As the co-hosts of the podcasts Shameless and The Books That Changed My Life, we’ve had the privilege of picking the brightest brains in the entertainment industry.
We – much like our guests – are avid readers. Whenever time permits, we inhale books and get an absurdly potent kick out of sharing them back and forth. Some of the very best books haven’t just stayed with us, they’ve changed us; they’ve filtered life in a new, profound way, or offered lessons that are so damn revelatory they simply demand to be passed on.
Naturally, we care about what our friends and family are reading. But you know what we care about even more? The books that have influenced the influencers.
Now that the new year is here and the sun is hopefully doing its thing (we’re looking at you, La Niña), here’s a handy list of six hidden book gems that have changed your favourite celebrities’ lives …
Hamish Blake
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Hamish Blake isn’t just a funny guy: as we discovered in our interview with him, he’s an incredibly deep thinker. He’s also, it turns out, a colossal fan of Eckhart Tolle.
Hamish’s biggest takeaway from The Power of Now is that “most humans are never fully present because unconsciously they believe the next moment must be more important than this one.”
So influential was this book on the comedian’s life, he now practices meditation to hone in on the ‘now’. The trick? Shut out all outside noise and distractions by honing in on just one sense at a time.
The Power of Now has been translated in 33 languages. So you know it’s a must-read.
Kevin Kwan
People Like Us by Dominick Dunn
Before there was Crazy Rich Asians, there was a 13-year-old Kevin Kwan, obsessed with the glitz of New York’s elite.
The author fell in love with high society after reading People Like Us – a book he says might just be his favourite of all time.
The premise? Well, there’s money (lots of it), sex and mystery: in the midst of all the glamour is the story of a murder that has real-life ties to Dominick Dunn’s life. Curious? So was Zara. And after picking this one up, it soon became one of her all-time favourite reads, too.
Dr Susan Carland
The Divided Heart by Rachel Power
Are you feeling the push-and-pull between your creative career and your family? Feel like you’re in a constant tug of war between the two different sides of yourself? Dr Susan Carland says you need The Divided Heart on your bookshelf immediately.
Not only is this the book Dr Carland has bought the most copies of (it’s her go-to book gift for her girlfriends), she says even the first couple of pages will leave exhausted new parents saying “yes, yes, yes”.
Laura Henshaw
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
We know, we know, this is not a new recommendation. But fitness-tech entrepreneur Laura Henshaw says it’s an extremely popular go-to read for a reason: it’s just really bloody good.
While Laura struggled with Manson’s “super blunt writing style” in the first chapter, she said this straight-talking self-help book ultimately helped her rewire and reprogram her brain’s pattern of people-pleasing.
“The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck made me realise it is okay to care, but to be selective about what you do care about … I wish I had read it sooner.”
Lisa Wilkinson
Becoming by Michelle Obama
You don’t need us to tell you that 2021 has been a year of highs and lows for Lisa Wilkinson. The success of her memoir It Wasn’t Meant To Be Like This came with a shadow of intense media scrutiny, making our interview with the 61-year-old one of our most candid and emotional ever.
A guiding light, Lisa told us, was Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming. Particularly, Wilkinson said, the central premise of “when they go low, we go high”, which “became my absolute mantra throughout the writing of my own book.”
Liane Moriarty
The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
You know all of Liane Moriarty’s books, so what about the novels that shape her as a person and a writer?
When we asked the best-selling author to share with us the book that inspired her to live the kind of life she wanted to leave, she brought The Accidental Tourist to the table.
Why, exactly? Well, Anne Tyler is one of Liane’s favourite authors and has a real knack for writing ordinary characters doing ordinary things in a pretty extraordinary way. Reading this book was like a “revelation” for Liane, who said she felt like it gave her permission to write real-life, relatively ordinary characters in her own stories.
Need more summer book recommendations in your life? This list only scratches the surface of the incredible reads we’ve found on The Books That Changed My Life. New episodes are dropping every Tuesday. Download the LiSTNR app now to listen for free.
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