Books Make Great Gifts

'Twas the week before Christmas and the last thing you feel like doing is shopping for gifts. So here is my list of suggestions that in most cases with free shipping and expedited delivery you can order from the comfort of your home while sipping a glass of wine, baking cookies and watching your favorite holiday movie classic. (note: these gifts also work if your holiday season is Hanukkah or Kwanzaa)

You'll notice that they are all books. Yes, books make great gifts. You can give the good old fashioned kind printed on paper or gift an e-version to the person in your life who reads electronically. Note that the option for e-gifting on Amazon works for iPad readers as well that have a Kindle app. You'll also notice that this is not as self-serving as it might seem. Yes, I suggest The Secrets They Kept for the fiction lover in your life,  but I also have others to share. I really do believe books make great gifts. These are a few of my favorites, all of which I am proud to say have a spot on my bookshelf. 


Shoe Are You
for the shoe lover 
This delightful book, complete with illustration, is the first of its kind, offering  advice for your life, your wardrobe and career -- all based on your footwear. If you are a stiletto girl, ballet flat girl, cowboy boot girl or even a barefoot girl, you will find out what your shoes say about you. Written by shoe expert and TV personality Meghan Cleary.


Using the Power of Pleasure To Have Your Way in the World
for the woman who is looking for more pleasure, every day, every where
Relationship expert Regena Thomashauer teaches the "womanly arts" of identifying your desires, having fun no matter where you are, owning sensual pleasure, befriending your inner bitch, and flirting. It's no secret that this book changed my life.


No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power
for the woman who wants to know not just how to make change, but why it is needed
More on women and power, this time from feminist icon Gloria Feldt. What I love about this is not just the very useful tools she shares but the historical perspective and anecdotes that point to the elephant in the room that too many pretend doesn't exist anymore, that as far as we have come, inequality for women still exists.


Secrets of Six-Figure Women
for the woman who is looking to create a new world order around her finances
Yes, I seem a bit obsessed with secrets. I also have a bit of an obsession for the wisdom of financial expert  Barbara Stanny. This is is just one of her many books in which she helps women develop a better relationship with their money. This one gives you the skinny on what the high earning women she interviewed know that you don't.


The Secret Pleasures of Menopause
for the woman who is near or at "that age" and is looking for the rainbow
There is that secret thing again, not to mention pleasure. Mmm. Is there a theme here? I digress.  I realize that for some of you the idea that menopause might bring anything more than hot flashes seems like a very cruel joke. But joke it is not. Dr. Christiane Northrup will show you that this can indeed be the best time of your life. Also by the enlightened and brilliant Dr. Northrup, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, and The Wisdom of Menopause.


Testing for Kindergarten
for the mother of young children in your life
First, let's set the record straight. This is not just a book that will help you get your child into private school. Karen Quinn has written a primer that every parent should read on how to make learning fun for your kids. And when learning is fun, those school applications, from kindergarten to college will be a lot easier to take.


The Secrets They Kept
for the fiction lover looking to discover new writing voices
Can you blame me for inserting one more self-serving plug here before I wrap this up? This engaging story about the long kept secrets of a Greek-American family has been called "a true page turner", "an excellent debut novel", "a telling lesson in honesty, or how the lack of it can disrupt our entire lives", " a roller coaster ride of intrigue" and a  story in which "Women-strong women- take center stage....distinguishing it from your run of mill novel." 


In closing and in full disclosure I have the distinct honor and yes, pleasure of knowing each of these authors on a first name basis. Each has contributed to my personal journey over the last several years. Their wisdom has added to my wisdom. And that is the greatest gift of all. 




What's your favorite book to give as a gift?

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

I inherited my mirror genes from my mother's side of the family. They cause all of us blessed with them to pause in front of anything in which we see a reflection. Store windows included. So I'm always looking. Most of the time to make sure I have enough lipstick on, my hair is cooperating with the weather or checking to make sure that  splurge on a cheeseburger and fries has not settled on my waist.

Maybe you don't have these genes. Maybe you're one of the people who barely takes a moment to look. Or doesn't even want to. You're too caught up in the mire of the everyday, focused on all that is on your plate or if you are like me holding two plates, to take the time to stop in front of the looking glass.

And if we do, even if you are a member of my family obsessed with reflection, it's rare that we see what others do.  Our culture insists that we seek out what is missing, the flaws and the imperfections. So when we do look we see lack.

I'm lucky. I keep a big circle around me of people with sharp eyes who settle in on my good stuff and are generous enough to offer it up. Take for instance the other day when I had the good fortune to catch up with my friend Barbara Stanny. Stanny, as she is affectionately called among her goddess friends is the leading authority on women and money and the author of several books worth reading including: Overcoming Underearning, Secrets Of Six Figure Women and Prince Charming Isn't Coming.

We hadn't spoken in a while so there was a lot to catch up including my coaching practice and Art of Selling series and her new Money Mondays and Sacred Success Programs. Plus you know what happens when two coaches get chatting. They can't help themselves but coach a bit.  Barbara shared what she saw in my reflection,  a focused, pragmatic and  intuitive coach who puts theory into practice, shares fabulous resources and gets results.

Once I could breathe again long enough to take it in, I took another look in my mirror. After wiping it clean with a little Windex I was able to see what she did. But only after her assist. That's why coaches come in handy. They are there to cheer you and remind you of your strengths as they insist you go higher.

I'm a big fan of Stanny and hold a great deal of respect for her and her work. Any one who wants to change their relationship with money should be working with her. I shared some of my fabulous resources and where else in cyberspace I thought Barbara should be sharing her wealth of wisdom and well....you'll soon be seeing Stanny over on ForbesWoman pretty regularly!

Barbara Stanny's next Sacred Success Retreat is May 12-15. Rumor has it there are still a few spaces left if you hurry!


What do you see in the mirror?
Have you been generous today and offered up to someone else what you see in them?