I don’t write you often enough,

it’s not for lack of love but rather a lack of time.

You are right, that is no excuse. So if I can offer an explanation perhaps? I have been writing my own book.  It has been challenging, overwhelming, intimidating, magical, uplifting and empowering all at the same time. And like any baby with infinite potential ahead of it, I have to give it the attention it requires to grow.

Normally, when I cannot give something the attention it deserves, I decide to give the idea/project a proper farewell and put it on the shelf of possibility for another day. For some reason, I cannot do that with this {little} blog, I love reading and know of its power for women. I want to talk about it with you. Share stories with you. Discuss. Laugh. Develop the ideas and wisdom hidden in the words. So if you will be patient with me I can assure you there will be more to come.

In the meantime, I invite you to help me fill this blog with your exceptional voice! Answer any one of the following questions and I will be happy to publish your writing.

what book changed your life?

what are your favourite books & why?

if you could change the ending on any book,

what would it say?

why do you love reading?

best or worst film adaptation of a book?

best book referred to you and why?

When you submit your writing, please include your name, email, a small bio and your full response. Please note, submissions may be edited for length. Send your responses to alicia@sheshouldread.com.

I look forward to hearing from you and THANK YOU.

Light & Love,
Alicia.

I know I am not usually so aggressive. But trust me when I tell you, YOU NEED TO READ DANIELLE LAPORTE!  Before I send you in her direction, will you let me tell you why?

I wish I could remember when I discovered Danielle LaPorte’s blog.  Somehow I think it doesn’t matter it feels like she has always been by my side…well my soul’s side. She speaks right to my heart. To my deepest potential. Danielle speaks to everything that is possible for my life and yours. I am not sure if she would be okay with this but I want to call her a life whisperer.  

Danielle LaPorte is the truth. Like the dub base on a reggae beat.  Steady. Certain. Vibrations that will move you.  I can tell you that everything you see come from me in the next few days, weeks, months and possibly lifetime started with her words {of course she is part of my whole team of support, wisdom and love} and yes I was already taking baby steps on my path. But Danielle has me preparing for a marathon, I think I will keep her alongside of me and look for her embrace when I cross the finish line. She is that awesome.

On April 17, 2012 her newest book will be released {never have I been so excited about the release of a book!}…

THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS: A Soulful and Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms.

The title alone captivates you right? Soul and success together with practical and guide. I have always dreamed of a guide that considered these important factors.  A guide that taught me how to do it my way.  A guide written by someone who understands what it means to live authentically AND thrive through it. So guess what? I have an advanced copy.  I asked {maybe begged, in lovely way I hope} for one.  I want every woman to know about her, I want her to hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. I want you to read this book. Word for word. 

Stay tuned for my review or just trust me and pre-order it now.

In the meantime start reading Danielle LaPorte now at www.daniellelaporte.com.

Here’s a little taste of why I love her to bits…

Loss brings out our truest self.
And while natural grace doesn’t come naturally to all of us —
especially when we lose — it can be cultivated…
if you go out of your way to be grateful.

Danielle LaPorte

Get Reading!

 Light & Love, 
Alicia.

p.s. I got to the end of this post and realized that I am having technical difficulties and am unable to insert active links to the information you need. I am in Paris and my tech guy is still asleep in Toronto.  For your convenience, I have copied the important links below for your use.

To pre -0rder The Fire Starter Sessions now: http://www.daniellelaporte.com/the-fire-starter-sessions-danielle-laporte/

To start reading Danielle LaPorte now: http://www.daniellelaporte.com/

If ever I could be so bold to say that you have to read something, it would be Whole Living magazine. When I want something a little lighter than a book {I am referring to weight here} I make a cup of tea and curl up with this wonderful magazine.

Whole Living addresses, wellness, balance, eating well, fitness, beauty and green living.   All categories are covered with exceptional content and beautiful imagery.  I learn something new in every issue.  It is at times inspiring, thought provoking and even healing.  I say healing because of its focus on our wellness through natural solutions as well as more conventional ones.  The staff at this magazine understands that women need information and options.  It’s more of a gentle guidance approach than the usual collection of images and articles that forget you are WHOLE being.  It’s all about you. Healthy. Balanced. You.

I am  sending them this bit of love because I did not have access to this magazine while living in Paris.  Jarel and my Mom thoughtfully collected 10 months worth of issues to make sure I didn’t miss this special magazine.  The few issues that found their way to me in visitor’s suitcases, kept me on my journey to optimal wellness, encouraged positive thinking and maintained my focus on long term goals.

I share my love for it with you because I think you just might love it too!

Light & Love,

Alicia.

p.s. I am still reading The Soul of Leadership by Deepak Chopra, what are you reading?

p.s.s. don’t use the twitter icon on this site, it leads to an account with a password I have completely forgotten. You can still find me on twitter though by clicking HERE.

I have a favourite type of book.  It is the non-fiction genre.  I have a wild appreciation for self-improvement books, business books and books on health.  But let’s leave the business books and the optimum health books out for this post {we’ll definitely talk about these precious gems another time}.

I want to talk about reading books that improve your life.  Books that change the way you think,  the way your relationships flow and most important {I think} books that change the way you feel.  No matter what you are going through there is a book out there that can provide you with insight, instructions and tools to help you achieve a goal, heal emotional wounds, build confidence, clear your mind, tap into your creativity etc…the list is just endless.  These books can get you from where you are to where you want to be in the privacy of your own home, commute or vacation.

So here’s my top 3 books that kinda {ok really} changed my life:

1. Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins

I read this book in my early college years, it was the first book that got me into really big thinking and opened my eyes to harnessing my potential.  Suddenly I was aware that my life could have infinite possibilities and that I was master of my universe.  This is important stuff for every woman at any age.  If you haven’t read this book yet, there’s no time like the present, especially if you need some direction, clarity and a general confidence boost.

2. Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das

{Disclaimer: this book is not about converting you to Buddhism} I talk about this book a lot because in a way it saved my life.  It’s the book I recommend to almost anyone going through a life transition.  This book came to me when I was going through a really rough time, possibly the worst time of my life…this book was a life raft in an ocean of sadness and anger.  I still refer to it for guidance in the harder moments because it reminds me how to think really well.  It really can make you better.

3. The Soul of Leadership by Deepak Chopra

So, I am not done reading this book but I am absolutely loving it! I have always grappled with a lot of the traditional ideas of success. I am ambitious and want my professional life to follow an upward path but I would like to include my desire to make a difference in the lives of others in my endeavours.  By dispelling the myth that ambition and compassion cannot coexist, this book is showing me how to reconcile both aspects of my mind.  I will let you know how it goes…

So those are my top 3, what would say are yours? What books have changed your life and why? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Light & Love,

Alicia.

Okay, I am probably overusing the book analogy but this is She Should READ after all.  In my last post I wrote to you about not being able to maintain the integrity of this endeavour and blah blah blah {it was really sad to write}…but I can’t stop because I come across books and magazines that I want to share with you all the time and maybe that’s what I should do when I am super busy – just recommend reading?!

So, I am going to give what I can, when I can on this site!  I love love love the idea of you reading and encouraging young women to read as well. Since I have made a concentrated effort to read more often, my vocabulary has subtly expanded and frankly I am thinking a bit better.

UPDATE:  I am almost done reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, all of the other books I was reading are staring at me wondering what their fate will be. Hopefully completion.

I hope you guys are getting in some great summer reading!

Light & Love,

Alicia.

Dear She Should Read™ Readers,

After much thought and consideration I have decided to temporarily halt my work on this site. It is important to me that any work I produce is consistent with my goals, values and approach to work.  This endeavour, although meaningful, is not in line with my current goals and could not receive the attention it fully deserves.

I continue to believe that reading as a form of continuing education is an effective tool to expand and enrich the lives of young of women.

Should you have any ideas, thoughts or questions on this belief, you may reach me any time at alicia@sheshouldread.com or by clicking HERE.  I am always open to collaborations and guest writers on my blogs. Many Thanks.

Light & Love,

Alicia Mathlin.

p.s. you may still find me at www.sheshouldknow.com & www.sheshouldgive.com, maybe elsewhere but that’s it for now.

In my last post I told you I began reading the book Half the Sky by N.Kristoff and S.WuDunn, the book is excellent and maintains its optimistic voice even while describing the unpleasant realities for many women around the world.  Its subject matter remains true to my heart but there have been other things on my mind lately, so…

I have also started reading 4 other books – yes 4! They are…

1. The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight and Saving the Planet by Alicia Silverstone {yes, THAT Alicia Silverstone from the teenage classic film Clueless}
2. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
3. Reinventing the Body & Resurrecting the Soul by Deepak Chopra
4. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz {which I talk about on our sister site www.sheshouldknow.com}

I guess you could say that the health of my mind, body and soul has been, well, on my mind. I have been distracted lately by the way my body responds: to the things I eat, to the overwhelming thoughts I have been having and to the sometimes difficult task of being separated from my soul’s mate every day.  I often search for the answers to the questions in my mind in books.  I tend to read the non-fiction variety and usually come away with what I am looking for before finishing – the book then gets added to our little library to be forgotten until I forget the answer again.

For me, a book is at its most beautiful when I pull it from the store’s shelf, inhale that crisp paper smell and flip it open to the page that tells me it has the answers I seek.  I hope to complete at least one of the 5 books mentioned above by the end of June…and if not I hope to get through this very pensive space in time a bit more comfortably because of some chapters found in a book.

Light & Love,

Alicia.

Our first book is {drum roll please}…

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide{authored by Nicholas D. Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn}.

There is a Chinese proverb which states that “women hold up half the sky,” for me it’s hard to overlook a book that opens that way and has a dedication that ends with “……and for all those on the front line around the globe, saving the world, one woman at a time.” Based on my obvious passion, it’s clear that I am a bit biased with this choice but the first thing anyone should know when resuscitating a love for reading is pick a subject that interests you.  As you know, women – their empowerment, their economic power and their profound ability to make a difference is a subject that captured my heart and has not let go since 2009.   It’s a difficult subject to read about from a global perspective because the news still isn’t good and the statistics are remarkably grim.  Thankfully there are solutions…and ultimately that is what Half The Sky is about – answers and hope.

So far, the book has a great flow and proportionately balances the good news with the bad {don’t get me wrong, the bad news is still really bad}. It was written by the only married couple ever to win a Pulitzer prize for journalism and it’s easy to tell why – the book is difficult to put down.  It takes a lot of skill to get people to care about women around the world, so when I get to the halfway point I will let you know if they still have my attention…by first account they probably will.

For more information on Half  The Sky visit www.halftheskymovement.org.

This is not our first official post! Well  technically it is, but I really wanted to pay tribute to Oprah’s Book Club!

Of Oprah’s selections I have read: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Love in the Time of Cholera & One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.  All very different books but each very special as promised. Admittedly I have not kept track of all her selections but I am moved by the idea that she encouraged us to start reading again.

I hope that by sharing my efforts to read more often through She Should Read™ you find a way to do the same – reading develops your mind, improves your language skills, helps you escape and ultimately enriches your life.  By reading, you learn. Through learning, you grow. Read more. Know more.

In Reading with Oprah: The Book Club That Changed America, Kathleen Rooney describes Winfrey as “a serious American intellectual who pioneered the use of electronic media, specifically television and the internet, to take reading—a decidedly non-technological and highly individual act—and highlight its social elements and uses in such a way to motivate millions of erstwhile non-readers to pick up books.”  I could not have said it better myself.

Thank You Oprah!

{Photo Credit: www.oprah.com}

It would be great if you came to this page and I could already tell you the first book right?

Well I am almost there, just fine tuning my choice…but in the meantime, let’s get the discussion going:

What’s your favourite book and why? or  Who is your favourite female author and why? EMAIL ME

Looking forward to your replies!

Light & Love,

Alicia.

p.s. I still have some tech stuff to sort out on this site also…thank you for your patience.