I’ve recently taken to the Kindle app on my iPad. I think it’s mostly due to the fact that we’ve driven into New York City several times in the past week, and I need something to help me keep a grip on reality on to not fall into a state of paralyzingly epic fear and worry that always seems to accompany me when I’m in a moving motor vehicle within the confines of a big city. I don’t know what it is. I would rather walk miles before hailling a cab or parallel parking.

And because I have yet to pay full price for a Kindle book, I’ve been scouring my favorite sites for freebies. I stumbled upon two monumental (dare I say, life-changing?) books by Chris Guillebeau, blogger for The Art of Nonconformity. The first book is Chris’s manifesto: A Brief Guide to World Domination. It’s only 29 pages, so ye go forth and ye download! The most poignant and integral part of the manifesto, and the message I am now trying to make my mantra, is this: “You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to.” How liberating is that?!

The second recommendation is Guillebeau’s 279 Days to Overnight Success, a guide to how he made his blog a successful, money-making enterprise without the assistance of advertising, paid posts, and the like. It is a continuation of his message to “live a remarkable life,” but also gives some really solid methods for bloggers to use to create a successful blog platform. I’m keeping notes and hope to be changing things up a bit to be a more productive writer!

Do you know of any bloggers putting their stuff out there? Please share in the comments!