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 and Managing Editor of We Blog the World, a global travel, culture and lifestyle publication exploring the world through the lens of meaningful experiences, human connection and cultural depth. Having lived in 10 countries and traveled to 95, Renee has spent much of her life immersed in the people, traditions, landscapes and ideas that shape how we experience the world.
Since launching We Blog the World in 2007, she has written and produced extensive editorial coverage spanning boutique and luxury travel, culinary experiences, arts and culture, wellness, adventure, technology, spiritual traditions and transformative travel. Her work is rooted in the belief that travel is about more than where we go—it is also about what a place, culture or encounter awakens within us.
Renee brings more than three decades of experience across journalism, photography, media, brand strategy, technology, wellness and global storytelling. She has worked with companies and organizations around the world on brand positioning, communications, product launches, media strategy, speaker positioning and storytelling. Through Blue Soul Media, she works with authors, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and purpose-driven brands to clarify their message and expand their impact, which includes speaker coaching/training for high-profile stages such as TED and bringing authors’ work to market while retaining authors rights.
She is also the co-founder of Blue Soul Earth, an educational platform exploring consciousness, ancient wisdom, spirituality, healing and the intersection between science and the nature of reality. Renee is the producer and host of the award-winning Blue Soul CHATS, a conversational series bringing together leading voices in science, technology, consciousness, wellness and spirituality.
Her growing body of work also includes Blue Soul Living, which extends her interest in consciousness and well-being into the spaces we inhabit, exploring how intentional design, energy and environment can support greater harmony and connection.
Renee is the award-winning co-author of the bestselling Magdalene’s Journey and founder of the Magdalene Collection, inspired by women’s voices, stories and wisdom across cultures and generations.
A longtime photographer and storyteller, Renee has documented people, places and cultures around the world and produced photographic collections focused on destinations including the Galápagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome and Ecuador. She also co-founded Traveling Geeks, an international initiative that brought entrepreneurs, journalists, creators and technology leaders together with their counterparts in other countries to exchange ideas and explore innovation across cultures.
Renee’s work has been recognized by Forbes, the United Nations and others for her influence in media and social storytelling. Across her work in travel, media, consciousness and culture, a common thread remains: curiosity about the world, the stories that connect us and the ways meaningful experiences can change how we see ourselves and one another.
