What was your best gift this past Christmas? For me, I finally got the one gift I've wanted all year…a Kindle Paperwhite! A book lover's complete dream!Though I feel sort of guilty for loving my kindle so much because I've always dreamed of having a house filled with stuffed-to-the-max bookshelves…that guilt has not stopped me from quickly loading up on new kindle books! I have been a book downloading machine these last few days!In particular, I've been downloading a lot of modern and classic self-improvement reads to help jumpstart my commitment to my goals this year. These are my top 7 reads to get my mind right this year:

1. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

The book that inspired this very blog! :-) I realized that I hadn't read it in a while so I wanted to read it again as a refresher. Think & Grow Rich is full of classic success principles that I know will help me in achieving my goals.

2. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

I've already started this book and it is really fascinating. The author goes in-depth about how habits work, how they affect our lives, and what we can do to change them. I'm focusing a lot on my habits this year and how I can develop good ones that will ultimately lead me to accomplishing my goals. So far this book is golden.

3. The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

I vaguely remembered hearing about this book a while ago, but when I came across it on not one, but two blogs that I follow, I knew it was something I needed to check out.

4. The Practicing Mind by Thomas M. Sterner

This was one of the first new books that I downloaded on my kindle and I finished it in 2 days. It's a great book that teaches the reader to focus on practicing the skills necessary to achieve your goals instead of the results, since you can't really control results, you can only control the action towards your goal that you choose to take everyday (i.e. your practice).

5. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff…and it's all small stuff by Richard Carlson

I haven't read this book, but just from reading the sample, I could tell that I really need it because I'm really bad about sweating the small stuff lately. Wedding planning has me ultra stressed out (13 days away as of this post!) and every little thing is feeling like a crisis lately. Hopefully this book will help me "woo-sah" and keep my focus on what's important.

6. The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino

I actually already own the hardcopy version of this book but it is so good and inspiring, I wanted to be able to access it from my Kindle wherever I go. I even featured this book as one of my bookclub reads, which should tell you how much I love this book. It's a short book, but it is uniquely designed for you to read each chapter over and over before moving on to the next one, so that you can really drill each lesson for success into your mind. I don't know anyone who wouldn't feel inspired after reading this book, which is why I hope to "re-inspire" myself by reading it again this year.

7. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

I've loved C.S. Lewis ever since I read "The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe" in the 4th grade; this book is equally enjoyable. Written 50 years ago but in a humorous, witty way, this book follows a "devil in training" as he is mentored by his "senior devil" as they try to destroy an unsuspecting young human's life. Though it is fiction, there are a lot of great lessons on how we get off track spiritually and allow ourselves to be negatively influenced by external forces. The book is funny, but not that funny, as you may see yourself in a lot of the mistakes the young subject makes. This book is an easy read and great wake up call to guard your heart and mind and stay spiritually awake. Definitely something I want to read over again as I start this new year!

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Do you have any special books you are reading to motivate you this year? Let me know what you are reading...so I can have an excuse to download more books! ;-)

P.S. Here's a list of inspiring books from another blogger I follow, Nikita T. Mitchell:http://nikitatmitchell.com/2014/01/four-books-that-inspire/If you know of any other bloggers featuring their list of must reads, feel free to share in the comment section.