The companionship of books to read is a reality most certainly in my life, and then to look back on favorites read over the course of the year gives hints of not only what curiosities we had but also the opportunities we had to grow and the discoveries we made about the world, life, and all that is possible.

To spend time with the author of each book is to be inspired, just knowing that other people exist out in the world who are curious enough to write a book! Curious and then many of them so very creative in how they tell a story, so engaging, so thought-provoking that it grabs our attention so much that we only put it down when sleep demands that we do.

Each year, as my library grows, I find myself stepping back to the shelves to pull a book I know will have the research I need to cite, or the enjoyment I want to get lost in again. You will notice that many of my books are in hardback form, and this is the primary reason: if I think even slightly that I will enjoy the book or find it helpful, or that I will reach for it again, I want it to withstand the test of time and continue to be readable. More of my books are being found on consignment sites as I learn about titles published years ago, or even just a year ago, and then beyond, and I often shop at Abe’s Books. For example, Berthe Morisot’s biography, and I am also often able to find the original cover of the first printing at a very low price. But then, books with soft covers, such as Next Level, which will begin our list this year, are best in paperback because you want them to move as you carry them around, helping you establish your new workout routine. So, choosing the design of the book is a fun journey involving some pondering as well – how do you want to curate your library? What a wonderful puzzle to put together. ☺️📚❤️

And as has become a favorite annual tradition with the winding down of the calendar year, on the day TSLL began way back in 2009, the favorite books post is shared! And yes, the 17th anniversary is being celebrated today, and I cannot quite believe it, but sort of can, as 17 years ago seems ages ago with all that has changed and evolved, but still, I pinch myself in gratitude. As I shared in Friday’s This & That post, thank you for choosing to be a part of TSLL’s community. Your curiosity for living your own simply luxurious life is what propels TSLL onward, and let’s continue to tickle the curiosity, shall we? With more books to read, enjoy, learn from, and delight in!

The books listed, as has been done in the past, are in no particular order, except that I tried to go in the order of the stack you see above. The last book shared on our list today is a book many TSLL readers have read this year and loved, having seen it included in many of your photographs capturing inviting vignettes of tea and giveaways. So tickled you too enjoyed this book. It really was a gem.

What you will see shared below: I have included a brief description of each book below the cover photo, and if a book has already been written about in detail in a past post, I have linked to that post instead. I will also include links to posts and/or episodes the book was mentioned or cited as reference if you would like to explore more of the book’s contents. You will also find a direct link to shop the book when you click the book cover photo or the title. I have linked to Amazon, and each purchase potentially provides a commission. Please let me express that, whether you wish to support Amazon or not, they make publishing TSLL books possible, giving me more freedom than any other traditional or small publishing house would ever allow, while keeping my costs in check so that I can continue to write and share books with you all. I am able to choose how I wish to present them, my own title, and my editor. And then there is the ability to have the international availability at the click of a button, along with availability to any independent bookshop or library that wishes to include TSLL’s books on their shelves and in their collections, which is also why I continue to choose them as my support for publishing. I am so grateful for this, and while they may have their faults, the freedom given to self-published authors, should we be crazy daring enough to be one, is not one of them. I am deeply grateful and appreciate any support you give to TSLL through purchasing of any book on this year’s list.

Now! Let’s get to the list and start filling up our bookshelves and cozy in for much reading during the Between the Years. ☺️

My workout routine has been forever changed by what I learned from Dr. Stacy Sims, her interviews, and this book, Next Level, which provides the concrete evidence as well as example workout routines to follow. Again, I must thank longtime TSLL member and reader Jen for bringing Dr. Stacy Sims to my attention earlier this year. It has been a health game-changer for me, and I am deeply grateful. In episode #402: How to Keep Ourselves Healthy —Mind and Body — for the Rest of Our Lives (specifically for perimenopausal and beyond, but for all ages too)

---

My first book by Jack Kornfield accompanied me during my trip to France, and what a guide for the soul to have, especially while already being a place that I feel a kindred connection to. The Wise Heart shares 26 core Buddhist principles concretely, with examples. Breaking down, yet clearly defining the four noble truths, the Eightfold path, the Four Immeasurables (loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity), and the Ten Perfections (Paramitas). I found myself reading one principle each evening, and letting myself ponder it as I drifted to sleep and reread again if desired in the morning as part of my meditation ritual. This book is a reference to help better understand what the ethos of Buddhist psychology is, and inspired episode #403: 10 Ways Integrating Buddhist Psychology into Your Everyday Life Cultivates Contentment.

---

A heads up! This book will inspire the first episode of 2026! I received my copy earlier this month and read it in two days. What I most appreciated about this book is that it reminds us each of what our responsibilities are when it comes to being loving, but not just loving to another, loving to ourselves as well, with the decisions we make, who we choose to engage with and partner with, and how we talk to ourselves about what we deserve. Similar to Mel Robbins’ book that will be included below, it reminds us to stop concerning ourselves with others’ choices and behaviors, and instead maturely acknowledge our own needs while taking responsibility for how we can grow. Whether you wish to be in a romantic relationship or not, this book is a guide to realizing where we may need to heal and how to do it.

---

Historical fiction as only Marie Benedict knows how to do it – engaging, spot-on with the historical dates and events, and filling the gaps with entertaining storytelling. The Queens of Crime is inspired by a true story that took place in British crime novelist of great acclaim Dorothy Sayers early career as she ran up against the male establishment of crime authors who refused to take the talents of the female writers seriously. Set in London, 1930, “the five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment.”

Enthralling, intriguing and taking us to France and back to England, a treat for cozy evening reading indeed.

---

Filled with examples from her own life, Mel Robbins’ book is worth the hype. The Let Them Theory is a reminder of what we often talk about when it comes to living simply luxuriously: tend to our responsibilities and let others tend to theirs. The suffering (which is not inevitable; it is pain that we have no control over) often stems from tending to what is not ours to tend to! In episode #398: The Simple Two-Word Phrase that will Transform Your Life in Extraordinary Ways, as taught by Mel Robbins (and it’s not on the cover of her new book), goes into great detail about how to apply this book’s teachings to our everyday life. Read or listen to it here.

---

Released just after the first tv film adapation starring the fabulous quartet of actors, The Impossible Fortune has me clamoring for more adaptations because I couldn’t help but envision Helen Mirren as the headstrong and savvy Elizabeth, Pierce Brosnan as Ron, the tough guy with a huge heart, Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim, the cerebral empath, and Celia Imrie as the far-more-clever-than-we-give-her-credit Joyce. The clue is in the title, as it typically is for any novel, but this fifth book, especially so. Upon completing the book, it seems so obvious, but of course, that is why we read the book. Enjoy this red herring filled caper.

---

---

This book will be a primary source for the new lesson centered around understanding our nervous system, available in January to the Contentment Masterclass. I am sitting down to film the lesson this coming week and will announce it to current enrollees when it becomes available and where to find it in the curriculum, as well as add it to the syllabus for future students to see when they explore what the course is all about.

---

Having preordered this book before my trip back to Brittany in March, upon returning from seeing and experiencing this special region of France, I became more and more eager to read the third book by Mark Greenside, an American who owns a house in a small village in Brittany. For over thirty years, he has returned each summer, staying for three months before heading back to San Francisco. This third book is a love letter of sorts to the people of the village who have welcomed him, helped him take care of his house when he isn’t there during the rest of the year, and have provided the memories he continues to savor. Organized by either something he has come to learn, appreciate, or find delightful about Brittany’s culture, you will chuckle, smile, and perhaps, just as he has, fall in love with this village and its neighbors and community.

---

The Impressionists, as you may have noticed, have long captured my interest. It was in 2019 that I happened to be in Paris at the same time as an exhibit, the first of its kind to gather so many of Berthe Morisot’s works for a world-touring exhibit. I was immediately in awe of both her work and her story, and ever since have been curious to learn more. The only woman among the founding Impressionist painters, Margaret Sheean’s biography, published in 1996, is the most extensive account of Berthe’s life. Beginning before she was born, the book introduces us to her grandfather and father, and addresses the rumor that she was descended from the 18th-century French master, Fragonard. It then gives most of its attention to her life, her relationships with many of the painters of Paris and France at large at that time, including the American Mary Cassatt, her influences and teachers in her craft, her relationships with the Manets, and her eventual marriage to Éugène Manet and their daughter, Julie.

---

While similar in its teachings to Jillian Turecki’s It Begins With You (shared above), Yung Pueblo (his pen name) approaches his teachings on love from a broader perspective, while also being pointedly aimed at the couple already together who wish to improve their relationship. How to Love Better was the inspiration for episode #405: How to Be Loving to Ourselves which Allows Us to Heal. Listen or read it here.

---

Get ready to be befuddled, fascinated, and reminded of the time of the Cold War in The Queen Who Came in from the Cold. S.J. Bennett has done it again, and if you know the author, you know she has been recovering from cancer. This being her first book in the series released since undergoing treatment (something she bravely shared with her IG followers). And what a return she has given to readers! Set in 1961, the mystery begins aboard Queen Elizabeth’s royal train as she travels to Scotland. Something is witnessed out of the windows in a field by one of the Ladies in Waiting of Princess Margaret. Surely it can’t be possible! Oh, but it is, and the mystery begins and involves the Queen’s royal visit to Italy aboard her royal yacht, Britannia. As you solve the crime, you will learn about the inner workings of the staff on Britannia and get glimpses into the constant fear of spies and double agents. I have a feeling you will fly through this novel. Enjoy!

---

British writer and life coach Matt Cooke’s book draws on many examples from his own life as well as his clients, but what I appreciated most was his inclusion of research on the mind because at the heart of manifestation is shifting our mind, thus shifting our focus and how we spend our time, what thoughts we think, and thus actions we take. In a Monday Motivational post, How Living Simply Luxuriously Invites Your Dreams to Come True, I shared Cooke’s Be-Do-Have model, a simple memory tool that reminds us how we hold the keys to bringing our dreams to life – it all lies in a conscious mind shift. In this model, he reminds us that if we want our lives to change, our energy, and thus our focus, is not in the present. So long as our attention isn’t on the life we have right here, right now – because we are wanting something we do not yet have, we will not bring forth the changes we seek. If you’re curious about how you might be actually preventing the life you want from manifesting, I encourage you to pick up this book.

---

Such a helpful book, whether you are a traditional creative or not. The passion Merideth Hite Estevez brings to her book is immediately evident, she being a creative coach and teacher to those musicians who want to get their creative mojo back. What she shares involves both specific, actionable advice paired with letting go, and the way that relinquishing control invites our creativity to return. It sounds impossible until you read the anecdotes she shares, not only from clients she has worked with but also in her own life story, beginning as a graduate of Juillard and professional oboist. One of the best books I read this year for inspiration to trust that the stumbles, the frustrations and the doubts are surpassable.

---

Speaking of letting things go! This short, densely packed book of specific ways to improve the quality of our daily life is a book to clear the debris of the past year and start 2026 fresh, so that we don’t get in our own way. Inspiring much of episode #414: The Art of Trusting Yourself (And Why It’s the Key to a Joyful Life Journey), if you are looking to discover how to help yourself, how again, to shift your mindset, but also make better choices and actions in your life to bring about the change you seek, this is your book.

---

To discover the power of art in our lives whether we are traditional artists or not, no longer to be intimidated by it that is what British art historian and curator Kate Bryan seeks to teach readers in her book, and what episode #415: The Life Nourishing Benefits of Welcoming Art into Our Sanctuary (and how to curate your own collection) is all about.

---

Each of our gardens is a work-in-progress, just as we are, but as we understand the dynamism of life, the key is to get the ingredients that would be most supportive of the life we love living into the ‘ground’ so they can mature and positively influence our lives. When it comes to garden design or the style we choose, if you, too, are drawn to the cottage garden aesthetic and maybe you’re new to gardening or feel like a novice, then Mark Bolton’s book will reassure you that even we novices can have great success. A self-professed amateur gardener, Bolton is a photographer, not a gardener by trade, so he has captured oodles of gorgeous gardens throughout Britain and beyond into continental Europe, and through those experiences was inspired to create his own garden. Taking you step by step through how to build your garden, his photography of both his garden and others provide a beautiful book to gaze at as well as learn from.

---

Both here in the States and back home in France, French art professor who lives and teaches in Paris, and now international bestselling author Thomas Schlesser, has earned the award of Barnes & Noble’s “Book of the Year” (2025) and “Author of the Year” (2025) from Livres Hebdo in France for his novel Mona’s Eyes. And for good reason. The book’s publicist reached out to me early this summer. Upon reading the novel’s premise, I was intrigued and, without delay, asked for a review copy. I devoured the book during many leisurely summer moments (the book is very long, but you will pay that no mind as the story keeps you curious from one chapter to the next, from one museum visit to the next). One TSLL reader described the many chapters, each observing and learning about a different piece of art found in a museum in Paris as feeling as though you are on a private art history tour, which in many ways you are. Read my detailed review here as to why I think you, too, will delight in this most original storytelling.

---

Now to begin reading! And what a wonderful time of year to dive into books we are curious about, the Week Between the Years. Wishing you a wonderful final week of 2025, and may you enjoy many moments to read and lose all track of time, discovering what you didn’t know you were looking for, finding after long explorations what you weren’t sure you would ever come across, and savoring the nourishment found in books of all genres and topics. 

Be sure to watch each month’s A Cuppa Moments w/Shannon where the first regular inclusion of each conversation is what I am reading, what I am curious to read and what books I am recommending. You can catch up on all of these many book titles in past A Cuppa Moments w/Shannon video chats here. (Explore becoming a TOP Tier Member to view these exclusive posts/video chats.)

Explore last year’s Favorite Books, 2024