Moms Must Read:
Life Changing Books for a New Year, New You

It’s the new year! It’s time for change and for resolutions: get a new job, try a new hairstyle, save up for that new house, or get into shape. You’ve got the enthusiasm and the passion to take over the world! All you need to take over the world, is a plan. My plan to take over the world will begin as soon as I finish reading this next chapter. Whatever your plans are, there’s probably a book to help you get started. If you don’t have a plan, books will help you make a plan. And, if you simply want to read a book, then you’ve come to the right place. Today we present five life changing books for a new year and a new you. Ready?

1. Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words
by Randall Munroe

I love the title of this book! You know how kids ask so many questions about how things work and sometimes you have absolutely no idea? Here are your answers.

…things are explained in the style of Up Goer Five, using only drawings and a vocabulary of the 1,000 (or “ten hundred”) most common words. Explore computer buildings (datacenters), the flat rocks we live on (tectonic plates), the things you use to steer a plane (airliner cockpit controls), and the little bags of water you’re made of (cells).

Read More: Kid’s Questions: I’m Jealous Of My Skinny Friends

2. Notorious RBG
by Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik

I’ve had this book on my TBR (to be read) pile for a while. If I can find the poster, I’m going to hang it in my office. On every ding dang wall. Who doesn’t love the idea of RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) in a tiara?

You can’t spell truth without Ruth.
Only Ruth Bader Ginsburg can judge me.
The Ruth will set you free.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg never asked for fame—she was just trying to make the world a little better and a little freer. But along the way, the feminist pioneer’s searing dissents and steely strength have inspired millions. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, created by the young lawyer who began the Internet sensation and an award-winning journalist, takes you behind the myth for an intimate, irreverent look at the justice’s life and work. As America struggles with the unfinished business of gender equality and civil rights, Ginsburg stays fierce. And if you don’t know, now you know.

The Ruth will set you free? Get outta my head! Ginsburg’s insight is likely to be similar to what we kvetch about to our squads: Why does the school always call the Mom when the child is sick? Daddy is perfectly capable of collecting a sick child from work too. Can you even imagine a school daring to call RBG to tell her to collect a sick child? Move over Beyonce. I’m Team Ruth. The Ruth will set you free. A-freakin-men.

Read More: Ask The Good Enough Guy: I Think My Husband Is Sabotaging My Diet!

3. Year of Yes: How To Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun
And Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes

Here’s someone else I want on my squad: Shonda, I own Thursday night, Rhimes.

With three hit shows on television and three children at home, the uber-talented Shonda Rhimes had lots of good reasons to say NO when an unexpected invitation arrived. Hollywood party? No. Speaking engagement? No. Media appearances? No. And there was the side-benefit of saying No for an introvert like Shonda: nothing new to fear. Then Shonda’s sister laid down a challenge: just for one year, try to say YES to the unexpected invitations that come your way. Shonda reluctantly agreed―and the result was nothing short of transformative. In Year of Yes, Shonda Rhimes chronicles the powerful impact saying yes had on every aspect of her life―and how we can all change our lives with one little word. Yes.

Encourage your whole squad to read this book.  There’s so much good inside. It’ll help you learn to say No (to annoying or bad things) and Yes (to yourself). I’m giving a copy to everyone I know!

Read More: Women And Weight: Are You Sick Of The Double Standard?

4. Always Hungry? by David Ludwig

Now I don’t know about you, but I’m always hungry. My problem is, I don’t always eat. Stop throwing things at me. I’m a stress non eater. Except cake. I always find time for cake.

ALWAYS HUNGRY? turns dieting on its head with a three-phase program that ignores calories and targets fat cells directly. The recipes and meal plan include luscious high fat foods (like nuts and nut butters, full fat dairy, avocados, and dark chocolate), savory proteins, and natural carbohydrates. The result? Fat cells release their excess calories and you lose weight-and inches-without battling cravings and constant hunger. This is dieting without deprivation.Forget calories. Forget cravings. Forget dieting. ALWAYS HUNGRY? reveals a liberating new way to tame hunger and lose weight . . . for good.

I’m not trying to get model skinty, oh no. I’m just trying to be a lean, mean fighting (ok, reading) machine. Mostly, though, I just want to fit into my fave pants again. Did I mention I’m a sucker for birthday cake? If there’s a diet I can try that will not deprive me of cake? Sign me up. Let’s stop being hangry.

Read More: Ask Rene: How Do I Get Them To Stop Talking About My WEIGHT?

5. Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
by Marie Kondo

I have mixed feelings about de-cluttering. On the one hand the idea of getting rid of junk sounds appealing. On the other hand, going through boxes of junk makes me want to sit down and eat cake.

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home. With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house “spark joy” (and which don’t), this book featuring Tokyo’s newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

I do know one thing: I won’t be decluttering my book collection. It’s a library, after all and every librarian needs a library. I could recycle the collection of half scribbled in princess coloring books, right? Nah…

Read More: The Doctor Is In: 5 Foods With Hidden Sugar

Now that you know what to buy, start making your plans. World domination may be just  a few steps away. And if not world domination, surely domination over feeling bad, right? And that’s very good. Say yes to yourself!  Also? The Ruth, the Ruth, The Ruth is on fire…