In 2018, more than 50 percent of Americans resolved to save more money while 45 percent resolved to lose weight or get in shape, according to data from Statista.com. This year, surveys are predicting more of the same with 38 percent of Americans hoping to exercise more or lose weight and 37 percent trying to save money, according to offers.com. Even though the odds are against keeping a resolution past February, setting an intention is the start of positive change. Here are 19 books to help you start off 2019 on the right track.
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For money management:
"Women & Money" by Suze Orman (Spiegel & Grau, $24): In this revised and updated edition of her landmark book, Orman offers a new Financial Empowerment Plan for a new generation of women. Learn to protect your finances, spend wisely and build savings as well as gain insight on how to invest what you have with confidence.
"Beyond Blessed" by Robert Morris (Faith Words, $22): Take a faith-based approach to reaching your financial goals with this Jan. 8 release in which Morris, the lead senior pastor of Gateway Church in Dallas/Fort Worth, shares biblical principles that will help readers reach their financial goals.
For New Age healing:
"The AstroTwins' 2019 Horoscope Guide and Planetary Planner" by Ophira and Tali Edut (Astrostyle, $50): Astrology has become the balm for stressed-out millennials and Gen Xers, and the AstroTwins have risen to the top. Their massive annual planner offers an astrological road map for living your best life despite the challenges the planets may throw your way. It includes space to record your cosmic insights as well as sections with numerology and Chinese astrology.
>>Related: Here's what your astrological sign says about your career path
"The Crystal Code" by Tamara Driessen (Ballantine Books, $22): Crystal healer Tamara Driessen shows how crystals can help you gain confidence, boost your energy, destress and more. Learn how to use them in various rituals (pendulums, meditation, healing) to harness the Earth's energy.
For getting happy:
"Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think, Act & Be Happy" by Amy Newmark and Dr. Mike Dow (Chicken Soup for the Soul, $14.95): For 25 years, Chicken Soup for the Soul has shared real-life stories that inspire readers. Now Dow, a psychoanalyst, guides readers through strategies for using those stories to make real change in their lives and gain deeper insight into themselves and their problems.
"Radically Happy: A User's Guide to the Mind" by Phakchok Rinpoche and Erric Solomon (Shambhala Publications, $24.95): A Silicon Valley entrepreneur and a Tibetan Buddhist teacher partnered to create this guide to achieving daily well-being through meditation and mindfulness. Learn to stop looking for happiness, stop comparing and judging and live in the present with their personal stories, daily plans and step-by-step exercises.
For organization:
"The C.H.A.O.S. Cure" by Marla Cilley (Seal, $15.99): Cilley, aka the FlyLady, harnesses the lessons from her popular website into this book, which gives her methods for cleaning your house in 15 minutes or less.
"The Real Simple Method to Organizing Every Room: And How to Keep It That Way" (Real Simple, $26.99): The editors of Real Simple provide room-by-room advice for keeping your entire home clean, organized and clutter-free. Each chapter ends with cleaning checklists as well as strategies for keeping each space clean in the future.
"Life Admin" by Elizabeth Emens (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26): Most books about organization focus on rooms; this one focuses on the mind. Emens tackles the seemingly insignificant administrative tasks of everyday life that suck up time by offering tips on outsourcing, uncovering your biggest admin failures, moving lingering items off your to-do list and how to master low-admin socializing.
For making change:
"Imagine It Forward" by Beth Comstock (Currency, $30): The first woman vice chair of GE offers lessons on how to take a more disciplined approach to change, be it organizational or personal. Readers learn how to take on fear, embrace reinvention and give themselves permission to operate outside of set expectations or boundaries.
"The Holy Sh*t Moment" by James Fell (St. Martin's Press, $28.99): If slow and steady hasn't worked for you, Fell offers insight through stories and science into how a big moment can shift you from intention to action. Fell is known as a weight-loss guru, but the approach in this book, which debuts Jan. 22, is for any aspect of life.
For health and well-being:
"Your Brain on Plants" by Nicolette Perry and Elaine Perry (The Experiment, $16.95): This reference guide to more than 50 medicinal plants and herbs promises to help readers find a remedy for every ailment or trouble, including anxiety, memory loss, pain and insomnia. It includes DIY recipes for foods, personal care products and more.
"A Walking Life" by Antonia Malchik (DaCapo Press, $27): Walking can improve health, bring political change and connect communities, but we live in a world where most of us don't want to or don't need to walk. In this May 2019 release, Malchik envisions a world without walking and explains why we should care.
"Run for Your Life" by Mark Cucuzzella (Knopf, $26.95): In this no-excuses guide to running, Cucuzzella, a running doctor, harnesses decades of study to show how easy it is to start running, injury-free, no matter your age or experience level. The book includes advice on choosing the right shoes, preliminary drills and avoiding injury.
For parenting:
"A New Theory of Teenagers" by Christa M. Santangelo (Seal Press, $14.99): Ready to mend your relationship with the teenager in your life? Learn how to avoid bringing your past traumas into your relationship with your teen by identifying projections you put on your teen, healing yourself, adjusting expectations and putting your teen's behavior in the proper perspective.
"When Your Kid Is Hurting" by Dr. Kevin Leman (Revell/Baker, $19.99): Leman offers time-tested advice to help parents connect with children who are hurting. This includes understanding what your child is thinking, turning trauma into a teachable moment and learning when to step back and let your child work through pain on his or her own.
"Zen Teen" by Tanya Carroll Richardson (Seal Press, $15.99): Adolescents are experiencing more anxiety than ever. This guide gives them 40 coping mechanisms, including meditation, playlists, vision boards, spirit animals and more. Not only do teens learn how to use those practices, they also learn why it works and the reasoning behind it.
For the great beyond:
"Let's Talk About Death (Over Dinner)" by Michael Hebb (DaCapo, $26): Eighty percent of adults want to die at home, but only 20 percent do. Hebb addresses this disconnect that occurs when people refuse to talk about death by providing stories and conversation starters to cover everything from end-of-life care to funeral arrangements.
"What Matters Most" by Chanel Reynolds (Harper Wave, $25.99): In March, Reynolds releases the first book based on the popular website she launched in 2013. In 2009 when her husband died after being struck by a van while cycling, Reynolds became a single mom to her 5-year-old son and realized she was totally unprepared for everything that followed. Using her own experience, expert advice and a range of resources, she helps readers get up to speed on creating legal documents, managing life insurance, keeping track of accounts, growing an emergency fund and more.
