As a brand new year approaches, the last stretch of this year is all about mentally and emotionally prepping for 2022.

In the spirit of new-year-new-me, we’ve pulled together a handy list of books – fiction and non-fiction – that might shift your perspective on welcoming change and living life with passion.

Find your unicorn space by Eve Rodsky

In Find your unicorn space, Eve Rodsky basically becomes your dance mum.

The only difference – here, the focus extends to beyond dance. In this guide, she offers encouragement and inspiration for overburdened women to invest in creative pursuits alongside their domestic workload.

Though the book focuses on women, it can also become a bible to anyone who lives a mundane life absorbed in their work routines and left with very little time to pursue passion projects.

Rodsky’s book comes just in time for New Year’s and hopefully is a convincing invitation for you to get in touch with the five-year-old in you once again, by embarking on your creative explorations.

Find Your Unicorn Space By Eve Rodsky is available on Book Depository.

Choose your own disaster by Dana Schwartz

Choose Your Own Disaster is brutally honest about what it takes to create a life you want to live.

No no, none of that motivational guru guidance. Instead, Dana Schwartz delves deep into unpacking Murphy’s Law – that in the grand scheme of sculpting your life according to your vision, anything and everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

But this is precisely what makes this book a distinctive read. It’s relatable. Towards the end of the year when everyone is creating their resolutions about being better and living better, Schwartz’s book is a necessary reminder that finding yourself is not a linear path.

That achieving your goals and dreams can in fact be a dreadful journey. So be easy on yourself.

Choose your own disaster By Dana Schwartz is available on Book Depository.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

In the spirit of seeking out change and fresh perspectives or life in general, reading (or re-reading) The Alchemist is a must. We might be unbiased here, but the book has truly evoked a spiritual awakening in many.

Paulo Coelho paints vivid pictures with immaculate descriptions but fiction is not what we’re here for. Encased within metaphors, Coelho delivers sage-ly philosophies about life and more importantly living.

When going in pursuit of new adventures, taking that leap, chasing goals with enthusiasm and passion – Coelho’s words will ring that “when you really want something, the universe always conspires in your favour.”

The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho is available on Book Depository.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Reading the autobiography of the man who reckoned that the “dots will eventually connect” is almost imperative when seeking new paths in life.

Undisputably, Steve Jobs has stood synonymous with innovation, creativity and taking risks, long after his passing. His autobiography, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, gives readers a glimpse into Jobs’ colourful life and breathtaking career and above all, the mentality that allowed this.

Understanding the struggles he went through helps contextualise the wild choices and decisions he made later as the CEO – a perfect read for anyone who wants to understand the mentality of a spirited and resilient fighter in the realm of his vision.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is available on Book Depository.

Turtles all the way down by John Green

Like his other hits – The Fault In Our Stars, Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska – John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down might come across as cliched, mushy, and yet another saga chronicling the complexities of teenagehood.

But this time it’s a harder read because of the darker themes he explores.

Green, through his main character Aza – a high school student with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and severe anxiety depicts the struggles of an individual trying to be everything and simultaneously failing to become anything.

The story, though fiction, resembles the lives of many during this pandemic. The way Green exhibits vigour and passion for life, through Aza’s journey, is beautiful commentary for what we can do in the year ahead.

Turtles all the way down by John Green is available on Book Depository.

This article was first published in City Nomads.