There is no better gift than a thoughtful book. It has so much power to move the reader.
You know what else? They’re the easiest thing in the world to buy. You can order online from Amazon or Indigo and have the gift delivered to their door. Or, their Kindle account. Be a hero without getting out of bed. No excuses this year. A book for your favourite female is a sure thing.
Side question: what’s the rule on regifting books? I stumbled upon a used book sale recently and walked away with 10 mint condition books for less than $6.00. Yes, a few will be wrapped and under the tree this year.
I’ve got an all time favourite list I’ll save for another post, but, if you’re looking for a perfect gift for your bff buy her one or all of these. And, share your suggestions -leave a comment below or email here!
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Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body– Roxane Gay
Hunger, by Roxane Gay
In 2014, Roxnne Gay released the runaway hit Bad Feminist about the struggles and contradictions of identifying as a feminist but still liking things a ‘good’ feminist would never (like sexually charged rap music, or knowing how to fix her car). Hunger is (43 year-old) Gay’s memoir where she dives into her rape at 12, being fat, and bi-sexual. Strong feminist voices that are funny, poignant and so so brave light a fire within me.
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milk and honey – Rupi Kaur
Rupi Kaur, milk and honey
By far one of my favourite books to come across this year (I’ve already bought three copies).Canadian Rupi Kaur (What’s up, Brampton?) is a breakout illustrator/poet and young feminist voice, who hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. When poetry sales shot up by 79% in 2016, she was credited. If you think poetry isn’t your jam, you need to give milk and honey a read. Divided into four parts (the hurting, the loving, the breaking, the healing) it’s gut wrenching and it’s sexy. She’s also just released a follow up called The Sun And Her Flowers. She’s got over a mil followers on instagram @rupikaur. You might remember a few years ago Instagram bosses pulled down a post of a woman, fully clothed, showing a period stain on her pants? That was Rupi’s work. Instagram was called out, and reposted her image.
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The Joy of Creativity – Emma Hill and Jessica Singh
The Joy of Creativity journal
As someone who makes a living in a creative field, it’s challenging to ‘be creative’ all day on command and then find time to recharge with something you do for pure pleasure. Slowly, my play time has been edged out, leaving me drained and less creative in the end. This year I made the ‘non-productive-only-for-fun-creativity’ a priority, making sure I put down the work and take up the things that bring me happiness to refill the creativity tank. Sewing, building, writing, photography. As luck would have it, one of my dear friends gave this book to me on my birthday and I love it. It has clever writing prompts and thoughtful (but not difficult) questions that will stir your creativity.
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Option B – Sheryl Sandberg
Option B, Sheryl Sandberg
Facebook COO and Gen X superstar Sheryl Sandberg showed us her smarts and her leadership with her bestseller Lean In, and, then, after the death of her husband Dave Goldberg in 2015 she now shows us her vulnerability and heart and what it was like to lose him so suddenly and how she found a way to keep going. Option B talks about her journey with grief, building resilience and finding joy. Buy it for anyone who’s experienced a great loss this year.
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Feeding My Mother –Jann Arden
Jann Arden, Feeding My Mother
As we get older we see our parents get smaller and more vulnerable in so many ways. And, for a rapidly growing percentage – nearly 1 in 9 Americans over the age of 65 has Alzheimer’s- the disease wreaks havoc on it’s victims. Caregivers and loved ones must cope and endure a brutal and heart wrenching decline. I’ve seen it first hand. It is uniquely devastating. Our delightful and frank Jann Arden shares her poignant and inspirational story of taking care of (and cooking for, obvi) her mother in the throes of Alzheiner’s. Every chapter includes recipes!
Now it’s your turn, book lovers. Share your favourites! The world needs more good book reccos.
