Back to school = back to self
In celebration of the return of routine with our new reading schedule (plus a nice bit of PR for the Club!)
Hello everybody,
First up. RESPECT to all of the parents/carers out there for keeping your small humans alive for another summer. You are 100% heroes and the human race thanks you (even if those small humans don’t always remember to say those words). 🦸
But it’s not just parents and carers who are happy to be getting back to a sense of routine, everyone I speak to this week seems to be breathing out, in a kind of collective relief that we can all get back to a bit of normal.
And that’s probably because a bit of normal - aka our regular routines, rituals and habits - can help us feel more on top of life.
Summer’s fun and everything, but there’s something empowering about taking charge of our schedule - and our Selves - once again (if you’ve forgotten how, Admiral McRaven’s mini book - and manifesto - Make Your Bed, is an excellent place to start).
Plus, September is the PERFECT excuse to splash out on new stationary (check out this delicious post/love letter to new pens from our journalling expert friend,
) and new pens and journals are known (by Shelfies, at least) to instantly improve any situation.For those of you itching to fill your new diaries below is the reading schedule for our next Book Club read, Build the Life You Want by Arthur C Brooks and Oprah Winfrey.
This week is all about getting hold of a copy of the book, and the 7-week Read-along starts officially on MONDAY 9th September, with a live launch event exploring our happiness profiles according to some of the research tools shared early on in the book.
Then it’s 1-2 chapters - or approx 30 pages/week - until The End at the end of October, by which time you’ll have spent two months intentionally focusing on your happiness levels and building the foundations for a life you love. What a gift to yourself AND those small and big people in your life.
Book Club members/subscribers will find joining info in your Monday mailer/the private members Chat, and non-members can join the fun by subscribing today.
And if you’re considering joining us, but want to know a little bit more about The Shelf Help Club, this seems like an excellent time to share a nice article written about us recently (see below). Because I know that being part of this community makes a big difference to people’s lives, but it’s always nice to see someone else shout about it too.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend (and feel free to RSVP me with any questions about the book/events/membership etc and/or the routines you’re ready to get back to).
See you on screen?
Toni 💛
I want to rebrand self-help as self-health
(The People’s Friend, Autumn 2024)
As a writer of a certain age and the founder of a social impact business there is nothing that beats the warm glow of seeing my story and my business baby in old-school print.
This week, the world’s longest running women’s magazine, The People’s Friend, ran a great spread on the Club and why reading is good for us.
TPF is so retro that there isn’t a version to link to online, so instead, I’m sharing the written feature here in full, because - as I say in the interview: “We're a supportive group - we support people when they‘re feeling down, and celebrate when they’re doing well.”
So… let’s celebrate!
We’ve all noticed the self-help aisle in a bookshop or picked up a pertinent title now and then, but few of us probably read self-help books regularly.
Toni Jones of Shelf Help, a book club that encourages readers to tackle a self-help book every two months, wants to change that.
She believes that feeding our brain a regular diet of great advice and philosophy can have a lasting and significant impact.
“I’ve personally read around five hundred self-help books in the last six years," she says. "I also listen to some on audiobook and watch TED talks. I find that if you get even one lightbulb moment from a book, then it’s been worth reading.”
If you get even one lightbulb moment from a book, then it’s been worth reading.
Toni’s journey to be a self-help advocate started in an Oxfam bookshop in Chiswick in 2017, at the moment at which she was feeling a little lost.
“I’d just left my full-time journalism job and was freelancing,” she says. “But I wasn’t doing very well emotionally. I was browsing in the bookshop when this book sort of fell off the shelf and front of me. I picked it up and read the title, 'How To Change Your Life In 7 Days’ by Paul McKenna.”
On opening, Toni read the question: ‘If you woke up in your dream life tomorrow, what would it look like?’
"It sent me into a bit of a tailspin because it’s something I hadn’t thought about. I bought the book and decided to give it a go,” she says.
Overtime, Toni began to read more and more self-help, choosing books focused on a variety of different areas. And she began to realise that reading these books was a great way of taking care of herself.
“We often turn to self-help books when we're in crisis," she says, "but I realised that they are something we can read regularly as a form of self-care.
We often turn to self-help books when we're in crisis but I realised that they are something we can read regularly as a form of self-care. I want to re-brand self-help as self-health - something celebratory that we do all the time.
"I want to re-brand self-help as self-health - something celebratory that we do all the time."
As a journalist, it was natural that Toni wanted to share her findings with others. “Sadly my friends weren't interested," she admits. "They could see the value for me, but they weren't up for reading and discussing self-help."
Keen to share her love of the genre, as well as make connections with other self-help fans, Toni decided to set up a book club, and Shelf Help was born.
"I wanted to create a place for people to come and share their reading and insight, and hoped it would evolve into a supportive community” she explains.
Her first Shelf Help meeting was near to her then home in Chiswick in October 2017, and over time she was able to arrange several sub-groups.
Then during the pandemic all meetings moved to online. “At first it was disappointing to lose the in-person element,” Toni says, “But then I realised that in a way it was great, as more people could come and join in.”
Each online meeting now has up to 60 attendees, and community numbers are growing
The club has a shared read every two months, curated by Toni, and meet each Monday for a discussion or author event.
Rather than stick to one topic, Toni has divided the group's reading into five distinct sections. She calls it the S.P.I.E.S. framework (Social, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional and Spiritual] and tries to choose titles aimed at each of these disparate areas to keep things varied.
Rather than stick to one topic, Toni has divided the group's reading into five distinct sections. She calls it the S.P.I.E.S. framework (Social, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional and Spiritual] and tries to choose titles aimed at each of these disparate areas to keep things varied.
"In the summer, for example, we tend to find something spiritual or inspirational to read, as people don't want to be too challenged," she explains.
“At New Year, we’ll look at goals or habits. It helps to tune into the mood of the group at these times.”
So is it helpful to read a self-help book even if we feel it might not specifically. relate to out circumstances?
"I believe so," Toni says.
"For example, we read Happy Sexy Millionaire by Steven Bartlett, and several members questioned whether they d be able to relate to the experiences of someone whose life was so different from theirs. But every person who read it took something away and most of them are now big fans!”
As well as sharing her love of reading and self-help, Toni has managed to create a supportive community, within which many friendships have sprung up.
“Sometimes it can be hard to share aspects of our lives with friends and family - even good news at times. But we're a supportive group - we support people when they‘re feeling down, and celebrate when they’re doing well."
“Lots of people have formed friendships and many meet up online and offline," she adds. “Although there have been no romances yet - as far as I know.”
For Toni, having the community takes reading self-help from something passive to something transformative.
“We can all read a book, but doing it as part of an exercise and in community is much more powerful as you have different perspectives, accountability and support.”
Just became a paid subscriber and excited to start this read. Where would I find an invite with logistics for the book club meetings on Monday?
Woo!! Congratulations 🎉 a great article. Love seeing the print version 🩵