World Book Day takes place on the first Thursday of March each year. To celebrate, this year we’ve asked our community of partners, staff, and supporters to share some of their favourite self-help books with us. We were blown away by the overwhelming response, and we’re happy to share this handy list of 100+ book recommendations from our community.
But first – let’s take a quick look at the many benefits that reading can have on our mental health.
How Reading Improves Mental Health
In the midst of the pandemic, The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy conducted a survey in which 43% of respondents reported that reading helped to ease their stress levels during lockdown.
In addition to reducing stress, reading can also help to improve mental health in the following ways:
- It gives us something to focus on, which in turn helps us relax.
- When reading stories about others, we feel less alone and more connected to the world.
- Reading can ignite our imagination and creative side, while also broadening our horizons to new perspectives and possibilities.
- Research shows that our memory and concentration improve when we read.
Last but not least, reading empowers us to learn so many new things about the world, other people, and even ourselves.
So in honour of World Book Day 2023, here’s our recommended reading list of books to help you live your very best life.
The Lily-Jo Project’s 2023 Reading List
Mental Wellbeing
- 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson
- 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
- A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety by Sarah Ray
- Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller
- Cover Up: Understanding Self-Harm by Joan Freeman
- Girl Stop Apologising by Rachel Hollis
- Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King
- Human Givens by Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell
- HumanKind by Rutger Bregman
- Like There’s No Tomorrow by Frances Ward
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
- Queer Up by Alexis Caught
- Tell Yourself A Better Lie by Marisa Peer
- The Anxiety Solution by Chloe Brotheridge
- The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk
- The Self-Care Revolution by Suzy Reading
- Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? By Julie Smith
- Words for a Dying World by Hannah Malcolm
Creating Good Habits
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Badass Habits by Jen Sincero
- Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey
- Relentless by Tim Grover
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey
- The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
- The Power of One More by Ed Mylett
Parenting & Children’s Mental Health
- Born to Be Awesome by Samantha Babooram
- Generation Alpha: Understanding Our Children and Helping Them Thrive by Mark McCrindle
- Generation Z Unfiltered by Tim Elmore
- Loving Our Kids on Purpose by Danny Silk
- Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph
- Raising Girls by Steve Biddulph
- Scattered Minds (ADHD) by Gabor Mate
- Talking to Children About Mental Health by Lily-Jo
- The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
- The Pandemic Population by Tim Elmore
- The Parent’s Guide to Self-Harm by Jane Smith
- The Self-Care Kit for Stressed-Out Teens by Frankie Young
- Understanding the Global Generations by Mark McCrindle
- Why Love Matters by Sue Gerhardt
Physical Wellbeing
- Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
- Recovery by Russell Brand
- Spoon Fed by Tim Spector
- This Naked Mind (alcohol reduction) by Annie Grace
Relationships & Social Connections
- 8 Rules of Love by Jay Shetty
- How We Love by Milan and Kay Yerkovich
- Intellectual Foreplay by Eve Hogan
- Lost Connections by Johann Hari
- The 90 Day Rule by Steve Harvey
- The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
- The Path Made Clear by Oprah Winfrey
- What Happened to You by Oprah Winfrey
- Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
Spiritual Health
- Chop Wood Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf
- Everything is Spiritual by Rob Bell
- Escaping The Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys
- Solve For Happy by Mo Gawdat
- Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
- The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
- The Surrender Experiment by Michael A Singer
Exploring Race
- Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
- Mixed/Other by Natalie Morris
- Natives by Akala
- The Color of Hope: People of Color Mental Health Narratives by Vanessa Hazard
Compelling & Inspiring Autobiographies
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- Finding Me by Viola Davis
- Life After Care by Mark Edwards
- Memoirs of a Manic Depressant by Michelle McConnell
- Reflections by Holly Willoughby
- Spare by Prince Harry
- Will by Will Smith
Financial Wellbeing
- Abundance by Deepak Chopra
- Abundance Now by Lisa Nichols
- Chill & Prosper by Denise Duffield Thomas
- Million Dollar Micro Business by Tina Tower
- Playing Big by Tara Mohr
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
- Secrets of Six Figure Women by Barbara Stanny
- The Big Leap by Gay Hendrix
- The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles
- The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
- Why the Rich Are Getting Richer by Robert Kiyosaki
Leadership Skills
- 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
- 104 Activities That Build by Alanna Jones
- Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success by Steve Harvey
- Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
- Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson
- Just Leadership by Simon Barrington and Justin Humphreys
- The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris
- The Ride of A Lifetime by Robert Iger
Business Start-Up Support
- 24 Assets by Daniel Priestley
- Daring Greatly by Brene brown
- Entrepreneur Revolution by Daniel Priestley
- Hustle Harder Hustle Smarter by Curtis Jackson
- Key Person of Influence by Daniel Priestley
- Launch by Jeff Walker
- Oversubscribed by Daniel Priestley
- Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
- Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
- Start With Why by Simon Sinek
- The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
- The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters
- The Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani
- Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet-David
Final Thoughts
We hope you found at least one book from this list that piqued your interest! If you’d like to contribute a book review to our blog or if you’d like us to review a book that you have written, please feel free to give us a shout at admin@thelilyjoproject.com.
About The Lily-Jo Project
The Lily-Jo Project is a UK-based mental health platform devoted to using music as a tool to educate, equip, and empower people of all ages to live their lives to the fullest. For free mental health self-help resources, visit www.thelilyjoproject.com#help. To learn more about our work in schools, visit www.thelilyjoproject.com/schools.
About Lily-Jo’s New Book Talking to Children About Mental Health
In January of 2023, Lily-Jo Project founder, Lily-Jo, released her debut book Talking to Children About Mental Health.
This book is a practical guide designed to help adults understand the unique mental health challenges facing children, teenagers, and students today.
Some of the key themes covered include:
- Anxiety and cancel culture
- Self-esteem and self-harm in the digital world
- Climate anxiety and global grief
- Post-pandemic stress disorder
- And more!
It’s suitable for parents, grandparents, teachers, youth workers and anyone in a position of care or interested in the future of mental health and supporting the next generation.
Talking to Children About Mental Health is available for purchase at Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmith, and Barns & Noble.
To stay up to date with the latest news and developments, give The Lily-Jo Project a follow on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
