New Year, New You: Books That Will Change Your Perspective

A new year means a great opportunity to form better habits, expand our minds, and focus on being the best version of ourselves we can be. On that, we’ve compiled some amazing books that will help change your perspective in the New Year. Our books will help you to navigate what you want a new version of yourself to look like — whether you need a confidence boost, want to learn more about yourself, or gain perspective through a story.

Read on for our top picks of books that will change the way you think.

• Feel the Fear … and Do It Anyway, Susan Jeffers

If you’re looking to build your personal development with a focus on your confidence, Jeffers has got your back. Many of us put ourselves down because of our anxieties and fears, they get in the way of us even attempting something, and we can hear the phrase “You never know if you don’t try” circulating around our heads. However as Jeffers’ book shows us: there are so many ways to get over those feelings of self-doubt.

How can we push ourselves out of our comfort zones? Whether it’s that promotion you’ve been after, getting yourself ready to date after a bad experience, or maybe even going to a big event where you’re the only person you know — this book has plenty of tips for feeling the fear but taking strides regardless.

Jeffers provides practical tools and exercises to change your life and take control of your reality. Face those fears in the New Year and be the most bright and confident version of yourself possible.

• Atomic Habits, James Clear 

Perhaps what works best for you is not a complete overhaul but small changes in your habits or attitudes gradually.

With James Clear’s Atomic Habits, there are four main rules: (1) Make it obvious, (2) Make it attractive, (3) Make it easy, and (4) Make it satisfying. This book will be sure to change your perspective and help you formulate the best habits so that you are the most effective version of yourself — one step at a time. Atomic Habits encourages you to understand that, even if you’re just 1% better than yesterday, by the end of the year, you will have grown significantly. If you want to begin an incremental journey to self-improvement, you’ll want to pick up this one.

• 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think, Brianna Weist 

We’ve all read an essay that has completely changed our way of thinking. With Weist’s compilation of life-altering essays, your perspectives will soon be changed. 

If you break this book down bi-weekly, you will have a couple of days to digest each essay over the course of the year and really use its concepts to work on yourself. 

Whilst you may not agree or understand each of the perspectives, Weist’s essays guarantee you an understanding of other people’s lived experiences in our world. Ultimately, this book is sure to develop your own mindset and is an excellent read to start off the new year with — whether you savour it over 12 months or read it all in one go.

• Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Whilst many books that aim to change readers’ perspectives are non-fiction, there are dozens of incredible works of fiction that have the power to change our ways of thinking. One, of course, is the incredible Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. 

Set in a cafe in Tokyo, customers can go back into the past with the one condition of getting back before their coffee gets cold. The novel offers the readers the chance to explore the “what ifs” of life with the company of the characters in the novel, exploring topics such as regret, closure, and family. Reading this novel at the beginning of a year may offer you a warm hug or an understanding of the trials and tribulations of your own life, helping you gain a perspective you never knew you needed.

Gain new perspective with Victoria Freudenheim 

For more books and reading inspiration, you can check out the Victoria Freudenheim blog — we’re constantly finding new discoveries for your bookshelf.

Find books you need to read in your lifetime or, if you prefer reading by genre, we have a selection of books for thriller, romance and historical fiction enthusiasts!