"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go." - Dr. Seuss
Let’s turn the page together! Embark on a literary journey with the vibrant George Brown College alumni community! Whether you prefer novels, books on personal growth, career management, biographies, or other, we hope you’ll find something here you enjoy reading! Are you aware of captivating books written by fellow GBC alumni, or perhaps you're an accomplished author yourself? We invite you to share your literary gems with us by reaching out to alumni@georgebrown.ca.
Alumni Bookshelf
No Bootstraps When You're Barefoot
Introduced at 2024 GBC Alumni Book Launch
From one of Canada's most successful business leaders, the founder of the BlackNorth Initiative and the newest and first Black Dragon in the Dragon's Den comes a rags-to-riches story that also carries a profound message of hope and change.
Wes Hall spent his early childhood in a zinc-roofed shack, one of several children supported by his grandmother. That was paradise compared to the two years he lived with his verbally abusive and violent mother; at thirteen, his mother threw him out, and he had to live by his wits for the next three years. At sixteen, Wes came to Canada, sponsored by a father he'd only seen a few times as a child, and by the time he was eighteen, he was out of his father's house, once more on his own. Yet Wes Hall went on to become a major entrepreneur, business leader, philanthropist, and change-maker, working his way up from a humble position in a law firm mailroom by way of his intelligence, his curiosity, and his ability to see opportunities that other people don't.
Cooking with the Wolfman
Authored by GBC Alumni
While there were major variations from region to region and from season to season, in general, the traditional diets of Indigenous peoples of North America were remarkably healthy--high in protein and nutrients, low in salt, sugar and nearly without refined carbohydrates, featuring large and small game, waterfowl, eggs, fish and seafood, tubers, berries, tree roots, grasses, seeds and cultivated food crops.
As a classically trained chef of First Nations heritage, David Wolfman has a passion for bringing these traditional food sources together with European cooking techniques. In Cooking with the Wolfman, he and his wife, Marlene, share recipes gathered from David's career as a caterer, culinary professor and host of a popular cooking show, as well as a few family favourites, like an updated version of Marlene's great-grandmother's recipe for pemmican.
Covering everything from the origin of bannock to the finer points of filleting a fish, Cooking with the Wolfman is accessible to readers of every culinary skill level, with step-by-step instructions and charts covering the fundamentals of cooking, from knife handling techniques, choosing cuts of meat and making stocks and sauces to home smoking.
Dining in Paradise
Authored by GBC Alumni
More than 150 recipes explore the intoxication of Bahamian foods, always a centrepiece of enjoyment for family and friends. Good background notes help readers discover the charm of this often under-rated cuisine which features conch, johnny cakes, cassava and mutton plus a host of other traditional Bahamian specialties.
"Bahamian cuisine is never bland. Our food consists of a variety of fresh tropical fruits, spices, chilies, lime and rum. Seafood is the staple diet and we believe that fresh is best!"
Life Blueprint
Authored by GBC Faculty
We all want an EXTRAORDINARY LIFE. Everything we do is in pursuit of it. But how do we achieve this?
Creating the life you want is like building your dream house. You need a set of customized blueprints that outlines all the required elements to build your unique house. Without them, the resulting space can fall short of expectation. The same can be said for building the life you want. We need a set of blueprints in order to create EXTRAORDINARY lives. Life Blueprint fills that need!
Life Blueprint provides a holistic plan for building the life of your dreams. It is a fusion of the strategic planning methods used by businesses blended with the best in self-help courses, books, workshops, and coaching. The step-by-step process guides you through a series of exercises that integrates all the critical aspects of life—vision, mission/purpose, impact, goals and values—and combines them into a proven action plan that drives achievement.
Shadow Life
Introduced at 2023 GBC Alumni Book Launch
The first book in a planned trilogy, Shadow Life introduces readers to Matthew Rice – a successful sixty-year-old Toronto politico who finds himself suddenly unmoored after serving jury duty on a devastating child murder case. Retreating to his cottage on an isolated island in Georgian Bay after being placed on medical leave, Matthew spends his evenings nursing scotch and old memories as he tries to evade the encroaching nightmares borne of the trial.
It is not long before Matthew’s trips down memory lane lead to Pandora’s box in the form of a missing birth certificate, and the thread of his life begins to unravel more spectacularly with the discovery of a long-buried family secret.
My Brand Compass: The 13Cs to Building Your Personal Brand
Recommended by Alumni Relations
Media entrepreneur, TedX speaker, and sought-after host, Dr. Terri-Karelle Reid, now adds author to her impressive roster of impact. My Brand Compass: The 13 Cs to Building Your Personal Brand is her first book, and her latest project to motivate and inspire. Drawing on authentic personal reflections from being one of Jamaica’s most-loved media personalities, and professional experience working with global brands and events, this book is the essential guide to unlocking your best self now.
In My Brand Compass, Terri-Karelle shares her proven 13-point blueprint that has helped people (including herself!) and brands deliver real influence, build purposeful communities, and demonstrate thought leadership. In this practical and inspiring book, you will learn:
- What is a personal brand and why it’s important
- How to identify and showcase your unique expertise
- How to gain clarity on your brand voice - message, market, and business model
- Why authenticity is the most effective marketing strategy
- The power of alignment and building community
- The business of brand you
- How to find and use your brand compass
Get ready to reap success from your expertise, unique ideas, powerful message, and authentic personality…brand you!
Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future
Recommended by Alumni Relations
A step-by-step guide to reinventing you
Are you where you want to be professionally?
Whether you want to advance faster at your present company, change jobs, or make the jump to a new field entirely, the goal is clear: to build a career that thrives on your unique passions and talents. But to achieve this in today’s competitive job market, it’s almost certain that at some point you’ll need to reinvent yourself professionally. Consider this book your road map for the next phase of your career journey.
In Reinventing You, branding expert Dorie Clark provides a step-by-step guide to help you assess your unique strengths, develop a compelling personal brand, and ensure that others recognize the powerful contribution you can make.
Mixing personal stories with engaging interviews and examples from well-known personalitiesMark Zuckerberg, Al Gore, Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin, and othersReinventing You shows how to think big about your professional goals, take control of your career, build a reputation that opens doors for you, and finally live the life you want.
I Am My Brand: How to Build Your Brand Without Apology
Recommended by Alumni Relations
I Am My Brand provides achievable techniques and tools for women to build their personal brand. This is an essential step-by-step guide to building your brand, knowing your worth, and being unapologetic about it.
I Am My Brand is a toolkit for personal brand success. Featuring dynamic female brand builders from around the world, the book is a woven tapestry of personal brand advice with storytelling and support that offers a practical guide for female entrepreneurs, freelancers and executives. I Am My Brand explores the techniques used by different women across cultures to build their personal brand, as well as the challenges they faced and their paths to overcoming them. Focused on the skills needed to succeed, their stories – coupled with the author's expertise – will support readers on their own journey to brand success and self-empowerment in work and life.
The book is written in a down-to-earth style, with light entertainment and real-life anecdotes, providing insights into how to create, package and grow your personal brand. Written by one of the most influential female brand builders in the UK, I Am My Brand is a testament to the power of being a woman and illustrates what it takes to build a powerful female brand in today's male dominated business world.
The Possible Self
Recommended by Alumni Relations
Sometimes success isn’t enough—discover how to achieve lasting, whole-life fulfillment through a simple five-stage plan that corresponds with the five key parts of ourselves.
Learn from adult development expert and University of Toronto program leader at the Rotman School of Business, Maja Djikic. She explains, that in order to discover our purpose and achieve real, lasting change, we need to move beyond narrowly targeted ideas and strategies like changing our mindset or slightly altering our behavior, and instead go deeper and focus on our innate desires.
How to Speak
Recommended by Alumni Relations
In the western world, or in any part of the world, extroverts are generally seen to be persuasive, interesting, brimming with ideas. Introverts have wonderful qualities, yet most are resigned to being good listeners and supporting those who speak up.
“How to Speak to Anyone: Communication Tactics for The Quietly Ambitious Who Want to be Seen, Heard and Valued” is an extraordinary toolkit for the Introvert to step confidently into the spotlight. It is one of those books which encourages readers to absorb its information through interaction.
Written for quiet professionals, it is also valued by new graduates getting ready to make a mark in their chosen field. Early reviewers seem to be in agreement. One said,
“…I wished this book had been available in my earlier years. Your writing was so clear, to the point, and concise with techniques and examples for different situations. This will be my "go-to" reference whenever I am stuck.” -Elsie C.
The Push
Selected by GBC Alumni Community
"The Push" is a gripping psychological drama centered on Blythe Connor, determined to provide the warmth she never experienced as a mother. However, as motherhood unfolds, doubts about her daughter Violet's behavior arise, causing a rift with her husband, Fox, who dismisses her fears. With the arrival of their son Sam, Blythe finds the connection she longed for, but a sudden change shatters their world, forcing her to confront a truth that challenges conventional notions of motherhood and belief in women's experiences. This immersive, one-sitting read by Ashley Audrain delves into the complexities of familial bonds and the repercussions of disbelief.
How to Change
Selected by GBC Alumni Community
Katy Milkman, renowned Wharton Professor and Choiceology podcast host, presents a groundbreaking guide to successful behavior change in her book "How to Change." With a foreword by psychologist Angela Duckworth, Milkman explores the proven path from your current state to your desired outcome. By addressing individual roadblocks and transforming challenges into sources of pleasure, Milkman's book offers science-based strategies for overcoming barriers like impulsivity and procrastination. Whether you're helping others or seeking personal transformation, "How to Change" provides a valuable blueprint for achieving lasting goals.
No Great Mischief
Selected by GBC Alumni Community
Alistair MacLeod musters all of the skill and grace that have won him an international following to give us No Great Mischief, the story of a fiercely loyal family and the tradition that drives it.
Generations after their forebears went into exile, the MacDonalds still face seemingly unmitigated hardships and cruelties of life. Alexander, orphaned as a child by a horrific tragedy, has nevertheless gained some success in the world. Even his older brother, Calum, a nearly destitute alcoholic living on Toronto's skid row, has been scarred by another tragedy. But, like all his clansman, Alexander is sustained by a family history that seems to run through his veins. And through these lovingly recounted stories-wildly comic or heartbreakingly tragic-we discover the hope against hope upon which every family must sometimes rely.
Rule of the Robots
Selected by GBC Alumni Community
If you have a smartphone, you have AI in your pocket. AI is impossible to avoid online. And it has already changed everything from how doctors diagnose disease to how you interact with friends or read the news. But in Rule of the Robots, Martin Ford argues that the true revolution is yet to come.
“Readers will come away with a good understanding of the technological fundamentals of AI and the debates concerning the likely impact of a maturing set of narrow AI technologies.”―Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed
Daughters of the Deer
Selected by GBC Alumni Community
In this haunting, groundbreaking, historical novel, Danielle Daniel imagines the lives of her ancestors in the Algonquin territories of the 1600s, a story inspired by her family link to a girl murdered near Trois-Rivières in the early days of French settlement.
This beautiful, powerful novel brings to life women who have literally fallen through the cracks of settler histories. Especially Jeanne, the first child born of the new marriage, neither white nor Weskarini, but caught between worlds. As she reaches adolescence, it becomes clear she is two-spirited. In her mother's culture, she would have been considered blessed, her nature a sign of special wisdom. But to the settlers of New France, and even to her own father, Jeanne is unnatural, sinful--a woman to be shunned, and worse.
