Hands up if you’re over this rain. I mean honestly, all I want to do every day is stay in bed and alternate between knitting and reading and napping.

That’s the ideal rainy day life, but it’s not reality. Work keeps me busy all day (and even into the evening), but before bed I finally get to snuggle up and crack open a book. What books? Read on to learn more, and then visit Amazon to pick one up for yourself, because it doesn’t look like the rain is going to end very soon.

(I am one of those people who ditches the dust jackets soon after buying a hardcover book, though I will admit the dust jacket for Big Magic is straight up magical.)

1.) Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert

To be fair, I read this book last year, but it’s been displayed prominently in my office since then for good reason. Business owner or not, everyone needs to read this book. It’s mainly directed toward creatives, but even nine-to-fivers with creative aspirations will get something out of Big Magic. Elizabeth Gilbert (of Eat, Pray, Love fame) talks readers through the importance of finding the magic in your creative life once again. She uses her experience of being a best-selling author with nowhere to go but down, and yet knowing the importance of keeping at her craft even if she never hits the same level of success as she once had. This is definitely a book you’ll want to buy instead of borrow, because you’ll re-read it again and again as you fill in the margins even more each time. If you can’t get enough Big Magic, Liz even has a podcast to go along with it, aptly named Magic Lessons.

Who should read it: Entrepreneurs who feel like they’re in a creative rut; Creatives of all types; Nine-to-fivers who want to dive deeper into their creativity // Buy on Amazon

2. and 3.) Picture Perfect Practice and Picture Perfect Posing, Roberto Valenzuela

I find these two books to be must-haves in any photographer’s arsenal. I’ve owned Picture Perfect Practice for several years now, and just recently acquired Picture Perfect Posing (a rainy day Amazon purchase, natch), and already I can’t get enough. Roberto Valenzuela is one of those rock star California photographers whose clean style is the epitome of classic. We photographers need to always be educating ourselves in order to keep our work fresh, and the advice outlined in both of these books is just the way to do that.

Who should read them: Photographers who like to better their skills. // Buy Picture Perfect Practice and Picture Perfect Posing on Amazon

4.) Travel As A Political Act, Rick Steves

Whether you know of Rick Steves by way of your parents who watch his PBS show, or on your own accord through his guidebooks, the point is that you know him to be a guy who knows travel. Personally, I watch episodes of his show on Hulu, own a couple of his guidebooks, and follow along with his travels on Instagram (his throwback photos from the 70s are my favorite). A few months ago, I watched one of his lectures in which he discussed how his extensive travel experience has led him to be more open-minded politically, and how he feels that if only more people/Americans would travel outside of their comfort zone of luxury cruises and English-speaking beach resorts, they would come home with a much broader worldview and would care more about the politics of how our country is run. That same day, I ordered this book. I devoured every story, every anecdote, and every idea he had written. It’s opened my eyes to the ways other countries attempt to solve the same problems that we have, and taught me that many of them do it better. Honestly, I believe that every American should travel in order to experience life outside of our bubble, though of traveling is not a possibility for them, they should at least read this book.

Who should read it: Every American; people who love the hell out of this scene from episode one of The Newsroom. // Buy on Amazon

So what are you reading these days? As you can tell, I’m a non-fiction fan, so by all means throw some more recommendations my way in the comments!
p.s. this post contains Amazon affiliate links, if you haven’t figured it out already.