Hello everyone! Welcome to another post of Indie Recommends Indie! Today, thanks to author Barbori Garnet, I bring you a ton of indie non-fiction recommendations! Let’s welcome Barbori and dive into these books which she loves.
Thank you for being on this series, Barbori! Please tell me and my readers a bit about yourself. 🙂
Thank you for the opportunity to be part of the Indie Recommends Indie series!
I am a writer and author of Home at the Office: Working Remotely as a Way of Life (Atmosphere Press, September 2021), artist, musician, and gardener based in Alberta. I enjoy writing – and reading – non-fiction and write and read on remote work, home businesses, home offices, gardening, and more.Â
Throughout the years, I have worked several different work-from-home and remote jobs including: pet sitting, marketing assistant, and music instructor.Â
I have a BFA in Painting & Drawing from Academy of Art University and an MA Communications in Public Relations from Southern New Hampshire University.
Do you primarily read indie books or big publishers books as well?
For non-fiction, I read a mix of indie, including small publisher, and big publisher books. I estimate that it would probably be about a 50-50 split of each that I read. Reading non-fiction books on a variety of topics gives a way to learn from the experiences and suggestions of others. After reading a non-fiction book, the result might be a new idea to incorporate in one’s own writing, business, or other area of life.
Barbori’s Indie Recommendations
ECOprenuring: Putting Purpose and the Planet before Profits by John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist
Genre: Business, Environment, Sustainability
Published Year: 2008
Standalone
Ivanko and Kivirist – innkeepers, authors, and wearers of many other hats – truly walk the green talk, detailing the nitty-gritty of running a green business. – Library Journal
I’m not even sure I’d call this a “business book.” ECOpreneuring contains plenty of advice on starting a small, eco-conscious business, but the authors focus primarliy on how entrepreneurial efforts can incorporate values and priorities beyond the bottom line. Lifestyle choices trump profit motives, but neither have to be sacrificed in order to create meaning and income.
This kind of positive thinking is repeated again and again throughout the book. In addition to sharing their own success, and the stories of others, ECOpreneuring is filled with practical information about starting and running a small green business. A potential ecopreneur will discover ideas on everything from bookkeeping to marketing, and the authors point to numerous other resources that will help you set up your company, and run your business without running afoul of tax codes, licensing agencies, or litigious competitors.
This is one of my favourite books. I love the way the book is written; it is written in a way that inspires the reader to take stock of where they are at with their work and business and then make the necessary changes. The authors present the content in a logical order that flows from one point to the next and makes you feel like you are part of a conversation with mentors.
John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist cover many areas in their book including how to start and run a sustainable business, strategies for managing expenses and finances in the long-term, and having a life that blends family, friends, and fun. Ivanko and Kivirist also cover the importance of identifying your passions and building a business based on what you enjoy and are good at doing.
This book is jam-packed with ideas and suggestions – from the authors’ own experiences of owning and running earth-friendly businesses including a Bed & Breakfast, farm, and writing books – to help you on the path to creating work that is both meaningful and good for the planet.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is thinking of starting a business that combines both their passions and a focus on sustainability.Â
Quit Your Job and Follow Your Dreams: A 12-Month Guide to Being Joyfully Jobless by Michelle Kulp
Genre: Entrepreneurship, Career
Published Year: 2019
Standalone
LEAVE YOUR SOUL-CRUSHING JOB, FIND YOUR CALLING AND CREATE AN INSPIRED LIFE
Do you feel chained to a career that is miles away from the dreams you once held dear? Wondering how you’re going to make it through another day, spending time away from the people you love, squeezing the things you truly want into a few short hours on the weekend.
When you’re NOT doing something you truly love and care about, any place can seem like a prison. You weren’t born to be in JOB prison.
Even if you don’t know where to start, have lost sight of your dreams or have no idea how you’ll replace your income, this book will give you the roadmap you need to leave your unfulfilling job and build a thriving livelihood around your passions and purpose.
Quit Your Job and Follow Your Dreams will help you rediscover your natural talents, gifts and dreams so you can create a life you don’t want to escape from.
This book by Michelle Kulp offers guidance to readers on steps to take when a person has lost or quit their job. Some of the advice that the author gives includes sampling different jobs that you think you might like, having a written income plan in place during a time of no job as well as reducing living expenses and eliminating debt, removing energy zappers such as unfinished projects and clutter, and creating multiple streams of income. Towards the end of the book, Michelle Kulp also provides a 6-step exit strategy to prepare for life after a 9-to-5 job.Â
By reading Quit Your Job and Follow Your Dreams, the reader will be encouraged to evaluate their passions, likes, and interests in creating goals to achieve, starting a business, or finding work to enjoy. Reading this book is a great step to implementing the change you want to take in your job and in your life.
This book is a recommended read to anyone who has just lost or quit their job (or is thinking about leaving their job) and is wondering what to do next. By reading this book, readers will gain ideas and things to consider for next steps to take.
The Simple Life Guide to Financial Freedom: Free Yourself from the Chains of Debt and Find Financial Peace by Gary Collins
Genre: Self Help, Non-fiction
Published Year: 2019
The Simple Life Series (Book 4)
“If America is the Richest Nation in the World, Why Am I So Broke?”
Every year, you’ve promised yourself…
“This is the year I’m going to get ahead.”
So, why are you still broke? We live in the wealthiest nation on the planet, yet 69% of us have less than $1,000.00 in savings. This puts most in the dire position of being just one paycheck from financial disaster and destruction.
If you sense a conspiracy at work, you’ll be shocked to realize how right you actually are.
Once you have the right information you will be able to break the chains. The tools, strategies, and tactics shared in this book don’t take a financial genius to use–anyone can do it!
In this one-of-a-kind book, best selling author and simple living expert Gary Collins lays out page after page of easy to understand, honest, mind-blowing research. It reveals the eye-popping reasons most Americans will NEVER live to see financial independence in their lifetimes.
Yet, we ALL have the potential to become secure and stress-free. We just don’t know it yet.
Read the first page of this book and see for yourself. By the time you’re done, you won’t be able to look at money, or your life, the same way again.
What is not to love about being free from debt and finding financial peace? In his book The Simple Life Guide to Financial Freedom, Gary Collins shares simple steps that each person can take to eliminate debt. The steps he shares include suggestions such as having a 15-year mortgage instead of a 30-year mortgage, reducing the amount for eating out, paying off credit card amounts each month to avoid paying interest, and other helpful ideas.
In the last chapter, the author shares that people could be multi-millionaires and not even be aware of or know it. Gary arrives at this by adding up the average amounts people pay – for eating out, mortgage, credit card interest, etc. – over 40 years during working and it is amazing that the amount comes to around $1.5 million.Â
This book will encourage readers to take stock of where their money is going and make simple changes that they can implement to eliminate debt and find financial peace.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is seriously looking to make positive changes in their finances. Readers can take their time, reading chapter-by-chapter, to assess where they are at currently and identify the areas where they need to implement change.
Career Success without a Real Job: The Career Book for People Too Smart to Work in Corporations by Ernie J. Zelinski
Genre: Job and Career
Published Year: 2009
Standalone
A career guide to being successful without the nine-to-five grind.
Twenty-five years ago, Ernie J. Zelinski was fired from his engineering job for taking too much vacation time. Now, he works only five hours a day and earns more money than 80 percent of the corporate world. CAREER SUCCESS WITHOUT A REAL JOB provides practical tips and inspiration for creative and ambitious individuals looking to escape the rat race and make a good living on their own terms.
I love this book because the author shows that there are many ways to have success in your career but without a regular 9-to-5 job. This is encouraging because, for a variety of reasons, 9-to-5 may not be the right fit for many people. Instead of being discouraged, people should take heart and turn to books like this one to find the inspiration and ideas they need to take the next step that is best for them in their work, goals, and life.
Some of the ideas that Ernie Zelinski shares include working part-time and volunteering in order to get an idea of what you might enjoy doing. Another helpful suggestion from Zelinski is that it is up to each individual to determine what career success means to them rather than what family, friends, or others say.
If the reader is looking for outside-of-the-box ways to create and find career success without a real job, this book could be the next one on your list of books to read.
I would recommend this book to those who are looking for a new direction in their work. If someone has lost their job recently or wants to change careers, then this book would give them new ideas and possibilities to consider.
Apples to Orchards: How to Live an Abundant Life on an Average Salary by Stan Dunster
Genre: Personal Finance, Goals
Published Year: 2014
Standalone
Can you imagine playing basketball without a hoop? Or soccer without goal posts? How about tennis without a net? Ridiculous, right? There has to be a point to the game, a way to keep score towards an ultimate victory! How much more important is it to have a point to your life? An ultimate victory for you to reach in your time on this planet? Most of us live by accident, allowing others around us to decide the ultimate direction of our lives – bosses, family members, friends. How foolish is it to put our very lives into the hands of others to have them decide where we go, what we do, and how successful we are. By not choosing our own path on purpose, we are putting our lives into the hands of others who do have plans. Setting – and reaching – goals is not just for the elite few; those with money, those with connections, those with resources. Anyone – even a humble school teacher – can reach extraordinary highs and achieve fabulous goals, simply by setting our sites on a target and then following the steps to get there. No matter where you’re starting from, you can take one small step towards an ultimate goal. And then another. And then another. Until you’re someplace you wanted to be all along. This book will show you how to do just that. Follow the steps, watch what the author did and how things serendipitously fell into place just by him keeping his eyes on the prize.
With an average salary, Stan Dunster shows how anyone can live an abundant life. The author walks readers through steps how to achieve abundance and one of the suggestions is to have goals and plans for the future.
In Apples to Orchards, the author provides several exercises and questions for readers to complete. A few examples of the exercises and questions include: One goal I really want is to have…, A place I would like to visit is…, and your time lines for Short-range goals (1 year or less), Medium-range goals (1-5 years), and Long-range goals (more than 5 years). These exercises and questions prompt the reader to take the time to think about what their short-and long-term goals and plans are for the future.
By reading this book, readers will be encouraged that with planning and taking steps to reach their plans, they can accomplish their goals and live an abundant life on an average salary.
Readers who want to be able to achieve things on a moderate salary will appreciate reading this book. It will give them encouragement to take the time to identify what their goals are and then find ways to achieve them.
Barbori’s Book Spotlight
Home at the Office: Working Remotely as a way of Life Â
Genre: Business, Career, Self-helpÂ
Published Year: 2021Â
What if I told you that working remotely can lead to increased freedom, flexibility, and independence in your life?
Home at the Office: Working Remotely as a Way of Life will help you:
- Work remotely through any age and stage of life
- Understand the work-from-home mindsetÂ
- Learn the skills and character traits needed for remote work
- Discover the 7 different types of working from home
- Gain insights and secrets into how 10 extraordinary workers from home across North America succeed and face challenges in their remote work
Bringing over 10 years of work-from-home experience in writing, marketing, and music, Barbori Garnet invites you to join her as she shares how you can enjoy the rewards of freedom, flexibility, and independence found by working remotely.
Resources included in the book:
- Book Recommendations
- Job Search Websites
Book Club Discussion Guide to help facilitate discussions for book clubs and groups.
Content notes: None declared by the author.Find this book on Goodreads, Amazon and Chapters-Indigo. Check out an excerpt here.
Connect with Barbori on Twitter and Facebook, Head to her website where you can sign up for her newsletter as well. Follow on Goodreads and Amazon for bookish updates!
Did you add any books to your TBR today based on this post or did you see any you have already read? Tell us in the comments! Thanks for hanging out with us today!
If you are an indie or small press author who is an avid reader and wants to be featured, sign up using the form on the Indie Recommends Indie home page. This is a fantastic way to bring attention to fellow indie authors as well as your own book. 🙂
Banner Photo of library by Alfons Morales on Unsplash
Be First to Comment