I enjoy books so much, I did an English Literature degree straight out of high school. These days though, my fiction reading is mostly commercial / genre rather than literary.

I read for light relief from my day job as a mental health counsellor, and go for entertaining, uplifting stories that have a happily ever after / happy for now.

Even thinking about citing a top ten list (for fiction at least) is beyond impossible. Instead, here are ten fiction books (and 11 non-fiction) from my bookshelf, that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and have read multiple times.

Maybe you will too…

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Favourite Fiction Reads:

• What Alice Forgot - Liane Moriarty.

• Three Wishes - Liane Moriarty.

  (Brilliant Australian author, LM needs no

  introduction.)

• The Other Side of Beautiful - Kim Lock.

  (An Australian comic genius among her other skills.)

• Other Women - Lisa Alther.

• Bedrock - Lisa Alther.

  (Speaking of comic genius’s, Lisa Alther is an earlier generation, American version. A comic, feminist, women’s fiction author. Her books are GOLD.)

• Summer People - Marge Piercy.

  (MP is an American author of Lisa Alther’s generation. Again, political, feminist, comic and of course entertaining.)

• Husband Replacement Therapy - Kathy Lette.

  (Read the first chapter and die laughing. This is the kind of Australian comedy I need after a hard day at work.)

• Alice Brown’s Lesson’s in the Curious Art of Dating - Eleanor Prescot.

  (A sweet, funny romance unlike any I’ve read before, with great characters and a twist at the end.)

• Food, Sex & Money - Liz Byrski.

  (A great West Australian contemporary women’s fiction author, writing mostly about women in their 50’s and upward.)

• State of Wonder - Anne Patchett.

  (A literary novel that’s brilliant and entertaining.)

Favourite Non-fiction Reads:

• Autobiography of a Yogi - Paramahansa Yogananda.

  (Uplifting, life affirming, loving, magical. I read it every 4-5 years and remember it’s great to be alive.)

• The Myth of Normal - Gabor Mate.

  (Illuminating modern day mental health and illness, GM says it like it is, with articulate page-turning language as well as the research and personal / professional experience to back it up. Gifted to me by a close friend, this book speaks to me.)

• A Course in Miracles - scribed by Helen Schucman, with help from William Thetford, from ‘inner dictation from Jesus Christ.’

  (This book is the basis of my spiritual practice. I’ve done the full 365-day course twice and while the book itself is not easy to read, its message is profound.)

• A Return To Love, Reflections on the Principals of A Course in Miracles - Marianne Williamson.

  (MW makes The Course more understandable and accessible as she applies it to modern life.)

• Sacred Contracts - Caroline Myss.

  (Every one of CM’s books are pure inspiration. I’ve read them all multiple times, applying her healing work to my own life. CM’s presence on this planet has positively changed my life - and probably millions of others. That’s why I named Caroline, one of Perfect Timing’s main characters, after her.)

• Focusing - Eugene Gendlin.

  (This author, EG’s face, came to me in a vision one day while I was meditating. Six months later I read his book and started focusing - mind blowing! I’ve named the character, Eugene, in Perfect Timing after him.)

• Man’s Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl.

  (While we are talking books coming to us, here’s another one. VF, was a psychiatrist and holocaust survivor. His name and book title came to me in a dream. I was working with torture and trauma survivors at the time, and discovering this powerful book gave me exactly what I needed to continue that work.)

• Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing Therapy - Francine Shapiro.

  (FS contributed an invaluable gift to humanity when she developed EMDR - a therapy for PTSD and other traumas. I use EMDR a lot in my counselling practice, it’s the most effective therapy I’ve found for clearing long held trauma and healing suffering.)

• A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle.

  (A spiritual guide on overcoming ego to find inner peace - and it's easy to read.)

• You Can Heal Your Life - Louise Hay.

  (Published in 1984, this is a classic with a clear, profound yet simple message, “Love Heals” - That’s what LH herself wrote in my signed copy of this book, which - get this - my daughter gifted to me, after her flatmate found, FOUND!!! it in an op shop.)

• Personal Power Through Awareness - Sanaya Roman.

  (This is just one of SR’s many wonderful books. Another is Opening to Channel, which is how I learnt to channel myself, hence inspiring the channelled character, Erin, in Perfect Timing.)