Good Books for Introverts and HSPs on Career, Business, Life

I’ve collected some recommended books here that inspire me in all kinds of ways — career, business, money, life, and spirit. Everything I’ve listed is well-written, inspiring, and full of real-life depth. They’re also well suited to the sensibilities of introverts and highly sensitive people (HSPs), especially women.

I’ve put them into categories:

  1. Big Inspiration and Soulful Living
  2. Introvert Power and Inspiration
  3. Highly Sensitive People (HSPs)
  4. Authentic Business/ Self-employment/ Solopreneurs
  5. Career Clarity
  6. Work Mindset, Productivity, Creativity
  7. Leadership
  8. Speaking and Communication Ease
  9. Fear, Courage, Confidence
  10. Callings, Purpose, Inner Compass
  11. Mindfulness, Inner Peace, Self-compassion
  12. Feminism, Social Justice, Racial Justice
  13. Novels and Memoirs that Introverted Women Will Enjoy

Big Inspiration and Soulful LivingFierce Heart book

Introvert Awareness, Power, and Inspiration

Highly Sensitive People (HSPs)

Authentic Business/ Self-employment/ Solopreneurs

Career Clarity

Work Mindset, Productivity, and Creativity

Money Issues

Leadership

Speaking and Communication Ease

Fear, Courage, Confidence

Callings, Purpose, Inner Compass

  • Follow Your North Star, by Martha Beck
    – a short audio similar to her books. I enjoyed hearing her very genuine voice.
  • Callings, by Gregg Levoy
    – a deep look at what are callings, how to hear them, and what to do with them.
  • Trust Within, by Molly Carroll
  • The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
    An inspiring fable about how to hear your heart’s callings and live into your true path.
  • The Path Made Clear, by Oprah Winfrey
    Inspiring snippets about finding your purpose.

Mindfulness, Inner Peace, Self-compassion

Women, Feminism, Social Justice, Racial Justice

Novels that Sensitive Women Can Love

  • The Alchemist - bookThe Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho
    A bestselling story that deftly captures life lessons about following your heart.
  • The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
    Fantastic writing. Deep and intense coming-of-age story about a young woman who grew up in foster care who expresses herself in the language of flowers.
  • The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
    Spectacular writing and spectacular story about a quiet Black woman who finds her voice in tough times in the South.
  • Caucasia, by Danzy Senna
    Beautiful writing. Coming-of-age story about invisibility, race, and family. Written from the perspective of a biracial girl who is forced to pass as white.
  • Joan Is Okay, by Weike Wang, 2022
    A happily solitary woman in NYC, hard-working ICU doctor, and daughter of Chinese immigrants facing others’ opinions about her that make her question herself. “Deceptively spare yet quietly powerful, laced with sharp humor, Joan Is Okay touches on matters that feel deeply resonant…” ~Goodreads.
  • Calling Invisible Women, by Jeanne Ray
    A light yet worthy story that captures the invisibility feeling that many women experience at middle age.
  • The Dictionary of Lost Words, by Pip Williams, 2021
    Historical novel set during the height of the women’s suffrage movement in England. A timid young woman helping with the dictionary comes into her own awakenings.
  • The Flatshare, by Beth O’Leary
    A rom-com novel with surprising depth. Main characters include an introverted man and an extroverted woman with PTSD.
  • The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, 2019
    A beautiful picture book for children with gentle depth, and great for sensitive adults too. Now an Oscar-winning film too.

Want more good books?

If you’re a book lover like me, especially of inspiring books for women, you’ll find more goodies at A Mighty Girl’s Books of the Year (something for all ages).

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