As I'm in my "reader & writer living in Provence era", I feel really honoured that so many fabulous authors are also readers of The Hype newsletter. Here are eleven of the best books written by them. And yes, obviously I'm hyping myself too. Gotta walk that talk.
1. Read Yourself Happy — Daisy Buchanan
How to use books to ease your anxiety.
Daisy Buchanan shows how building a sustainable reading habit can ease anxiety, boost joy and strengthen creativity. A compassionate, uplifting guide to making reading a grounding daily practice. She is also a fantastic cheerleader of others and has written several other fiction books so you definitely need to check out her work.
Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/read-yourself-happy/daisy-buchanan/9780241691656
2. Draw a Better Business — Cara Holland
The essential visual thinking toolkit for freelancers and small business owners.
A practical, illustrated guide that teaches you how to think and communicate visually. Even if you believe you “can’t draw.” Includes exercises, real examples and simple tools to plan, pitch and create with clarity. Cara's book came out before my first book baby in 2020 and she is still a champion at hyping herself. I really respect any author who can keep consistent with plugging away as it's hard.
Buy: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draw-Better-Business-essential-thinking/dp/1910056634/
3. The Uncertainty Toolkit — Sam Conniff & Katherine Templar Lewis
Science-backed support for navigating change with calm and confidence.
A science-backed guide to staying calm and resilient through change. With neuroscience, behavioural insights and storytelling, this toolkit helps you turn uncertainty into opportunity. Includes free webinars and a Morcheeba-scored audiobook.
(Full disclosure: they were one of my last PR clients, and they’re wonderful.)
Buy: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/sam-conniff/the-uncertainty-toolkit/9781035060054
4. Crafting Connection — Felicity Dwyer
Transform how you communicate with yourself and others.
A wise, practical guide to deepening human connection — essential in a world where communication is increasingly mediated through AI. Felicity Dwyer explores understanding yourself, empathising with others and building more meaningful relationships in work and life.
Felicity is also on the same publishing h
Buy: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crafting-Connection-Transform-communicate-yourself/dp/1788604016/
5. The Artist’s Side Hustle — Stacie Bloomfield
Build a thriving creative business in just a few focused hours a week.
Stacie Bloomfield breaks down systems, habits and revenue strategies into simple weekly steps, making this a supportive, actionable guide for artists, illustrators and multi-hyphenates who want to grow without burning out.
Like many of us, life threw a spanner in the works when it came to launching her book so I'd love to give her an extra boost.
Buy: https://www.staciebloomfield.com/SideHustleBook
6. Corporate Escapology — Adam Forbes
A practical guide to breaking free from corporate life and moving forward with confidence.
Adam Forbes shares his five-step method for detaching from corporate identity, recognising your value and designing a more fulfilling next chapter. He has also personally been a huge champion of my work and even booked me for several workshops for an accelerator he consults for so I'd love to send some book love back his way if you are in that position of thinking about leaving your corporate role. Or been struggling to find your feet since you did.
Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Corporate-Escapology-practical-breaking-moving/dp/1788606035
7. Stand The F*ck Out — Louis Grenier
A no-nonsense, highly actionable guide to positioning and becoming memorable.
Louis Grenier distils 15 years of expertise into four clear stages that help you articulate why people should choose you — and make sure they remember you. Packed with exercises, examples and entertaining insights.
The other frenchman in my life. I've been a huge fan of his work for a long-time.
Buy: Link to buy
8. The 1% Wellness Experiment — Gabrielle Treanor
Change your life in just 10 minutes a day.
You don’t need hours of self-care — just 1% of your day. This book offers daily micro-gain challenges designed to reduce stress, calm the inner critic, build joy and strengthen emotional resilience.
Gabrielle was one of my first paid readers who came from outside my immediate network and truly smashed her own hype but this topic is so important,
Buy: Link to buy
9. Joie: A Parisian's Guide to Celebrating the Good Life— Ajiri Aki
Embrace more joy, beauty and everyday pleasure, wherever you live.
Ajiri Aki, founder of Madame de la Maison, shares the French approach to living well: celebrating the small things, creating beauty in the everyday, and embracing rituals that make life feel richer. From using your best tableware just because, to sourcing the perfect baguette, wandering like a flâneur, or thrifting antiques, Joie is a beautifully shot reminder to slow down, savour and infuse daily life with intention and pleasure.
On a personal note, I am still learning to embrace my new French life and this is on my Christmas Wishlist to help me do just that!
Buy: Link to buy
10. Hype Yourself — Lucy Werner
A practical, jargon-free DIY PR toolkit for small businesses and creatives.
You didn't think I could put a book list together and not include my first book baby? If you didn't know, this book was created to demystify PR and shows founders exactly how to get featured in the media through creative campaigns, step-by-step strategies and insider advice.
I'm also in the process of updating the free templates that go with this on my new website so watch this space.
Buy: https://bookshop.org/lists/books-that-i-have-written
11. Brand Yourself — Lucy Werner & Hadrien Chatelet
The essential guide to building a standout brand on any budget.
When I wrote Hype Yourself, I knew people needed the same thing but with building a brand from working with Hadrien. So I wrote this with the co-founder of my children. He is all the brains behind it and I am the brawn.
If you are starting out and don't have the budget for a huge branding agency learn about brand strategy, visual identity to personal branding and affordable creative techniques. This book — plus its extensive online playbook — helps small business owners create a compelling, memorable brand.
Buy: https://bookshop.org/lists/books-that-i-have-written
Over to You
In these parts, we champion the underdogs. If you know a fellow small business author (or maybe you are one!) plug a link below.
Let's hype another.
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