It’s holiday shopping season!

I do have a few Black Friday posts up for you:

• Should I shop Black Friday appliance sales or claim Inflation Reduction Act credits?
• James Allen Black Friday/Cyber Monday
• Sailor Moon Gift Guide (On a Budget)

But as a writer, I wanted to take a minute to encourage you to give the gift of a book this year. Books present knowledge in a way that’s harder to come across in our bite-sized-attention-span culture. They can provide us with fantasy, escape or art.

And ultimately, buying one supports an author.

I read some truly incredible books this year, so I’ve put together a list to give you some ideas as you make the holiday shopping rounds. I’m recommending you shop through Bookshop.org where possible, which sources its books from local, independent bookshops. That way you know the money you’re spending is supporting a small business rather than a soul-sucking megacorporation.

Plus, Bookshop.org already has sales live on most of these titles. I’ll be watching them to see if the price goes down further as we get closer to Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

TIP: While it doesn’t necessarily work for gift giving, if you want to read any of these books but don’t have the budget, put a request in at your local library. If they don’t already carry the title, the request may get it put on shelves. That way the author gets paid for the purchase (made by the library), and you get to read the book. For free.

The Feminist Financial Handbook

by Brynne Conroy

Obligatory ask! If you’re a reader here on Femme Frugality, you’ll almost certainly like The Feminist Financial Handbook. Every copy purchased helps support yours truly, and I’d love to hear what you think after you read.

Great Money Reads of 2024

2024 was a great year for money books! Here are 5 that you should definitely pick up.

F.I.R.E. for Dummies

by Jackie Cummings Koski

I work in this money space. I’m familiar with the FIRE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) movement. I’ve run my numbers. And I’ve arrived at the conclusion that it’s not a viable pathway for me.

But if there’s anyone that could encourage me otherwise, it’s Jackie Cummings Koski. Jackie breaks the mold when it comes to your typical FIRE stereotype, and this book does a really good job of inspiring anyone, regardless of your life path, to pursue this type of freedom. And of course, she provides the framework to help you break down the numbers and do the math.

Even though I know my numbers, she energized me enough to run the calculations again. To imagine I could reach them. I don’t know that I’ll ever get there — my financial obligations are larger than most people’s. But thanks to this book, I started dreaming for the first time that maybe, just maybe, I could.

I’m going to have a full review of this one up in the coming weeks. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter — you’re not going to want to miss it!

Neurodivergent Millionaire

by Shalese Heard

GET IT HERE

Looking for a quick read that will release you from some money shame — especially as a neurodivergent person? Pick up this book!

Full Review: Neurodivergent Millionaire

Stock Market 101

by Michele Cagan, CPA

If you’re interested in FIRE, you’re highly likely to be interested in this book, too. Michele Cagan is a super-savvy CPA, and is uniquely adept at breaking down complex topics into manageable, understandable content for lay people.

I’ve got a full review coming for this one soon, too! Keep an eye out.

Starting a Business 101

by Michele Cagan, CPA

Same incredible author. Slightly different focus. This one is best for small business owners or would-be entrepreneurs. Again, full review coming in the next few weeks.

The Great Transformation

by Karl Polanyi

Maybe you feel like there’s something “off” with Adam Smith’s conception of capitalism. But you can’t quite put your finger on it.

Or maybe you can definitively put your finger on 40 different things, but you can’t tie them together cohesively.

Enter Polanyi. He absolutely tears Smith and his ideology apart, pointing out the numerous errors in his work and correcting them. If you work with money or capitalism directly or tangentially in any way shape or form, this is a must-read.

I honestly feel like I’ve been waiting for this book my entire life.

It was published in 1944.

It’s existed my whole life.

And I only heard about it in 2024.

I’m still wrapping my head around that fact.

Great Non-Money Reads of 2024

Believe it or not, I don’t only read about money. Here are the other phenomenal books I’ve read this year, listed in the order that I read them.

Race, Politics, and Irish America: A Gothic History

by Mary M. Burke

This book is mandatory reading if you’ve ever:

• Called yourself Irish.
• Worn a t-shirt that says “Kiss me! I’m Irish!”
• Used St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to get drunk.

I’ve begged a couple people this year to read it so I’d have someone to discuss it with. To no avail. I’m not going to lie — it’s the densest book on this list. So I understand why no one has taken me up on it.

But I’m really hoping one of you will. If you do, let me know?

Pro tip: Immediately after reading, watch Killers of the Flower Moon. Even if you’ve seen the movie before.

After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond

by Bruce Greyson, M.D.

I don’t know what to tell you all. But there’s probably something after this.

Over my life, I’ve oscillated on whether or not I believe in an afterlife. Any guesses I made at it seemed somewhat irrelevant.

But the scientific approach Greyson takes to the topic in this book is simultaneously pretty convincing and moving. It makes you think about how you conduct yourself in the here and now, too.

Highly recommend.

Inland

by Tea Obreht

Obreht writes magical fiction. It’s really an experience. Every story of hers that I’ve read involves some Bosniak characters, and it was cool to see their place in American history highlighted in this book.

Another good one by Obreht is The Tiger’s Wife, though that admittedly wasn’t a 2024 read for me. Read that one a number of years ago now.

Soul Fury

by Rumi & Shams Tabriz

I’ve read a ton of Rumi over the years. You know how they say art is the thing that makes life worth living?

That’s how his poetry makes me feel.

And this one is no exception.

It was the first collection I read with a significant contribution from Shams Tabriz. And I’ve gotta say…his work may be a little too crude for my tastes. Lots of bodily functions. I understand the metaphoric purpose that serves. But it wasn’t my favorite.

The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere

by Paulette F.C. Steeves

The only reason this one is listed last is because it was the last non-money book I read this year. But HOLY WOW.

Not only does this book decolonize archeology, but there are some pretty big bombshells in there aside from the now-obvious “Clovis-first-is-not-real.” For example, there may have been hominims that weren’t homo sapiens in America — and the reason we know that is because some of the archeological sites Steeves examines are from a time before homo sapiens had left Africa.

The most important lesson in this book is that Indigenous people in America have been systemically disenfranchised from the right to have their own history acknowledged on an international stage — though that should not be confused with the fact that they do and have claimed this history in spite of massive oppression.

But another lesson I got out of the pages is that when you disenfranchise Indigenous peoples, you’re really cheating everyone. Out of knowledge. Out of history. Out of science.

Read it.

Like the Irish book, it goes beyond a recommendation.

It’s an obligation.

The awful book I read this year.

Then, there was one that wasn’t so wonderful. I’m not really someone who DNFs books typically, so I did give it an honest shot. Read it all the way through. And the epilogue was a big part of what made it so terrible.

Hippie

by Paulo Coehlo

DO NOT GET IT ANYWHERE

Earlier this year I found myself discussing Sufism at a social event.

We weren’t gathered to discuss Sufism. We were there to hear our friends play music.

But when you socialize with me, those are the kinds of conversations you’ll find yourself having.

In the course of this discussion, someone suggested Hippie. When I was younger I had read The Alchemist and loved it. Thought it was soooo deep. I was much less impressed when I went back to read it again a decade later. I had grown. The writing hadn’t.

But for the sake of sentimentality, I thought I’d give the Hippie recommendation a shot.

Bad call.

Coelho is decent at poetry that lays it on a little thick. I’ll give him that. But this books also reveals him to be a raging narcissist, and an unaware one at that. By the time I got to the epilogue I found myself asking,

“What the hell did I just read?”

Do not recommend. And if you read it, please don’t spend any money on it. Again, the library is free.