your 2026.

January: Don’t Believe Everything You Think -Joseph Nguyen

New York Times and International Bestseller!

No matter what has happened to you, where you are from, or what you have done, you can still find total peace, unconditional love, complete fulfillment, and an abundance of joy in your life. No person is an exception to this. Darkness only exists because of the light, which means even in our darkest hour, light must exist.

Within these pages, you'll find timeless wisdom to empower you with the understanding of our mind's infinite potential to create any experience of life we want, regardless of external circumstances.

Don't Believe Everything You Think is not about rewiring your brain, rewriting your past, or positive thinking. We cannot solve our problems with the same level of consciousness that created them. Tactics are temporary. An expansion of consciousness is permanent.

February: How To Hold A Cockroach -Matthew Maxwell

How To Hold A Cockroach: A Book For Those Who Are Free and Don’t Know It-

A struggling boy begins a life-changing journey when a disgusting guest disturbs his dinner. As he encounters other sources of suffering, the boy must investigate fundamental truths he has believed about himself, love, and life. He confronts the most persistent questions of life: What am I? What causes me to suffer? How can I be at peace with the traumas of the past and the uncertainty of the future? What determines how I experience all this? The audio version enlivens the story with original music and sound design by producer and songwriter Mason Maxwell and the captivating voice of award-winning narrator Simon Vance. With a message both surprising and simple, How to Hold a Cockroach is a love letter to humankind, an audiobook for those who are free and don't know it.

March: The Anxious Generation -Jonathan Haidt

THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Wall Street Journal Top 10 Book of 2024 A New York Times and Washington Post

In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (pronounced "height") lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the “play-based childhood” began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the “phone-based childhood” in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this “great rewiring of childhood” has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies.

April: The Common Rule -Justin Whitmel Earley

Habits form us more than we form them. The modern world is a machine of 1,000 invisible habits, forming us into anxious, busy, and depressed people. We yearn for the freedom and peace of the gospel but remain addicted to our technology, shackled by our screens, and exhausted by our routines. But because our habits are the water we swim in, they are almost invisible to us. What can we do about it?

The answer to our contemporary chaos is to practice a rule of life that aligns our habits to our beliefs. The Common Rule offers four daily and four weekly habits, designed to help us create new routines and transform frazzled days into lives of love for God and neighbor. Justin Earley provides concrete, doable practices, such as a daily hour of phoneless presence or a weekly conversation with a friend. These habits are “common” not only because they are ordinary, but also because they can be practiced in community. They have been lived out by people across all walks of life - businesspeople, professionals, parents, students, retirees - who have discovered new hope and purpose.

As you embark on these life-giving practices, you will find the freedom and rest for your soul that comes from aligning belief in Jesus with the practices of Jesus.

May: Emotions Revealed -Paul Ekman

*"A tour de force. If you read this book, you'll never look at other people in quite the same way again.*"―Malcolm Gladwell

In Emotions Revealed, Ekman distills decades of research into a practical, mind-opening, and life-changing guide to reading the emotions of those around us. He answers such questions as: How does our body signal to others whether we are slightly sad or anguished, peeved or enraged? Can we learn to distinguish between a polite smile and the genuine thing? Can we ever truly control our emotions? Packed with unique exercises and photographs, and a new chapter on emotions and lying that encompasses security and terrorism as well as gut decisions, Emotions Revealed is an indispensable resource for navigating our emotional world.

June: Raising Securely Attached Kids -Eli Harwood

Therapist and wildly popular attachment research expert Eli Harwood (@attachmentnerd) illuminates the science that explores our innate human need to bond with other humans, and helps us harness it as the only parenting approach proven to have a lasting impact. Her loyal following—fast approaching the millions—connects to Eli’s accessible approach that helps everyone form secure and close relationships with their kids, which helps them develop resilience, confidence, and form close relationships in the future.

July: Hand Me Another Brick -Charles R. Swindoll

Hand Me Another Brick: Timeless Lessons on Leadership

Do others look to you for leadership? Do you face a major task or shoulder heavy responsibilities? Do you want to take your leadership skills to a higher level?

When Nehemiah confronted the task of rebuilding Jerusalem's wall, he was heartbroken by the damage he saw and nearly overwhelmed by the task that lay before him. Yet through the application of timeless leadership principles, Nehemiah completed this nearly impossible project, and laid a pattern for success which is just as valid for us today.

Charles Swindoll brings his sensible and straightforward style to offer a deeply spiritual approach to the role of leader. Whatever the context, secular or ministerial, he demonstrates how to size up a task, organize and motivate a team, and respond to inevitable obstacles such as these:

Unforeseen setbacks
Unrelenting deadlines
Criticism and outside resistance
Personality conflicts
Financial pressures and temptations

The insights that Swindoll draws from Nehemiah's wise administration will change your approach to leadership forever.

August: The Contemplative Pastor -Eugene H. Peterson

Any pastor who needs and wants to get back to basics will do well to absorb this book. Eugene Peterson, well known as "a pastor's pastor," here speaks words of wisdom and refreshment for pastors caught in the busyness of preaching, teaching, and "running the church."

In The Contemplative Pastor Peterson highlights the often-overlooked essentials of ministry, first by redefining the meaning of pastor through three strengthening adjectives: unbusy, subversive, andapocalyptic. The main part of the book focuses on pastoral ministry and spiritual direction "between Sundays": these chapters begin with poetic reflections on the Beatitudes and then discuss such themes as curing souls, praying with eyes open, the language of prayer, the ministry of small talk, and sabbatical--all with engaging, illustrative anecdotes from Peterson's own experience.

The book ends with several meaning-full poems that pivot on the incarnation, the doctrine closest to pastoral work. Entitled "The Word Made Fresh," this concluding section is a felicitous finale to Peterson's discerning, down-to-earth reflections on the art of pastoring.

September: Do Nothing -Celeste Headlee

In Do Nothing, award-winning journalist Celeste Headlee illuminates a new path ahead, seeking to institute a global shift in our thinking so we can stop sabotaging our well-being, put work aside, and start living instead of doing. As it turns out, we’re searching for external solutions to an internal problem. We won’t find what we’re searching for in punishing diets, productivity apps, or the latest self-improvement schemes. Yet all is not lost—we just need to learn how to take time for ourselves, without agenda or profit, and redefine what is truly worthwhile.

Pulling together threads from history, neuroscience, social science, and even paleontology, Headlee examines long-held assumptions about time use, idleness, hard work, and even our ultimate goals. Her research reveals that the habits we cling to are doing us harm; they developed recently in human history, which means they are habits that can, and must, be broken. It’s time to reverse the trend that’s making us all sadder, sicker, and less productive, and return to a way of life that allows us to thrive.

October: Prayer -Timothy Keller

Christians are taught in their churches and schools that prayer is the most powerful way to experience God. But few receive instruction or guidance in how to make it genuinely meaningful. In Prayer, renowned pastor Timothy Keller delves into the many facets of this everyday act.

With his trademark insights and energy, Keller offers biblical guidance as well as specific prayers for certain situations, such as dealing with grief, loss, love, and forgiveness. He discusses ways to make prayers more personal and powerful, and how to establish a practice of prayer that works for each reader.

Dr. Keller’s previous books have sold more than 1 million copies. His Redeemer Presbyterian Church is not only a major presence in his home base of New York, it has also helped to launch more than 250 other churches in 48 cities around the world. His teachings have already helped millions, the majority of whom pray regularly. And with Prayer, he’ll show them how to find a deeper connection with God.

November: The Laws of Human Nature -Robert Greene

We are social animals. Our very lives depend on our relationships with people. Knowing why people do what they do is the most important tool we can possess, without which our other talents can only take us so far. Drawing from the ideas and examples of Pericles, Queen Elizabeth I, Martin Luther King Jr, and many others, Greene teaches us how to detach ourselves from our own emotions and master self-control, how to develop the empathy that leads to insight, how to look behind people's masks, and how to resist conformity to develop your singular sense of purpose. Whether at work, in relationships, or in shaping the world around you, The Laws of Human Nature offers brilliant tactics for success, self-improvement, and self-defense.

December: The Let Them Theory -Mel Robbins

The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About

What if the key to happiness, success, and love was as simple as two words?

If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or frustrated with where you are, the problem isn't you. The problem is the power you give to other people. Two simple words—Let Them—will set you free. Free from the opinions, drama, and judgments of others. Free from the exhausting cycle of trying to manage everything and everyone around you. The Let Them Theory puts the power to create a life you love back in your hands—and this book will show you exactly how to do it.

In her latest groundbreaking book, The Let Them Theory, Mel Robbins—New York Times bestselling author and one of the world's most respected experts on motivation, confidence, and mindset—teaches you how to stop wasting energy on what you can't control and start focusing on what truly matters: YOU. Your happiness. Your goals. Your life.

Using the same no-nonsense, science-backed approach that's made The Mel Robbins Podcast a global sensation, Robbins explains why The Let Them Theory is already loved by millions and how you can apply it in eight key areas of your life to make the biggest impact. As you listen, you'll realize how much energy and time you've been wasting trying to control the wrong things—at work, in relationships, and in pursuing your goals—and how this is keeping you from the happiness and success you deserve.

Written as an easy-to-understand guide, Robbins shares relatable stories from her own life, highlights key takeaways, relevant research and introduces you to world-renowned experts in psychology, neuroscience, relationships, happiness, and ancient wisdom who champion The Let Them Theory every step of the way.

Learn how to:

Stop wasting energy on things you can't control

Stop comparing yourself to other people

Break free from fear and self-doubt

Release the grip of people's expectations

Build the best friendships of your life

Create the love you deserve

Pursue what truly matters to you with confidence

Build resilience against everyday stressors and distractions

Define your own path to success, joy, and fulfillment

...and so much more.

The Let Them Theory will forever change the way you think about relationships, control, and personal power. Whether you want to advance your career, motivate others to change, take creative risks, find deeper connections, build better habits, start a new chapter, or simply create more happiness in your life and relationships, this book gives you the mindset and tools to unlock your full potential.

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory now and discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words.