An avid reader, Meghan has often displayed books around her home and shared inspirational reads with her friends. We compiled them here so you can build your own Meghan-Markle inspired reading list! Meghan shared her “Badass Reading List” on The Tig in 2016, which included some of the books she noted to have influenced who she became. We’ve also uncovered some of her most prominently featured books from her Instagram feed and are sharing what those books are – and Meghan’s thoughts on them – on the bookshelf below.
Top Shelf (Left to Right)
The Motivation Manifesto by Brendan Burchard
Meghan shared on The Tig about this book. The Motivation Manifesto is a pulsing, articulate, ferocious call to claim our personal power. World-renowned high performance trainer Brendon Burchard reveals that the main motive of humankind is the pursuit of greater Personal Freedom. We desire the grand liberties of choice-time freedom, emotional freedom, social freedom, financial freedom, spiritual freedom. Only two enemies stand in our way: an external enemy, defined as the social oppression of who we are by the mediocre masses, and an internal enemy, a sort of self-oppression caused by our own doubt and fear.
Meghan shared her own thoughts on the book:
Annoyed by your self-doubt and distractions? The noise that keeps you from reaching your potential? Okay, so yeah. Me too. Even on my most Sasha Fierce days there’s a mean little voice in there going, “Hmmm…I’m not sure if you can, or should, or if you’re good enough to.” Time to tell that little thief of joy to get outta your head. This book is a must-have for waking up your inner badass, and being the very best version of yourself.
Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington
As seen on Meghan’s Instagram Account. Grace Coddington’s celebration of fashion has danced along its cutting edge for over 30 years. Abandoning a highly lucrative career as a leading model on the 60s London scene, alongside such swinging contemporaries as Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy, Coddington signed on in 1968 as a junior fashion editor at British “Vogue.” She quickly established herself on the other side of the camera, coordinating photo shoots with David Bailey, Cecil Beaton, Helmut Newton, Sarah Moon, and the eccentric Guy Bourdin. A close working relationship with royal photographer Norman Parkinson produced a series of startlingly vibrant location shoots that have come to be considered classics. At British “Vogue,” Coddington also introduced the sweeping narrative epic, a familiar feature of her work nowadays at American “Vogue,” where she has been creative director for the past 14 years.
In Vogue: An Illustrated History of the World’s Most Famous Fashion Magazine by
As seen on Meghan’s Instagram Account. In Vogue is a fascinating look at the history of the world’s most influential magazine. The complete compendium is illustrated with hundreds of covers and archival interiors of past Vogue editions, featuring the work of some of the twentieth century’s most respected artists, cover illustrators, and photographers—from Edward Steichen, Toni Frissell, and Erwin Blumenfeld to Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, David Bailey, Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Steven Klein, Bruce Webber, and Herb Ritts. In 1909, an entrepreneurial New Yorker named Condé Nast took charge of a struggling society journal and transformed it into the most glamorous fashion magazine of the twentieth century.
Second Shelf Down (Left to Right)
The Dress: 100 Iconic Moments in Fashion Hardcover by
As seen on Meghan’s Instagram Account, this collection of dresses from the inimitable Megan Hess celebrates fashion’s finest moments and takes the reader on a decadent romp through fashion history… from the haute to the hot. From the elegant, such as Audrey Hepburn’s simple black shift or Princess Di’s never-ending wedding gown, to the quirky, such as Bjork’s Swan Dress or the Liz Hurley safety-pin dress, to the simply unforgettable – such as Marilyn’s famous moment in white in The Seven Year Itch or Madonna’s perilous-looking conical bustierre.
The Coveteur: Private Spaces, Personal Style Hardcover by
We weren’t surprised to see Meghan Markle call out her friend Jake Rosenberg’s book on her Instagram Account. TheCoveteur.com has over four million visitors a month who come for the insider portraiture, profiles, and beautiful photographic excavations of fashion’s celebrated personalities. Showcasing celebrities’ favorite clothes, accessories, and objects in their private, rarely seen spaces, The Coveteur book is an intoxicating combination of fashion eye candy, interior design, and celebrity voyeurism.
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Meghan fell in love with the message from the #1 New York Times Best seller and Pulitzer Prize Finalist included in this inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir that finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living? She shared it on her Instagram as a book to dig into while flying!
Third Shelf Down (Left to Right)
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
In The Four Agreements, bestselling author don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.
Meghan shared how this book was important to her:
My mom gave me a copy of this book when I was 13 years old, and to this day, I constantly circle back to the Don Miguel Ruiz classic for the simplest ways to simplify your life. Don’t Make Assumptions gets me every time.
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
Meghan shared on The Tig about this book. The how of Pooh? The Tao of who? The Tao of Pooh!?! In which it is revealed that one of the world’s great Taoist masters isn’t Chinese–or a venerable philosopher–but is in fact none other than that effortlessly calm, still, reflective bear. A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh! While Eeyore frets, and Piglet hesitates, and Rabbit calculates, and Owl pontificates, Pooh just is. Meghan shared her thoughts about it:
Aspects of Taoism told through the characters of “Winnie the Pooh” – I mean, does it get better? This is a speed read that you can easily whip through in a day, but trust me when I say that you will revisit it time and time again for its refreshing perspective on how to move in the world.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Few books have been as universally cherished as The Little Prince, the haunting, lyrical fable that explores the very meaning of life. It features such famous lines as “One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” Meghan shared how she loves the book:
I have long been obsessed with this book, and specifically with The Little Fox. Even if I don’t revisit the entire existential text (masked as a children’s book), the chapter of The Little Fox unearths a truth in me that is always worth the check-in. And if my vouching for it doesn’t give it the badass quality you’re looking for, the film remake is due to be released soon with a star-studded cast. So there ya go, fancy pants.
Bottom Shelf (Left to Right)
Who Moved my Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
A timeless business classic, Who Moved My Cheese? uses a simple parable to reveal profound truths about dealing with change so that you can enjoy less stress and more success in your work and in your life. Meghan shares how she loves the book. Here’s what Meghan had so say about the book, which she discovered in University.
A professor at Northwestern University had this book on our list of required reading for an Industrial Engineering class I took my junior year of college. It was a seemingly odd choice, but at the end of the day, the takeaway was a self-empowerment and motivational bent that I apply to decision making in my life to this very day. It’s an invaluable quick read.
Elements of Style by Erin Gates
Meghan shared this design book on her blog. Elements of Style is a uniquely personal and practical decorating guide that shows how designing a home can be an outlet of personal expression and an exercise in self-discovery. Drawing on her ten years of experience in the interior design industry, Erin combines honest design advice and gorgeous professional photographs and illustrations with personal essays about the lessons she has learned while designing her own home and her own life—the first being: none of our homes or lives is perfect. Like a funny best friend, she reveals the disasters she confronted in her own kitchen renovation, her struggles with anorexia, her epic fight with her husband over a Lucite table, and her secrets for starting a successful blog.
The Inner Gym: A 30-day workout for strengthening Happiness by Light Watkins
One of the biggest myths in our society is that you can simply choose to be happy whenever you want, even in spite of challenging circumstances. Or, that happiness is a byproduct of making more money, falling in love, or being successful. But modern research says this is an illusion. Happiness is not sustained through achievements. Rather, it is the result of having strong “inner” muscles. Part story book and part workbook, The Inner Gym is broken down into six easy inner exercises, one per chapter. Meghan shared this book on The Tig as a key book for beginner meditation. Here is what Meghan had to say:
Light shares some tips from his new book that will help you find your inner quiet. I know you’ll think of a million excuses as to why this is silly or why you don’t have time for it; much like the day I told Light I didn’t have enough hours in the day to do it, and he told me that’s why I needed to mediate twice as much. Not gonna lie, I rolled my eyes thinking “Oh give me a break, mystic man.” But low and behold, this mystical man was right.
More Books
As seen on Meghan Markle’s front entrance table, this elegant volume is a visual history of Roitfeld’s fearless career. A daring instigator, she is known for pushing the limits with her subversive styling ideas. Featuring a selection of 250 magazine tear sheets and covers from pivotal editorial shoots and advertising campaigns, as well as intimate visual ephemera, this book gives an inside view into Roitfeld’s creative thought process and sensibility. A must-have for those interested in cutting-edge fashion and femininity, this book will empower women to follow Roitfeld’s lead and take risks with their personal style.
