The Solo Book Club
A collection of essential reads for soloists (including a few volumes written by our podcast and interview guests).
Got suggestions for must-reads for the Solo community? Please write us. Also: When you purchase books through the links here, we may earn an affiliate commission. Thanks for your support!
Natural Capitalism:
The Next Great Industrial Revolution
By Paul Hawken
Read it because: The world needs love and we’re living with the shortcomings of Industrial Capitalism. A new way to look at our economic system. Written in 1999, this book was prescient then and seems vital now.
Move Fast and Break Things:
How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy
By Jonathan Taplin
Read it because: There’s no industry that changes the world as quickly as the tech industry. Here, we meet the players who charted a course to take over and alter everyone’s lives.
The Gig Economy:
The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Want
By Diane Mulchay
Read it because: You are a Soloist and no one really told you how to be one. With this book, Babson College professor Mulcahy creates a guidebook for navigating the gig economy and for comfortably living the life you want to lead.
More Good Jobs:
An Entrepreneur’s Action Plan to Create Change in Your Community
By Martin Babinec
Read it because: Entrepreneurs have only recently begun to realize that local economic policy is too important to be left to politicians. Babinec has created a valuable handbook for making local or regional economic change for entrepreneurs. Econ-dev pros might want to take a look at it as well.
Wisdom at Work:
How to Reinvent the Second Half of Your Career
By Chip Conley
Read it because: Legendary boutique hotelier Chip Conley was dealing with a career mid-life crisis after selling his company and accepting an offer to join Airbnb when he discovered that at 51 he was, well, old —twice the age of most of his coworkers. But after some very humbling experiences, Conley says he learned one very valuable thing: experience is making a comeback.
Out of the Office:
Making the Transition to Working from Home
By Maya Middlemiss
Read it because: Maya Middlemiss is a leading expert on managing the work/life balance for Soloists. She’s lived it and doesn’t assume it’s easy. Soloists will need to relearn old skills, unlearn new ones, and reshape their lives so that “work” doesn’t overwhelm “life” — especially when the latter is just a closed door away from the former.
Finding Your Edge:
Establishing and Maintaining Boundaries When You Work from Home
By Maya Middlemiss
Read it because: Respecting the “dynamic” balance between work and home life is key to the ultimate success of your professional life – whether you’re a remote worker as part of a larger distributed team, or a freelancer juggling multiple contracts.
Still Life:
The Myths and Magic of Mindful Living
By Rebecca Pacheco
Read it because: Meditation is more than just closing your eyes. It’s work, and sometimes lots of it, and then it needs maintenance. Emotional, mental and spiritual. The work, however, has the potential to open your world up to something new and peaceful. Exactly what the Soloist needs to navigate their world.
Do Your Om Thing:
Bending Yoga Tradition to Fit Your Modern Life
By Rebecca Pacheco
Read it because: You’re busy. You’re a Soloist and you’re juggling everything while trying to hold it together. Yoga is a way to achieve that balance. Rebecca Pacheco has taught countless through her website. She understands that busy lives get in the way of mindfulness. This book is a great introduction to her practice.
Soloing:
Realizing Your Life’s Ambition
By Harriet Rubin
Read it because: You need to know what to expect and how to navigate the leap into becoming a Soloist. Harriet Rubin frames that leap around the concept of freedom. And that, in itself, is inspiration enough to take the leap.
Do/Walk:
Navigate Earth, Mind, and Body. Step by Step
By Libby DeLana
Read it because: The cumulative power of small things to transform a life inspire us. Here, the small things are the steps that constitute a daily walk. Over 10 years of this ritual, DeLana has walked over 25,000 miles—enough to circle the earth.
Seek You:
A Journey Through American Loneliness
By Kristen Radtke
Read it because: Most of us suffer from loneliness at some point in our lives, some of us for all of our lives. But it wasn’t until we read this book that we truly understood what loneliness is in the first place. And reaching an understanding that loneliness is a universal condition, we immediately feel that we aren’t alone after all. For soloists (especially), this would be our book of the year.
The Death of the Artist:
How Creators are Struggling to Survive in the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech
By William Deresiewicz
Read it because: The basic economic viability of creatives is being crushed due to the dominance of the big tech platforms. Are Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and others siphoning off so much of the money from creators that art is in danger of disappearing? This is the most compelling and comprehensive look at the state of art and artists in this country in decades.
Remote Work Revolution
By Tsedal Neeley
Read it because: Tsedal Neeley is one of the foremost authorities on the realities of remote work and the changes it brings to workers, managers, leaders, organizations, and the economy overall.
The Coming of Neo-Feudalism:
A Warning to the Global Middle Class
By Joel Kotkin
Read it because: This might seem like an alarmist screed about the return of a feudal society, except for the fact that Kotkin is a world-class reporter, researcher, and writer—and a life-long champion of liberalism and capitalism. The last chapter of this book is a bracing manifesto for change.
