My Self-Care Book Collection

It's no secret that I love books, but what is surprising is the amount of time I'm investing into books that aren't fiction - and how rapidly my collection of non-fiction lifestyle-y books is growing. I've always found comfort in reading and I connect with written quotes a lot better than I do a verbal lecture. I think it's the writer in me that just has this passion for words and the ability to appreciate them on a deeper level. A lot of these books, I feel, are also replacing the need for emotional creativity that stopped for me when I left art therapy and I also find a lot of comfort in that, too. SO without further ado, allow me to walk you through my self-care book collection.

So, this is my current collection. I started building it at the beginning of the year when I discovered the Calm book by Micheal Acton Smith and I've slowly been adding to it over the past few months. A few I did own previously - such as the Little Book of Crystals and my Wreck This Journal - but I'd never really considered them part of a 'collection' and I didn't have them displayed on a shelf like they are now. I have a variety of colouring books, mindfulness journals and creative journals, as well as a few notebooks that I use for lists and other self-care practices.

{ From left to right }

 

  ♥ A4 notebook from Asda.

 ♥ Adult's Colouring Book.

 ♥ Art Therapy colouring book.

 ♥ The Art of Mindfulness colouring book.

 

 ♥ My Diet Doodle Diary by Julie Mackney. A cute little food diary featuring fun quotes and sweet illustrations. This is definitely the most uplifting diet/food journal I've come across. There are weekly diary pages for you to fill out your meals, as well as options to fill in other details such as your current measurements, your health and fitness goals and new recipe ideas. I would totally recommend this journal if you're looking for a food/fitness diary as it's SO cute and uplifting.

 ♥ How To Be An Explorer Of The World by Keri Smith. The newest book to my collection! This book features 59 tasks to help you to become and explorer of the world. It's all about paying attention to the minute details in your day to day life and to embrace your creativity. I'm intending for this to be little anxiety-busting project for myself as the little challenges will give me a reason to leave the house alone and explore and will also keep my mind busy once I'm out there!

 

  ♥ Sprinkle of Glitter 2016 Diary.

 

 ♥ Calm by Micheal Acton Smith. I'm sure you know about this book by now as I've seen a billion bloggers rave about it, but it is just as good as everyone says. If you know nothing about mindfulness and are looking to get into it, or suffer from mental health issues, I'd totally recommend this book. Just flicking through the pages and looking at the soft, muted tones and beautiful illustrations and calligraphy is a relaxing exercise in itself.

 

 ♥ A6 notebooks from Wilkos.

  ♥ The Book Of Spells by De Pulford.

 ♥ Start Where You Are by Meera Lee Patel. A cute little creative journal all about self-exploration. I like to do a few pages from this book when I'm feeling particularly emotional or overwhelmed, as it's really grounding and a great emotional output. Some of the exercises are similar to things I used to do at art therapy.

 

  ♥ The Mindfulness Journal by Corinne Sweet. A book filled with mindfulness exercises for every occasion. I kind of regret buying this book actually, mostly because when I'm being mindful I kind of make up my thought process as I go along rather than follow a strict list of instructions. If you'd prefer more structured mindfulness then I'd recommend it, though.

 

 ♥ Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith. We all know my love for my Wreck This Journal - I've even shared several of my pages here on my blog! (part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six). It's an art journal that encourages you to break the rules, challenge yourself and to experiment with your creativity.  

 

  ♥ The Little Book of Crystals by Philip Permutt. This book used to belong to my mum but I pinched it and she hasn't noticed so I'm just gonna keep it, heh. A great little guide to crystal therapy, it features a whole colour-coded section at the back that lists a ton of different crystals and their uses.

So that's my current collection! I am looking to add a few more Keri Smith books as time goes on, purely because I think her books are so engaging and encourage you to challenge yourself and your way of thinking which is exactly what I need! If you'd like a more in-depth review of any of these books (including photos of some of the pages) then please let me know and I'll definitely do that for you (:

Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Goodreads