Interested in becoming a digital nomad?
Maybe you’re already an experienced digital nomad?
Whichever it is, there are a couple of digital nomad books that everyone that’s even considering this lifestyle should read.
Since 2020, the digital nomad movement has boomed across the world. A lot of people have had the opportunity to try working remotely themselves and we have found it much easier to explain our digital nomad lifestyle to others.
I can’t tell you how many messages I receive on Instagram from people trying to figure out this lifestyle. It’s such a unique way to experience all aspects of life from working online and traveling full-time that it’s hard to articulate it in a single DM on Instagram.
Are Digital Nomad Books Worth The Read?
Want to work online and travel simultaneously?
Curious to see what the digital nomad lifestyle is like?
Is this something you’re looking to pursue (but for real)?
If you said yes to any of those questions…
…Then reading digital nomad books will be worth every flip of the page.
If you want to hear the experiences of people that have actually lived the digital nomad lifestyle then read their digital nomad books that tell you what it’s really like!
Over the years, we have learned that one of the best ways to learn is to simply read. Thankfully, some people have paved the way for us and written their own digital nomad books for us to aspire to.
15x Best Digital Nomad Books You Should Add To Your Reading List in 2023
There are tons of digital nomad books out there and as the movement grows, there’s going to be a lot more in the future (yay!).
To make this easier for your reading, I’ve broken up the 15 digital nomad books into 4 different categories based on your current need:
- Business
- Travel
- Productivity
- Inspiration
Here are some ways the categories help: If you’re currently trying to figure out how to make money online – check out the digital books in the business section. Maybe you’re looking for some travel inspo? Read the digital nomad books in that section for people who can inspire you to get on that plane!
Let’s get started on the 15 best digital nomad books to read.
Digital Nomad Books To Enhance Your Business Skills
Digital nomads one way or another are entrepreneurs/meddle in business. Think about it – maybe you’re a freelancer who makes money on Upwork. Maybe you’re a remote worker employed by a tech company. Maybe you’ve taken the entrepreneur route and are starting your business while traveling full-time. Here are the best digital nomad books to help you in business.
1. The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
The Book in One Sentence: The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris is a blueprint to escape your corporate 9-5 by making money online, building a sustainable business and living life differently as a digital nomad.
Favorite Quote: “What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.”
The 4-Hour Workweek aka THE digital nomad book. Tim Ferris opened up the eyes of this location’s independent lifestyle to so many people all over the world – it’s hard to meet a digital nomad that doesn’t at least know about this book. You’ll learn how to start an online business, how to outsource/be productive and manage your life well but ultimately how to think differently from the norm. The best part? He was a digital nomad too!
2. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
The Book in One Sentence: Rich Dad Poor Dad illustrates the story of a boy who has two fathers, one rich father and one poor father to convey the mindset needed to build a life of freedom and long-term wealth.
Favorite Quote: “The philosophy of the rich and the poor is this: the rich invest their money and spend what is left. The poor spend their money and invest what is left.”
Thinking differently is a requirement for digital nomads.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a classic that will get you to think differently about money and creating wealth. The digital nomad lifestyle can make managing money challenging. You have different expenses and there is no telling you the best ways to create wealth and manage your money.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad wasn’t written for digital nomads but the principles it teaches are perfect for the nomadic way of life. Do you want to take control of your finances and build while you live your digital nomad lifestyle? Get yourself a copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
3. Nomad Capitalist by Andrew Henderson
The Book in One Sentence: The Nomad Capitalist shares his idea of reclaiming your freedom and wealth by going where you’re treated best by taking advantage of offshore accounts, second citizenships and investment strategies.
Favorite Quote: “People will hate you for being successful one way or another. You might as well go where you’re treated best and keep more of your own money.”
Are you already a digital nomad with a successful business? This might be a little advanced as Andrew only takes clients that make 7+ figures BUT even if you don’t make anything close to that – the key ideas are still valid and worth the read. Now you’ll either love or hate the Nomad Capitalist – just read the book and make your own judgement. This digital nomad book still makes you think twice about where you spend your money and teaches you how to invest as a digital nomad.
4. The Wealthy Freelancer by Pete Savage and Steve Slaunwhite
The Book in One Sentence: The Wealthy Freelancer is a step-by-step book that gives 12 very important principles for making good money as a freelancer.
Favorite Quote: “The final, but critical component of mastering the mental game as a freelancer, is not to view yourself as a freelancer.”
Lots of digital nomads are freelancers. It’s a great way to start making money online while working towards having the freedom digital nomad life offers. Here’s the problem:
Most digital nomad freelancers don’t charge as much money as they should. You will learn everything from managing your clients to getting more high-paying clients. And it’s the real deal. Matthew doubled his price after reading this book and immediately picked up a brand new client who was more than happy to pay the fees!
If you want to earn more and work less as a freelancer, you need to read The Wealthy Freelancer.
5. Deep Work by Cal Newport
The Book in One Sentence: In the 21st century, our attention span has continued to decrease but Deep Work believes there are 4 principles to follow to hone in your focus and immerse yourself in productive work.
Favorite Quote: “To learn hard things quickly, you must focus intensely without distraction. To learn, in other words, is an act of deep work.”
Struggling to focus at work? Reading the digital nomad book, Deep Work, by Cal Newport will help you improve your productivity and more importantly your focus. He teaches four simples rules that allow you to immerse yourself in your work and get some real work done.
6. Remote by Jason Fried
The Book in One Sentence: Remote teaches business owners and employees that working remotely can be just what your business needs to have happy employees and even more success in the work environment.
Favorite Quote: “If you run your ship with the conviction that everyone’s a slacker, your employees will put all their ingenuity into proving you right.”
Office? What’s that?! This digital nomad book believes that offices are a thing of the past and remote work is the future. You’ll learn how remote work might be better for everyone involved in a business – the owners and the employees. Both parties benefit from having the freedom to work remotely and in return make everyone happier for the flexibility.
Digital Nomad Books To Become An Pro At Travel
Want to get better at traveling in general? Maybe you need a little confidence boost on your digital nomad skills, travel hacks – I know I do sometimes. Here are some great digital nomad books that will teach you useful tips to become a smart traveler.
7. How To Travel The World On $50 A Day by Matt Kepnes
The Book in One Sentence: Learn Nomadic Matt’s tips and the secret to traveling on a budget while still being comfortable and enjoying life’s simple treasures (ie. a plate of sushi according to Matt).
Favorite Quote: “No money? No problem.”
Travel doesn’t have to be expensive. Matt Kepnes proves it in this book as he traveled for $50 a day. When you’re just getting started as a digital nomad, it’s important to learn the travel hacks that allow you the space to grow your wealth. There are real, practical tips to save money so you can travel for longer. Fun fact: We actually bumped into Nomadic Matt while we were in Playa del Carmen (total fangirl moment)!
Matt also write another book called “Ten Years A Nomad” which is great if you’re looking for travel inspo. Highly recommend this memoir!
8. Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
The Book in One Sentence: Rolf Potts shares his journey on vagabonding: a lifestyle that allows you to travel long-term and gives you the tools to start living a life of simplicity, adventure and fulfillment.
Favorite Quote: “Vagabonding is about taking control of your circumstances instead of passively waiting for them to decide your fate.”
Think travel is only for the rich and famous? Or maybe for those hippies? Think again. Vagabonding proves that travel is accessible for anyone since 2016. This digital nomad book makes you reframe the way you think about money and how to use the money to travel specifically.
Digital Nomad Books To Take Control Of Your Time & Life
There are 2 digital nomad books on learning how to create habits on this list. Why?
If you’re moving every couple of months, it’s easy to fall out of routine and hard to settle into new environments. We’ve learned how important it is to build habits regardless of where we are.
9. Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
The Book in One Sentence: Say goodbye to procrastination and arm yourself with 21 techniques to get more done in less time.
Favorite Quote: “One of the very worst uses of time is to do something very well that need not to be done at all.”
Struggling to eat that frog? This digital nomad book teaches you to ditch procrastination and provides you with 21 techniques to get stuff done. When you eat that frog, make sure you eat the biggest one first and the rest of your day can be less stressful. At only 120 pages, it’s a simple, straightforward book that’s a quick read.
10. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
The Book in One Sentence: Learn from two Navy SEALs who have gone through some pretty serious combat situations and see what it takes to have extreme ownership and leadership.
Favorite Quote: “Discipline equals freedom.”
This book completely changed our mindset on what real discipline is. It’s great to learn the habits and principles from a former Navy SEAL and how they can be applied to our digital nomad lifestyle.
11. Minimalism: Live A Meaningful Life by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus
The Book In One Sentence: Minimalism by Joshua and Ryan shares their story of leaving their sox-figure corporate 9-5 jobs to pursue a life of less and more than that, their journey shows how living a minimalist life has taught them to focus on what truly matters in life.
Favorite Quote: “Love People. Use Things. Because The Opposite Never Works.”
Matthew and I never really knew what minimalism was before we read this book. Our outlook on material things has changed ever since and we don’t plan on going back.
You’d be surprised at how much stuff you DON’T actually need while on the road. We often think to ourselves – if we ever settle down, our house would be so empty. This digital nomad book is a great way to understand the powerful purpose behind living a minimalist lifestyle that digital nomads have to adapt to in some way or another.
12. Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Book in One Sentence: Building habits through small, tiny changes compound over time to get remarkable results.
Favorite Quote: “If successful and unsuccessful people share the same goals, then the goal cannot be what differentiates the winners from the losers.”
Think building habits take a lot of work? Well…not really! Small, incremental changes compound into massive change over time. In this digital nomad book, Atomic Habits, you’ll learn how to break bad patterns and build new habits in a non-overwhelming kind of way. Truly refreshing!
13. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
The Book in One Sentence: The Power of Habit helps you understand why building habits are life-changing, how you can change bad habits with good ones and how it can impact all areas of your life.
Favorite Quote: “The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.”
The Power of Habit, teaches the foundations of how to build good habits. Habits work in a 3-steps process: cue, routine and reward. With these simple steps, you can build a habit like going to the gym easier.
Digital Nomad Books To Inspire You Start or Continue Your Journey
Are stress, anxiety and the fear of the “unknown” stopping you from becoming a digital nomad? That’s okay – we all go through that too. Here are some digital nomad books to inspire you to take the leap, book the ticket and just go! Maybe after reading these books, you’ll also feel a little less alone.
14. The Art Of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau
The Book in One Sentence: Live life on your own terms by discovering the world of self-employment, a minimalist mindset and learning how to create good spending habits.
Favorite Quote: “What you don’t do, doesn’t matter.”
Tired of conforming to everything and everyone around you? The Art of Non-Conformity teaches practical tips and helps you create the right mindset to live life the way YOU want – not how others think you should.
15. The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson
The Book in One Sentence: The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck shares how the goal isn’t necessarily a happy life 100% of the time because it’s just not possible but rather learn the straight-forward approach to living a life that’s meaningful and about what’s important to you.
Favorite Quote: “Joy doesn’t just sprout out of the ground like daisies and rainbows. Real, serious, lifelong fulfillment and meaning have to be earned through the choosing and managing of our struggles.”
Mark Manson is one of the most straightforward thought leaders of our generation. He loves to give it to you straight and not sprinkle anything. I found his book really refreshing to read especially since I’m tired of all the positive psychology craze at the moment. Mark Manson used to be a digital nomad and traveled to over 50+ countries!
Don’t Know Where To Start? Read These Digital Nomad Books First
A list of 15x different digital nomad books to read is pretty overwhelming – don’t worry, I get it! It’s not my intention to overwhelm you or have you think you need to read all those books to become a digital nomad because you don’t.
Here are the 5 digital nomad books to start with first:
- The 4-Hour Work Week
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck
- The Wealthy Freelancer
- Atomic Habits
- Minimalism
These books combined give you a good mix of learning about running/starting your own business, how to live differently and how to cultivate a disciplined mindset…
…all you need to become a successful digital nomad for years to come!
Do You Need To Read Digital Nomad Books?
Let me make this clear:
You don’t need a digital nomad book, digital nomad course or digital nomad masterclass to become a digital nomad.
If someone tells you otherwise, they are probably just trying to get their stuff sold. While those things can aid your journey, it’s not entirely necessary to be successful in becoming a digital nomad.
If you want to become a digital nomad, it’s as simple as making money online, booking that ticket and just GO! It’s really not very complicated but I must say it does take a lot of courage.
So do you need to read digital nomad books? It’s entirely up to you. We hadn’t even read the most popular digital nomad book, the 4 Hour WorkWeek, before we started being digital nomads in Bali. Did we need to read it? Not necessarily. Do we wish we read it before leaving? Yes! Again it’s your journey and it’s up to you!
Get Reading: The 15 Best Books For Digital Nomads To Read For This Laptop Lifestyle
Are you an aspiring digital nomad, remote worker or full-time traveler?
Or maybe you’re already a bonafide digital nomad?
These 15 digital nomad books will help you no matter where you are in your journey. Learn the mindset, habits and travel hacks to enhance your digital nomad lifestyle. If we could give you one piece of advice: gain all the knowledge you can but just start and don’t forget to have fun!
Looking for days to make money as a digital nomad? Read these next:
- 7x Best Digital Nomad Jobs To Make Money Online
- 27x Digital Nomad Skills That Will Let You Live & Work Anywhere
- How To Become A Content Writer & Earn 6-Figures Per Year
If you have any more digital nomad book recommendations, let us know in the comments!
