Great Books for Women – Holiday Gift Ideas!

Imagine finding just the right gifts for all the women in your life – and spending less that $20 per person! Imagine gifts that keep on giving each time you come back to them. And imagine giving gifts that uplift, inspire, nurture and put smiles on the faces of your loved ones!

As I approach the holiday season it occurred to me that some of my greatest treasures are books and what a cool gift to give. With this in mind, I came up with my top-ten list of gift books for 2008. The list represents a blend of old and new, fun, deep, rich, and playful titles. I’ll be checking off my holiday list with these books. Perhaps there are some gems here to help you with your list. Following each title is a reveiw from another author worth checking out as well!

1)      Of course, the number one title on my list is The Woman’s Field Guide to Exceptional Living: Practical Steps for Living a Big, Bold, Beautiful Life!. “Corrie Woods offers an irresistible invitation and resourceful guide to living a life boldly, creatively, and happily. She provides a wealth of ideas, practices, and tools that are inspirational, practical, and motivational. This book makes a life-affirming and positive contribution to any reader!” Angeles Arrien, Ph.D., Cultural Anthropologist, author of The Four-Fold Way and Signs of Life.

2)      Crones Don’t Whine: Concentrated Wisdom for Juicy Women, Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D. “This juicy, witty, lovely book, shining with Wise Women candor is the perfect gift for any women over 50. I savored it like a rare, well-ages wine, and I know you will too.”  Susun S Weed, author of New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way.

3)      The Art of the Moment, Veronique Vienne. A lovely little book filled with captivating photographs and inspiring words.

4)      Creating a Charmed Life: Sensible, Spiritual Secrets Every Busy Woman Should Know, Victoria Moran. “In this book you will be rewarded with dozens of powerful practical strategies that will help you bring out the charmed in your life.” Richard Carlson, Ph.D., author of Slowing Down to the Speed of Life.

5)      BOOM Thinking: The Gutsy Guide to Breaking Out of Old Mindsets, Cheri Britton. “Cheri Britton’s book has the power to rock YOUR world with its fun, true, down to earth take in how to reinvent your thinking. Bravo Cheri!” Suzanne Falter-Barnes, author of How Much Joy Can You Stand?

6)      Women Empowered: Inspiring Change in the Emerging World, Phil Borges. “A deeply inspirational work. Phil Borges has brought us face to face with heroes 'remote and mostly unknown women' on the edge of a slow but steady transformation, bringing social and economic justice to women and girls worldwide."  Isabelle Allende

7)      The Life Organizer: A Woman's Guide to a Mindful Year, Jennifer Louden. "You are not holding in your hands a book. Instead, imagine a set of sacred nesting dolls that you open, one by one, each delighting you more than the last. As you get to the precious one in the center, you find your own heart. It whispers, `welcome home." Dawna Markova, author of I Will Not Die an Unlived Life and co-creator of Random Acts of Kindness.

8)      Living Artfully: Create the Life You Imagine, Sandra Magsamen. “Living Artfully is bulging and vibrating with creative illuminations, inspired action-taking and insightful reflections on the art and joy of being splendidly human. Sheer delight!” SARK, author of Sark's New Creative Companion.

9)      Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally, Patti Digh. "Patti’s guide for the last 37 days of life will turn every one of your next 3700 days a fully lived experience. If you had some unsolved fear for death, that would be your season ticket to have a free ride on the train with the author. I have never seen such a simultaneously practical, esthetic and soul-caressing book in my life." --Kichiro Hayashi, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo.