We have started looking at more books lately and now have two sections dedicated to books — General Books, which can cover anything from traditional travel books and lifestyle reads to novels and everything in between and here, we have come up with our list of the Best Books of 2017.
Best Books of 2017
Here’s ten top books we loved from this year, five in the General Travel category and five in the Spirituality and Wellness category. Note: check out our Spiritual Reads section is only for spiritual-mind and consciousness books.
Aerial View of Lake Hillier, one of the many bizarre but fascinating finds from Atlas Obscura. Credit: KURIOZITET1123 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Travel Books
Here are some great travel suggestions for our “best books of 2017” shortlist.
WBTW’s Travel Book Picks of the Year
Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer, Ella Mortan & Dylan Thuras. This great read covers obscure destinations and quirky travel inspirations. You’ll get over 700 of the strangest and most curious places in the world, from a dazzling glowworm caves in New Zealand, a baobob tree in South Africa with a pub inside, a Baby Jumping Festival in Spain, where men dressed as devils vault over rows of squirming infants, a graveyard for decommissioned ships on the coast of Bangladesh & more. It’s on Amazon on Kindle & hard cover.
Beyond the Last Village by Alan Ravinowitz explores the world of Myanmar. Each year, more of Myanmar is opened to tourism, but previously, entire ethnic states were off-limits. The author/biologist is one of the first outsiders to explore the remote northern regions, a “forbidden wilderness”, where he discovers new species and establishes the areas’s largest conservation area. It’s not a new book but its a great read. Find it on Amazon.
Between the Sunset and the Sea by Simon Ingram breaks free of the macho narrative found in most books about mountain climbing. He explores how mountains became such a preoccupation for the modern western imagination, weaving his own adventures into a powerful narrative which provides a kind of experiential hit list for people who don’t have the time nor the will to climb a thousand mountains. You can find it on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.
The Penguin Lessons by Tom Mitchell. The author was a teacher in Argentina during of which he adopted a penguin. Yes, really. British humor throughout, you experience a relationship about a man with his penguin. Mitchell asserts that humans need to further explore the study of animal intelligence and behavior. The paperback version in this case is the way to go.
Walking the Amazon: 860 Days by Ed Stafford. This story is about a man who walked from the Pacific to the Atlantic, from Peru to Brazil, across the Amazon jungle. A life changing read about survival and perseverance, the tale will leave you wanting more adventure in your life. It’s available on paperback and on Kindle.
Health & Spiritual Books
Here are some great wellness and spirituality suggestions for our “best books of 2017” shortlist.
WBTW’s Top Wellness & Spiritual Books of the year
The Awakened Aura by Kala Ambrose teaches you how to expand your awareness and capabilities on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. She covers communication with spirit guides in the aura, using elemental energy to enhance your auric field, and how to understand the impact of thoughts and emotions on the aura. This amazing book is available on Amazon in paperback.
The Love Response by Dr. Eva Selhub. Fear, anger, and anxiety–the side effects of life’s everyday stresses–left unchecked can lead to a host of debilitating ailments that are so common today. The key to a healthy life free is to activate what Selhub calls the love response: a series of biochemical reactions that lower blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, and adrenaline levels, stimulating physical healing and reinstating balance and well-being. Find it on Amazon on hardback and on Kindle.
The Life Changing Habit of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo is an international and New York Times best-seller and serves as an excellent guide to decluttering your home from the Japanese point of view. She walks people through what she refers to as the KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing & guides you how to simplify and organize your home so you’ll never have to do it again. Find her book on Amazon.
Chakra Healing by Margarita Alcantara. Think of it as a beginner’s guide to self-healing techniques that aim to balance your chakras. It serves as a “guide”, providing affirmations, useful crystals that work with each chakra and helpful essential oils and offers possible causes of energy blocks as well as how you might feel when each chakra is out of harmony and when a chakra is in harmony. Find it on Amazon.
The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer by The book discusses a biological indicator called telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes telomeres, which protect our genetic heritage & how this impacts the mind-body connection. They and other scientists have found that changes we can make to our daily habits can protect our telomeres and increase our health spans. Get it on Kindle and in paperback.
Want more Spirituality?
Thirsty for even more spiritual reads or other best books of 2017 suggestions, check out this piece that includes a deeper dive into mediumship and talking to angels by Lucinda Gabriel.
Also, we recently added a Spiritual Books section where we’ll be covering topics like psychic abilities, intuition, gemstones, healing practices, Reiki, rituals, spirituality and mindfulness. We also have a section on Spiritual Voices & Spiritual Events, so continue to tune in for more picks in the coming months. Our general Spirituality section covers it all.
Want more Wellness?
Tap into our Wellness Section. We also have a section on Wellness Hotels, Wellness Products and Wellness Guides. Here we have some other great recommendations for best books of 2017 by topic.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
