Books for Last Minute Christmas Gifts!
Merry Christmas!
Three CHRISTMAS Books I Recommend!
For the Creatives in your Life!
The Artist’s Manifesto: Fight Resistance and Create by Pamela Hodges
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Fight resistance and create” it says on this appealing cover. Harsh words? Perhaps, but author Pamela Hodges wants to be your friend and encourager. She shares a bit of her story in this book, and she tells us that it is our own resistance we have to fight. As she says in her book dedication, “For everyone who was told they weren’t good at something, this one’s for you.” After reading her book, I would change it to, “For everyone who has TOLD THEMSELVES OVER AND OVER that they weren’t good at something, this one’s for you.
The author cheers us on with chapters titled, “The Lie”, “The Truth”, “The Challenge”. The book has playful text, drawings, and photos and there is space for us to “make a mark” and to draw.
Author Hodges tells us that our breakfast is not the same, some like eggs, some of us like sardines. So, our art doesn’t have to be alike either. Don’t compare. Believe. Be yourself.
Do you want a life where you think, “I can do that!” You need to experience this book, not just read a review. And as you read it, and draw in it, and read it again, I am sure you will think, “Oh, this will make the perfect present for…” It will make the perfect gift for YOU, first of all. Thank you, Pamela Hodges.
Thanks to the author for a review copy. This is my honest review.
For your Mindful Friends: Any of the “Happiness” and other books by Gretchen Rubin
THE BEST OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT BLOG: Ten Years of Happiness, Good Habits, and More by Gretchen Rubin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
You may have heard about Gretchen Rubin and her books on Happiness, Habits, and Tendancies. She also has a marvelous website and podcast. The Best of the Happiness Project Blog is a wonderful way to dip into her writings and get to know Gretchen. Yes, she is a thorough and exhausting researcher and yes, she has a penchant for lists, but she also has a warm-hearted, humorous, understanding and relatable voice. We do want to be happier and Gretchen wants us to be happier. I highly recommend this book. Are you ready to “Be You”?
For Your Quirky and Inquisitive Pals!
Atom Bomb to Santa Claus: What have the Americans ever done for us? by Trevor Homer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Here’s a great gift idea for those “hard to buy for” on your lists, and also because it’s a fascinating read. This book will also give you some good material for conversational ice-breakers. According to the author, an Englishman, “this book is based on a lifelong obsession with obscure facts, and a deep admiration of the great democratic experiment which is the United States of America.” Get ready for a fun compilation of famous and not so famous American inventions.
I am a patriotic American, so I was eager to read this book. I am glad that the author also notes, “The USA is a long way from being a Utopia, but it remains unmatched in the sum of its benefits, and it has given to the world a clear vision of how much can be achieved by the human spirit when it is set free to roam and do the best it can.”
This book is organized with a different topic for each chapter.
From Home, Work, Food, to Singers and Writers, Sports and Business, Unlikely Inventors, and Masters of Change, the author gives us a succinct overview of the inventor and inventions, with some “the rest of the story” gems. Of course, Thomas Edison makes the list, but so does the inventor of the coat hanger (not invented until 1903!)
Basketball is my favorite sport, so I enjoyed reading about its peach basket origins. And the invention of the zipper has a strong tie to my hometown.
Because of an annoyance, that he may have been more attuned to due to his blindness, Ralph Teetor invented the cruise control device.
Several creations came about because of the Great Depression, when out of work individuals came up with a good idea. Monopoly and Scrabble are still well-loved examples. The author shares fascinating tidbits throughout the book and for Monopoly he tells that during World War II, Monopoly was produced and shipped to prisoners of war in Germany. Some of the games contained real money, maps and other items to help prisoners escape.
Some inventors made fortunes and some absolutely nothing. Estee Lauder is quoted, “I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.”
The author is careful to credit other countries for contributing to many of the discoveries. Three cheers for the ingenious, inventive, United States of America!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for and review copy. This is my honest review.
About the Author
