Make a Living Living is something of an odd bird. A beautiful coffee table book that showcases the alternative lifestyles of several people who have made a living from living their best creative life. At first blush I was immediately cynical about it — counter culture being turned into over-the-counter culture — but upon reflection and further reading I realised that this was a cheap shot and unfair. Not only is the book beautiful — with photographs and illustrations aplenty — but it also ceally does showcase a wide range of creative people who have found a way to live their lives beyond the nine to five. This book isn't just for hipsters; it's an antidote to the fake lifestyle contenct of Instagram influencers. The people in this book are actually living their lives and each person's success looks different to the next. So, yes, it is still a coffee table book. But hopefully one that will inspire you to get up and go do something. What would your best creative life look like? Start today.

Fantastic book. Although I love what I do for work (Yoga teacher/copywriter) this book is one of those that would be fantastic on a coffee table and for inspiration. Maybe I'll buy a hard copy sometime. The premise of the book is that it showcases the lives of people who are living rather unusual lives with jobs that suit their heart even if they've had to give up conventional living to get there.

The photographs are beautiful as well. Some examples include a photographer, a clay worker and a soap maker. It details the reasons why they decided to go into the work that they are working on. Highly recommend.

Make a Living Living sounds aspirational and inspirational and the collection of short stories of career changers/seekers is interesting. However, the anticipated big moment of how people followed their dreams to become a chocolatier, tiny house builder, photographer, and florists are overshadowed by the vague tips of self-discovery. (i.e. mind maps, mood boards, and elevator pitch practice). Make a Living Living might have worked as short stories or even personal travel logs from the author, instead it's rehashed photo journal with some generic to-do lists. Uninspiring.

A reflective book that is a must read before considering a self-employment journey. Full of inspirational stories and practical strategies this book made me think about whether I want to take the risks associated with self-employment. Thanks to the publisher and netgally for an e ARC.

This book is meant to inspire you to find your passion and make a living from it. All the stories and profiles offer the same advice and none of it is new. Believe in yourself, work hard, make sacrifices and have a social media following. If you are really thinking of starting your own business this book is a good start but you will need more. The profiles are interesting and the photographs are great. It is a quick and easy read and may inspire you.

This was both an insightful and practical book on centering your life on what brings you meaning. I enjoyed the lessons it had to teach and would recommend it to others who struggle with finding fulfillment.

This book is beautifully presented and full of great advice. I really like the images and top tips section. The activities are also really helpful.

Sadly I was unable to read this book at it's a PDF and not an ePub.

I would have like to have read and reviewed but sorry I'm not able too.

I got a digital review copy of this book via Netgalley.

What I loved about the book:
- Simple, straight and good advice from various people who are living their dreams
- Great design of the book. The photographs and the layout of the book made for an interesting and intimate reading. It felt as if I knew these artists whose advice was being shared.

If you always dreamed of being a full time artist and are looking for good advice, this book certainly does it for you.

This book was one that just didn’t reach my expectations. It’s very hard to relate or get into as some Non-Fiction books are. Thanks Netgalley for a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Very slowly, I read Make a Living Living by Nina Karnikowski (published in march 2020) with my girlfriend over the last few weeks so we could relax a bit during our thrillerathon (which has been making scaredy-cat me very tense). I don’t usually read non-fiction, and when I do those books aren’t a priority, but just somewhat of a distraction for which I have low expectations. But this book exceeded my tiny expectations. It’s well-structured, well-written and it’s not tiring, repetitive or aggressive like many self-help books are.
I believe Make a Living Living owes its quality to the fact that Nina Karnikowski was already a professional writer (with a degree in journalism), unlike many authors of these kinds of books. This is her first book, but she’s a freelance travel write: she runs her blog Travels with Nina and writes articles for other websites, magazines and newspapers. Nowadays, most of her travels around the world are sponsored by traveling companies.
With a title such as this one, it’s clear that this book is a guide to those who want to make a living doing something they love, but it’s not just that. Instead of telling step-by-step what to do, Nina interviewed 26 creative professionals who are their own bosses and love the work they do, just like she is and does. They’re designers, photographers, painters, builders, weavers, planners, founders of retreats, hotels, social networks and other businesses, etc.
Nina tells us about how each of them achieved their dreams (How long did it take them? How much money did they invest? What did they sacrifice?) e, besides that, she finds a specific lesson in each of these narratives. For example, a tiny house builder explains how you can simplify your life; a florist teaches you to fake it till you make it; and a weaver helps you use the internet properly. This book is equally inspirational (because you’re given access to these success stories) and educational (because each story teaches you something).
Nina also included a few pages of exercises throughout the book, which are inspired by these 26 people’s tips. You can do these exercises right now to develop the mentality of someone who’s sure they can achieve their goals. These exercises include detailed instructions and they help you, for example, create a mind map of your life that states your priorities, be your own tutor (someone who can learn anything on their own and mostly for free), write your elevator pitch explaining why what you do is so unique and create a mood board to stay focused on what you want to achieve.
This book is special because it’s just not more content telling you you suck and that other people have what you want because you’re too lazy to do anything about it. Make a Living Living gives you some of the tools you need to change your life without strict rules and especially without making you feel poorly about who you are. There’s no crap about becoming a millionaire boss babe who works 16-hour days “like a man” and claims sleep is for the weak. This book is honest and it gives you hope. It’s full of possibility. You don’t need to stay stuck in a 9-to-5 if that’s not what makes you happy. But it takes time and there’s no magic formula.
Laurence King Publishing gifted me a digital galley of Make a Living Living in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting look at how several creatives were able to make a living doing what they love. Not everyone is cut out for the added stress of not having a "regular" job or has others to catch them if things don't work out, but this does give good for thought for other creatives thinking of pursuing their dream full time.

Thank you to Laurence King Publishing Ltd and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm sorry, I was unable to read and review this book as it was only available on Adobe Digital Editions and I don't have that on my tablet, my Kindle or my phone.

I won't give a low-star review to a book I haven't even read, though.

Make a Living Living is just mainly a book of interviews with 26 creatives from around the world on how they achieved their ideal existence be that a chocolatier, photographer, knitter and many more. All followed a dream in someway and made a living from it.

It does contain lots of colour photography about each of the creatives. There are a number of exercises throughout the book that may help you along the same journey.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

This was such a great read. The individual stories from people that love their careers and had tips from them as well. I thought that the varied selection of positions highlighted was great! It was nice to read about all different kinds of positions versus just the typical ones that people start up on their own. For example, a vegan chocolatier is something that I never heard of and it was interesting to read someone's story that does that work. The exercises sprinkled throughout the book were relevant and helpful, as well. Overall, this is a great book!

This feels extremely advertisey and really, really rubbed me the wrong way. I'm sure if you can engage with it you'll get something out of it, but my brain is just screaming at me while trying to read this.

Beautifully crafted and written book, sharing nice ideas and inspirations as well as tips and might even give a little push that the reader needs to take steps to change their own lives.
It's defiantly worth a read or at least a flip through and a fantastic book to gift to anyone that want some or needs a change in their life!

This is a book for those of us on the starting line of forming a new path and pursuing creative dreams. Nina Karnikowski encourages us through the stories of other creatives who forged a path, not always an easy one, to live life that makes sense to you, the creative individual. It is full of optimism and practical wisdom, but does not shy away from telling you that the journey will be easy. Full of beautiful photographs and short vignettes, this is a book that can sit on your desk at work, waiting for you to make a change for living the life you keep thinking about. #netgalley #books #bookstagrammer #bookreview #newbook #nonfiction #creativelife #makealivingliving

Beautifully edited book and the stories and photographs were definitely inspiring and didn't shy away from writing down what sacrifices they have to make and what they're missing out on, like money, stable income, family gatherings, a house, car or other things. Most of the books that I read about this topic romanticise the "do what you love for a living". This has been the most honest view about and should give everyone good for thought before making any decisions.
I'd recommend this book to everyone who is thinking about making changes to their lives to shift from their full jobs or just do what they love part-time.

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.

Really was intrigued by this book as something that would be relatable to me - it really was! It’s beautifully presented and I loved that their were examples from various others inside too and it wasn’t just the author’s view. Really good and a book I’d come back to when I need a business mind refresh.