Read up on feeling great this January

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anxiety, balance, balanced, be happy, Be You, Becky Goddard-Hill, best books, body and soul, brilliant business advice, change, changes, cheer leading, Chillpreneur, criticism, cup of tea, Denise Duffield-Thomas, dip in, dip out book, Down-to-earth, downtime, Dr Chatterjee, easy to do a, easy to read, Everything is Figureoutable, Feel Better In 5, five minutes, good book, Good Lives, Good Vibes, gurus, hard work, imposter syndrome, inspire, Insta, Insta guru, journal, kids, lasting happiness, library, Marie Forleo, millionaire mindset lessons, mind, money, money mindset coach, motivated, negative emotions, New Year, New York Times bestseller., pen, Penny Alexandra, perfect, positive, progress, resolution, right foot, round-up, spark a little joy, success, teenagers, time, time poor, Vex King, young adults

We all set out to be the best we can at the start of the new year.

While no one keeps to every resolution, sometimes a good book and a little cheerleading can help you get off on the right foot, and stay balanced as well as motivated to change.

We have done a round-up of what we think are the best books out there, and hope one or two will spark a little joy (no, we haven’t added ‘that one’).

Denise Duffield-Thomas is a fantastic money mindset coach, but it’s her humour and down-to-earth wisdom that sets her apart from other gurus. While she has three books out there, in Chillpreneur she shares brilliant business advice and millionaire mindset lessons that help you become a success, the chilled way. Yes, you have to do the hard work, but this is perfect for anyone who wants to be a success but likes to have a little balance and downtime as well.

Unless you have been hiding out at home, you will know about Marie Forleo, and now you can learn that Everything is Figureoutable in her New York Times bestseller. By the end of the book you will be able to deal with criticism and imposter syndrome, bouncing back from hard times will seem possible, and you can start to see how you can overcome a lack of time and money. You might not become perfect, but you will make progress.

If you are time poor but really want to make changes in your life this year, then Dr Chatterjee‘s third book is for you. Feel Better In 5 is a daily plan that helps you get the life you want, in only five minutes of your day. Easy to read, easy to do and with real life case studies and fun exercises, this can help get your mind, body and soul in shape and in less time than it takes to make a cup of tea – peppermint of course.

Be Happy, Be You, says it is for teenagers, but this great little book can help pretty much anyone out there who needs a little bit of a boost. Penny Alexandra and Becky Goddard-Hill have created a dip in, dip out book that helps kids and young adults deal with anxiety and generally live a better life, the fun way. Get a pen and journal and this could be the start of something new and exciting.

Last but not least, 2020 is the time to learn to love you. Insta guru Vex King has overcome adversity and uses his personal experiences to inspire others. If you want to transform negative emotions into positive ones and find lasting happiness, then his book, Good Vibes, Good Lives is for you. It’s not that long but by the time you are done, you will start to look at the world, and your world, in a new way.

As always, try your local indie bookshop or library and get books there rather than online, and this will help you feel good, too.

Team Pure Beauty

Buy a book for Christmas and show them you care

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365 words, A Word for Every Day of The Year, Adam Kay, Aled Jones, Andrew Ridgeley, Anne Glenconner, apron, bold, book, bottle of wine, but perfectly formed, camp, care, cash, celebrity, celebrity autobiography, chocolate, Christmas, Christmas classic, Christmas must-buy, cooking, cool, cutting, educate, empowering women, extravagant, faint hearted, festive season, film, first book, Fleabag: The Scriptures, fresh new pages, friend, George and Andrew, giving, glass of wine, go, gorgeous scented candle, great stocking filler, health, hearts, hospital success, ideas, illustrated, inspiration, inspire, intrigue, It’s Going to Hurt, Kate Young, knowing your worth, Lady Glenconner, Lady in Waiting, local bookshop, love, love it, lush, Me: Elton John Official Autobiography, mince pies, mouth-watering meals, music, pages, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, practical exercises, Princess Margaret, Raymond Briggs., read, relationships, royal life, seasonal, Secret Santa, self-care, Slay in Your Lane: The Journal, small, Small but mighty, smile, socks, Steven Poole, stunning, success, summer, The Little Library Year, The Nightshift Before Christmas, the person who has everything, The Snowman, tips, TV series, unwrap, Wham! fans, Wham! George & Me, worksheets, Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené

You can buy them socks, chocolate or a bottle of wine, but there is something special about giving a book as a gift at Christmas.

Think fresh new pages, lots of ideas and inspiration as well as the chance for them to escape from life for just a little while.

We have some great books to share with you that should be stocked in your local bookshop and will make someone smile this Christmas when they unwrap it.

The Nightshift Before Christmas, Adam Kay
This Is Going to Hurt was Adam’s first book and his bold, poignant look at life inside a hospital was a massive success. His small, but perfectly formed follow-up, The Nightshift Before Christmas is a great stocking filler and while not for the faint hearted, it’s worth a read.

Slay in Your Lane: The Journal, Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené
This stunning illustrated book is all about empowering women and with practical exercises, worksheets, and easy to follow tips for success, it’s a Christmas must-buy. It gives readers all they need to get ahead in relationships, looks at how to start a successful side hustle, knowing your worth at work comes into play as well as info on cash, self-care, and good health. Sound good, no?

Me: Elton John Official Autobiography
You might have seen the film, but we think the book is even better. This celebrity autobiography is cool, cutting, camp, extravagant and packed with disco-dancing, football club buying stories intended to make the reader laugh and cry. Go on, they will love it and might let you borrow it too.

The Little Library Year, Kate Young
Food and books, what’s not to like? This gorgeous book takes recipes onto a whole new level as Kate shares seasonal, mouth-watering meals and treats that will make the reader want to put on an apron on and start cooking right away. Oh, and summer might seem a long time away, but she knows how to pack a picnic basket!

Fleabag: The Scriptures, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
If they loved the TV series, they will love this book. We couldn’t put it down and they won’t be able to either. Perfect for reading with a glass of wine, with a gorgeous scented candle burning, so you might want to buy those too?

A Word for Every Day of The Year, Steven Poole
Small but mighty – this is the book for the person who has everything. As the name suggests, inside the cover are 365 words to educate, intrigue and inspire. We will warn you, if you start to read, you won’t want to stop until the end so maybe buy two copies and keep one for yourself.

The Snowman, Raymond Briggs
We can’t leave the kids out, so why not introduce them to this Christmas classic? Yes, you can watch the film on TV and sing along with Aled Jones, but turning the pages of The Snowman is as much a part of the festive season as Secret Santa and mince pies. Go up in your mum’s loft and you never know, you might find an original gathering dust.

Lady in Waiting, Anne Glenconner
Glitz, glamour and drama, no we aren’t talking about the office party but this beauty of a book! Lady Glenconner was Princess Margaret’s lifelong friend and this is a lush, compelling read all about them and a real look at royal life. The rich and posh – it’s all here on these pages to read and we think it’s worth doing exactly that.

Wham! George & Me, Andrew Ridgeley
Before we go, go – sorry, not sorry! This is an emotional read and Wham! fans may well need to get their tissues ready when they dive into this belter of a book. George and Andrew might have met in 1975, but their music lives on in our hearts today, thank goodness.

Got a book you love, let us know, we are ready and waiting to hear from you.

Team Pure Beauty

How to start writing a book in November

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000 words, 15 minutes, a couple, accountable, add up, alarm clock, an old woman, £50, blog, book, book buddy, chapter headings, characters, chic lit, computer, day by day, dream come true, fantasy novel, hard drive, ideas, inspire, join a writing group, launch, literary dream, lose momentum, magazine, massive, memes, mini-story, mission, momentum, name, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Notebooks and pads, novel, November, pages, pens, people, photos, progress, relationship, small chunks, story, vision board, write, write a book, write a novel, Write everyday, writing journal, YA story, you’ve got this

November is the start of National Novel Writing Month which is followed by avid writers around the world. Often referred to as, NaNoWriMo, this event started out in 1999 as a challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November and it’s grown ever since.

If you’ve always wanted to write a book, but aren’t sure where to start, we have some top tips on making your literary dreams come true.

Create a writing toolkit
If you want to write, you need the tools to help you. Notebooks and pads, a variety of pens and pencils, a writing journal as well as sticky notes and notecards, all help. An alarm clock can block out time, and ensure you have a decent computer too because the last thing you need is a dodgy hard drive swallowing 50,000 words of a book!

Build a vision board
A vision board is a great way to bring your ideas together. Photos of people to inspire characters, snaps of magazines where you’d like to be interviewed, snaps of sandy beaches that could be a beautiful proposal setting, and even film tickets can all lead to something special for your book.

Create an outline
When it comes to outlining your book, starting with the chapter headings is a great way to go. Under each heading, create a list of the content that chapter will contain and build from there. Spacing out small chunks of work will help you start to see your story and ideas come to life.

This is where those notecards come into play, as you can start to create chapter parts on cards and put them in order, reorganising as you go and the story evolves. This can work really well with a fantasy novel, chick lit or a YA story, and you can create the scenes and build the characters day by day.

Use images
A bit like the vision board, but you get stuck for ideas, photos and memes can really help inspire a story. Choose an image, maybe a couple, an old woman, and ask questions about what’s happening. What they’re doing? What’s their name? Are they in a relationship? Use this method as a basis for 15 minutes to write a mini-story, read it aloud and take it from there.

Write everyday
Whether it’s during November, or in the middle of summer, the only way to get your novel done is to write every day. Even 15 minutes each evening will see you make progress and if you can commit to the routine, you will see the words and pages add up. If you really, really want to write a novel, you can do it but you have to write.

Be accountable
It’s very easy to lose momentum when you are trying to complete something as massive as a book, so be accountable. Whether you join a writing group, use an online community, find a book buddy or update your progress on your blog, make sure people know you are on a mission to make a dream come true and they will be there to support you from start to launch!

Good luck and remember – you’ve got this!

Team Pure Beauty