The best books about following your dreams

Why am I passionate about this?

When I left school at 18, I initially studied computers and French, because it was deemed the best way to get a ‘proper’ job. I then spent my 20’s working in various sales jobs. By 29, I was burnt out. I felt empty. Something was missing in my life. I wasn’t following my passions. I had grown up wanting to be on stage, to act, to sing, to dance, and to perform. The end of one stage of my life was the beginning of another. I changed course and began to listen to my heart and work full time as a performer. I hope you enjoy the books I’ve chosen, they all helped me to believe in myself, listen to my inner voice, and to dream again.


I wrote...

Book cover of Tojo's Dream

What is my book about?

Follow the story of Tojo, an Aye-Aye lemur on the island of Madagascar. Tojo dreams of one day being a professional ballet dancer, but his friends have other ideas. Will Tojo listen to them or follow his heart?

My book is about having the courage to follow your own path and listen to your inner voice. When I was younger I wanted to do drama and performance, but spent a lot of time playing soccer instead. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I found the courage to go my own way and start acting.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Alchemist

Dominic Anglim Why did I love this book?

This is a story that makes you think about where you are in life and question if you’re on the right path for you. I first read this book in 1998 when I had just started college, I was studying applied languages and information technology when in fact, I wanted to study the arts. I love the simplicity of the storyline, this story taught me to listen to my heart and follow my own path. It helped me to overcome self-doubt and gave me the courage to study theatre and belief that I could be a writer.

By Paulo Coelho,

Why should I read it?

25 authors picked The Alchemist as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A global phenomenon, The Alchemist has been read and loved by over 62 million readers, topping bestseller lists in 74 countries worldwide. Now this magical fable is beautifully repackaged in an edition that lovers of Paulo Coelho will want to treasure forever.

Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. This is such a book - a beautiful parable about learning to listen to your heart, read the omens strewn along life's path and, above all, follow your dreams.

Santiago, a young shepherd living in the hills of Andalucia, feels that there is…


Book cover of Manifest Your Destiny: Nine Spiritual Principles for Getting Everything You Want

Dominic Anglim Why did I love this book?

This book changed the way I was living my life. It literally changed the words I used to speak about my future plans/goals and made me want to dream big. It leads you to make the connection between what we think and what shows up in our lives. This was an epiphany moment for me. That, we are, who we spend time with, the books we read, and the TV we watch. And thus, the people around us become mirrors of ourselves. It made me examine my thoughts on a minute-to-minute basis and ultimately start living in the present moment. It introduces you to the benefits of daily gratitude and of being of service to others.

By Wayne W. Dyer,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Manifest Your Destiny as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, affectionately called the "father of motivation" by his fans, is one of the most widely known and respected people in the field of self-empowerment. Manifest Your Destiny is a remarkable guidebook that show us how to obtain what we truly desire.


Book cover of The Power Is Within You

Dominic Anglim Why did I love this book?

I’m my own biggest critic and sometimes get caught up in doing what I think others expect me to do, rather than listening to my own inner voice and following my dreams. Louise Hay’s writing is a ray of light and breath of fresh air to me. The Power is Within You is such an inspirational and nurturing book, that you can read over and over again. It taught me how to love, accept and trust myself. Packed full of positive affirmations to silence those negative thoughts about ourselves, that I think we all experience from time to time. Louise also talks about the power of practicing gratitude which I’ve found to be life-changing.

By Louise L. Hay,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Power Is Within You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the multi-million bestselling author Louise Hay - reclaim your self-confidence, seek out your inner power and let go of guilt, anxiety, trauma and stress.

World famous teacher Louise L. Hay, has already helped millions of people to free themselves from the cycles of fear, stress, and guilt which limit our lives. This book develops the ideas that she explores in You Can Heal Your Life, the multi-million bestseller, and teaches you how to build up your emotional and mental immune systems. Those closest to us - our parents and partners, even our colleagues - often seek to criticise and…


Book cover of The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

Dominic Anglim Why did I love this book?

There are points in every day, where I have to check myself and remind myself to get into the present moment again. The Power of Now taught me how to do that and made me realise how much time I spent thinking in the future and the past tenses. It also introduced me to the concept of the ego. Something which I was totally unaware of, in the bigger sense and meaning of the word. The value of letting go of the ego and how to quiet the mind.

By Eckhart Tolle,

Why should I read it?

23 authors picked The Power of Now as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**CHOSEN BY OPRAH AS ONE OF HER 'BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH'**

The international bestselling spiritual book, now with a new look for its 20th anniversary. Eckhart Tolle demonstrates how to live a healthier, happier, mindful life by living in the present moment.

************

'I keep Eckhart's book at my bedside. I think it's essential spiritual teaching. It's one of the most valuable books I've ever read.' Oprah Winfrey

To make the journey into The Power of Now we will need to leave our analytical mind and its false created self, the ego, behind. Although the journey is challenging, Eckhart…


Book cover of Down and Out in Paris and London

Dominic Anglim Why did I love this book?

This is one of my all-time favourite books because of how it was written. This book inspired me to be a writer. I read it while doing my erasmus in France where I was working as a waiter in a motel. My working hours were long, like in the book and I really got a sense of the struggle George went through in pursuit of his dream to write. It built into me a resilience that I would one day write something of worth that would be read by others and hopefully instill resilience into them.

By George Orwell,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Down and Out in Paris and London as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the author of 1984, the classic semi-autobiographical story about the adventures of a penniless British writer in two cities.

Down and Out in Paris and London follows the journey of a writer among the down-and-out in two great cities. Without self-pity and often with humor, this novel is Orwell at his finest-a sobering, truthful protrayal of poverty and society.


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A Diary in the Age of Water

By Nina Munteanu,

Book cover of A Diary in the Age of Water

Nina Munteanu Author Of Darwin's Paradox

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Writer Ecologist Mother Teacher Explorer

Nina's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

This climate fiction novel follows four generations of women and their battles against a global giant that controls and manipulates Earth’s water. Told mostly through a diary and drawing on scientific observation and personal reflection, Lynna’s story unfolds incrementally, like climate change itself. Her gritty memoir describes a near-future Toronto in the grips of severe water scarcity.

Single mother and limnologist Lynna witnesses disturbing events as she works for the powerful international utility CanadaCorp. Fearing for the welfare of her rebellious teenage daughter, Lynna sets in motion a series of events that tumble out of her control with calamitous consequence. The novel explores identity, relationship, and our concept of what is “normal”—as a nation and an individual—in a world that is rapidly and incomprehensibly changing.

A Diary in the Age of Water

By Nina Munteanu,

What is this book about?

Centuries from now, in a post-climate change dying boreal forest of what used to be northern Canada, Kyo, a young acolyte called to service in the Exodus, discovers a diary that may provide her with the answers to her yearning for Earth’s past—to the Age of Water, when the “Water Twins” destroyed humanity in hatred—events that have plagued her nightly in dreams. Looking for answers to this holocaust—and disturbed by her macabre longing for connection to the Water Twins—Kyo is led to the diary of a limnologist from the time just prior to the destruction. This gritty memoir describes a…


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