Best Independent Books August 14
We are delighted to recommend the following books from the independent publishing sector.
NON-FICTION
Success DNA: Mastering Persistence in Leadership and Life
by Alinka Rutkowska, Manuel R. Aragon, Golshan Barazesh et al.
This isn’t just a collection of inspirational stories — it’s a call to action for those who are ready to take ownership of their journey and lead with courage, clarity and compassion. In this book, 19 accomplished leaders talk about their journeys from adversity to achievement, revealing the personal qualities that fuel enduring success.
Through powerful storytelling, this anthology illuminates the pathways forged by persistence, resilience and adaptability, traits that transcend backgrounds and redefine what's possible. Each chapter in this book offers deep insights into the evolution of leadership, the strength found in overcoming personal and professional obstacles and the purpose discovered when ambition aligns with core values. From redefining success beyond status and wealth to transforming setbacks into stepping stones, these stories provide a roadmap for navigating today’s complex challenges.
Readers get to explore how effective leadership emerges through experience and reflection, how balance and fulfillment go hand in hand and how lasting impact is created when individuals lift others up. Rooted in real-world lessons and emotional truths, this is a guide to cultivating an authentic leadership style.
Honors: seen on MarketWatch
Category: Business
ISBN: 978-1637353875
Finding A Perfect Audience: Cracking the Social Media Code
by John Edmonds Kozma
In this insightful guide, the author reveals proven strategies and timeless principles to help businesses attract and connect with the people who truly matter. Combining practical advice with innovative techniques, this book offers a universal approach to using social media content to build influence and collect meaningful data.
This book is a step-by-step roadmap to create powerful connections that can revolutionize business. The author teaches how to identify a perfect audience with clarity and precision and engage with it; to harness the law of attraction to bring in ideal customers or fans; and to master the tone and timing that resonate in today's digital world. The book provides valuable insights on leveraging demographics to unlock the full potential of a social media presence.
Complete with actionable advice and interactive exercises, this book empowers entrepreneurs, creatives, marketers and professionals to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Honors: seen on MarketWatch
Category: Business
ISBN: 978-1637353691
Invest and Grow Rich: Achieve Financial Freedom with $500 a Month
by Sanjay Jaybhay
This book is a fact-based boot camp in personal finance. It offers easy-to-follow concepts that will appeal to those seeking approachable solutions to managing budgets and assets.
All concepts are explained with the example of investment in rental property but the same thinking can be used for any kind of investments or businesses. It’s money mastery for the middle class.
This book explains what actions self-made breadwinners routinely practice. Key money concepts followed by millionaires are revealed. It also contains essential guidance about the common mistakes everyone makes around good and bad debt. Other topics covered include understanding necessities, liabilities and assets, four-dimensional investment and supersize downsizing.
Honors: seen on ABC, CBS and NBC
Category: Business
ISBN: 978-1943386659
Confessions of an Ironman: Swim, Bike, and Run to Self-Discovery
by David Solyomi
The value is in the journey, not the finish line! In this book, the author describes his hilarious (and grueling) adventure as he attempts to complete one of the world’s most demanding endurance races.
There might be a fine line between discipline and stubbornness, but no one told the author that! In this book, he recounts how training in preparation for the world’s most iconic endurance race helped him to face his deepest fears and to attain a quality of life entirely different from what he had previously known.
This is an epic telling of one man’s highs (and so very many lows) in the parallel journeys to peak physical fitness and deep self-discovery. The journey itself is the destination as it offers the possibility of the deepest self-discovery, and with that, the chance for a better life. The outcome, like the Ironman title, is just the icing on the cake.
Not only those who are into sports can benefit from Solyomi’s narrative but any type of reader looking for inspiration and a purpose for doing what they are doing at this point in life. — GoodreadsHonors: seen on MarketWatch
Category: Self-Help
ISBN: 978-1637351079
Chaos by Design: Tales of Empowerment on the Path to Digital Transformation
by Kader Sakkari, Imran Karbhari and Trevor Macomber
This book explores the ways in which successful leaders motivate their teams, drive innovation, and propagate long-lasting digital transformations.
This book is a deliberately empowering tool that describes how to foster the leadership characteristics, mindset and company values required to implement a successful digital-first approach. The authors discuss how to harness the power of creative chaos to shift an organization from fragile to agile. They explain why the servant leadership style is uniquely suited to transformative processes.
In this book, the authors reveal how unyielding creative disruption promotes flexible, adaptable business models primed for growth. They explain how to position a business not just to survive a global crisis, but to thrive in the uncertainty; in other words, chaos by design.
Honors: seen on MarketWatch
Category: Business
ISBN: 978-1637350041
In case you missed the books featured in the last newsletter, here they are again:
NON-FICTION
It Began in Africa: A Banker's Memoirs from the Heartland!
by Rizwan Haider
In this book, the author, an accomplished international banker, offers a compelling memoir that blends personal reflection with professional insight. This memoir is set against the vibrant backdrop of Africa, the author having moved there from his native Pakistan in 1979.
The author’s journey unfolds through evocative storytelling and sharp observations, revealing the continent’s cultural richness, historical depth and economic complexity. From bustling cities to remote villages, he explores Africa’s diverse communities, sharing stories shaped by resilience, tradition and transformation. He guides readers through the intricacies of African banking and finance, offering a rare insider’s view into a sector often overlooked yet vital to the continent’s progress.
This memoir captures the echoes of Cold War legacies, the enchantment of local myths and the pulse of innovation driving Africa’s future. The author’s narrative is both enlightening and entertaining — an invitation to see Africa not just through numbers and markets but through the lives and dreams of its people.
Honors: seen on MarketWatch
Category: Biographies & Memoirs
ISBN: 978-1637353431
How to Become an Effective Leader
by Michael Brainard
This insightful guide is not just another leadership manual. It’s a comprehensive exploration into psychological and positive behavioral conditioning.
The author uses his extensive experience developing and coaching leaders across the country to detail eight disciplines that enable leaders to create a sustainable platform for organizational excellence and propel their growth as leaders to new heights. He provides a prolific manifesto for becoming the type of leader that many people aspire to be.
The book explores the skills required to influence other people positively as leaders. It shows how to take leadership to the next level.
The author has added eye-catching and creative graphs and charts that made the book visually appealing to read, and the case studies he wrote were enlightening and educational. — Readers’ Favorite Honors: seen on MarketWatch
Category: Business
ISBN: 978-1637351697
TOO BLUE!: The IBM PC from an Acorn to a Renegade
by Dennis Andrews
Long before Apple became a household name and Bill Gates the poster child for computational wealth, there was IBM — a few crazy visionaries who saw a future no one else could have predicted. In this thrilling work, the author pulls back the curtain of IBM’s history to reveal the sometimes serendipitous, sometimes nerve-racking, technological race to develop a computer that would change the course of history.
The author tells how a small, relatively unknown team of engineers at IBM colored outside the blue line, thus shifting IBM’s mainframe business to an untapped and ‘fruitless’ market; pitched and signed what was then a small but feisty Microsoft Corporation to the Acorn Project; fought a corporate slew of internal naysayers that deemed the personal computer a risky and unnecessary reputational hazard; elevated the PC from relative obscurity to a household product for millions worldwide; took the IBM PC from zero units in 1980 to more than 2 million units in 1984 and a 34 percent market share; and developed a road map for pioneering tech startups.
This story of what almost never was reads as a breathtaking technological adventure fraught with corporate perils and groundbreaking innovation.
A nice combination of technical subject and history... makes this piece of work interesting and absorbing. — Goodreads
Honors: seen on ABC, CBS and NBC
Category: Business
ISBN: 978-1637350034
The Strategy Handbook: The Secret Sauce to Daily Business Success
by Jeroen Kraaijenbrink
This practical handbook provides daily benefits that far exceed the initial strategy and its application. In this granular guide, people are empowered to generate and execute business strategies through user-friendly charts, tools, case studies and a step-by-step process.
Although strategy can be complex, it isn’t reserved merely for the boardroom or academic elite. On the contrary, strategy, if done right, is for everyone and from everyone. The time has come to demystify the stigmas that have traditionally plagued institutionalized strategy.
In this book, the author unpacks the value-added learnings from MBA programs and scholarly textbooks to achieve obtainable results that actually matter, all in a down-to-earth way.
Highly accessible and understandable — GoodreadsHonors: seen on MarketWatch
Category: Business
ISBN: 978-1637352083
Profit Generating Pipeline: A Proven Formula to Earn Trust and Drive Revenue
by Leslie Venetz
In today’s competitive B2B landscape, building a reliable pipeline isn’t just about hitting numbers; it’s about earning trust, leading with purpose, and creating sustainable growth. This book offers a no-nonsense, proven framework for sales leaders who want to drive consistent revenue without relying on outdated tactics or flashy gimmicks.
With a clear and actionable approach to outbound sales, the author helps teams generate qualified leads, improve buy-in, and establish repeatable processes that stand the test of time. At the heart of this guide is the “Earn the Right” mindset. That powerful philosophy fosters respect, builds credibility, and transforms how leaders engage with their teams and prospects. The author shows how to build a top-of-funnel pipeline that converts, implement scalable systems for long-term success, and lead with confidence in a way that inspires trust and performance.
This book is a roadmap for leading with purpose, selling with confidence, and growing with consistency. With practical insights and a refreshing dose of honesty, the author proves that selling with integrity isn’t just possible; it’s profitable.
Honors: seen on MarketWatch
Category: Business
ISBN: 979-8998527036
We trust that your readers will enjoy our hand-picked selection.
For more bestselling and award-winning books from the independent publishing sector, please go here.
Warm regards,
Alinka Rutkowska
CEO, LibraryBub
