2021 Holiday Gift Ideas and Buying Guide: MORE BOOKS for Great Reads
Disclaimer: Beautiful Touches has received some titles of the books below to facilitate this publication, which is part of our Gift Ideas and Buying Guides series of posts. No monetary compensation has been exchanged, but as participants of Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, if a book is purchased via our Amazon link, we will receive a small commission.
Nothing better during the holiday season, than to take a short break from you hectic schedule and sit back with a good book!
2021 Holiday Gift Ideas and Buying Guide: MORE BOOKS for Great Reads
SINGLE WOMEN AND MONEY
by Margaret Price and Jill Gianola
“Single women have plenty of company: in America, more than 66 million women aren’t wed. They are divorcees, widows and women who haven’t married. Their financial issues have long been overlooked. But finally, there’s a money guide to help them survive and thrive!
Single Women and Money shows unmarried women how to manage finances for present and future needs. Unlike dual-earning couples, these women often survive on one income, which is often less than men typically earn. In addition, like many women overall, single women often lack the financial schooling needed to ensure their money lasts through their life.
Single Women and Money details the steps unmarried women must take to secure their current and future finances. But as a breakthrough, it also points to the discriminatory ways single women have been left behind, financially. The book spells out the steps society (families, schools and public policies) must take to balance the scales to help single women achieve their goals—without feeling the need to marry to obtain the life they want.
Throughout, the book uses stories of actual women as well as data and experts’ insights to illustrate single women’s money issues. The book brings the unmarried women’s perspective to saving, spending wisely, managing with children, shedding debt, investing in line with your values, planning for retirement and long-term care, paying taxes, job hunting, leaving a legacy and more. The book also offers a full chapter of resources women can turn to in hard times.”
Order on Amazon / Published by Rowan & Littlefield
LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT
A Christopher Worthy /Father Forits Mystery, by David Carlson
“On a sunny summer day in Rome, a drone attack in St. Peter’s Square nearly kills the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church. The trail Christopher Worthy and Father Fortis follow to identify and thwart the assassin takes them from the heart of Rome to the holiest sites in Jerusalem.”
Available for Purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and IndieBound / Published by Epicenter Press
CLIPPED
“A mom invents a new way to hold her life together just as the world falls apart.
Clipped is a quirky memoir about a new mother whose desperation to get her baby to sleep catapulted her into becoming an inventor and small business owner—just before the world fell apart in 2008.
As a full-time mother and entrepreneur, Adrienne Alitowski rolled out her invention, blankyclip®, to retailers across the country, including over thirty stores in the Buy Buy Baby national chain. LA Parent Expecting and Kids Today both made blankyclip® a “Top Pick.” The United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded her three utility patents and a trademark. All that fabulous glory aside, Adrienne also learned what it’s like to fly halfway around the world to a Chinese factory and to be pregnant, throwing up on the street just before an investor meeting. These experiences led her down a path to write this memoir about sticking to your vision and being open to finding gold in the muck.”
Available for Purchase on Amazon, and Barnes & Noble / Published by Acorn Publishing
OWNING THE DA$H
By Anthony Delauney
“Owning the Dash is a clear, concise, and accessible guide to finance that makes planning for your future easy and pain-free. Delauney reveals how to manage cash flow, knock out debt, minimize taxes, financially protect loved ones, invest with confidence, and save for both education and retirement. The phrase “Owning the Dash” was adopted by fitness guru, model, motivational speaker, and Delauney’s late cousin, Greg Plitt, who pushed his clients and himself to take advantage of every moment and opportunity, making decisions now to ensure a healthy future. The more Delauney became familiarized with Greg’s philosophies, the more he realized that they applied just as much to his field of expertise. Mastering money can seem impossible in a society focused on short-term impulses: Live for today. Forget about tomorrow. Owning the Dash turns that mindset upside down.”
Available for Purchase on Amazon / Published by Mascot Books
THE MEAING IN THE MAKING
by Sean Tucker
“Become inspired, find your voice, and create work that matters.
Why are human beings driven to make?
It’s as if we collectively intuited, long before science gave us the language, that the universe bends toward entropy, and every act of creation on our part is an act of defiance in the face of that evolving disorder.
When we pick up a paintbrush, or compose elements through our camera viewfinders, or press fingers into wet clay to wrestle form from a shapeless lump, we are bending things back toward Order and wrestling them from Chaos.
But making things is often not enough.
We also want the things we make to be filled with meaning. We’re each trying to describe what we know about life, to create a collective sense of “safety in numbers.” When we reach the end of our traditional descriptive powers, it’s time to weave collective meaning from poetry, painting, writing, dancing, photographing, filmmaking, storytelling, singing, animating, designing, performing, carving, sculpting, and a million other ways we daily create Order out of the Chaos and share it with each other for comfort.
On this journey we need a creative philosophy which will help us find our voice, discover our message, deal with the responses to our work, maintain inspiration, and stay mentally healthy and motivated creators as we strive to find “the meaning in the making.”
Sean Tucker is a professional photographer and filmmaker based in the United Kingdom.”
Available for Purchase on Amazon / Published by Rocky Nook
WHEN SILENCE SCREAMS
By Mark Edward Langley
“Former Marine and ex-Shadow Wolf, Arthur Nakai, now armed with his newly minted Private Investigator license, has visitors on his doorstep on White Mesa. Melanie Manygoats and her young son arrive on a cold winter’s day asking him to locate her missing daughter, whom she fears has become one of the stolen. Arthur accepts the task and soon finds himself wading through the sickening world of teenage prostitution where he discovers April has already been caught up in the even darker world of human sex trafficking by being sold into the horrifying, high-dollar world where clients will pay highly to fulfill their desires.
When Arthur confronts the person responsible for April’s disappearance, it quickly leads him to a man known to everyone in the trade as The Cuban. Running underage girls is his business; to him they are nothing more than property to be microchipped and tattooed to ensure they never leave his employment. For the Cuban, the revolving door of the flesh trade is always rotating—and his clients are always looking for fresher faces and younger girls to please their insatiable appetites.
Available for Purchase from Amazon and in Select Retail Stores / Published by Mark Edward Langley
THE NEW LAND
The Overstreet Saga Book On by David O. Stewart
“The New Land brings the reader back in time to tell uniquely American stories—full of adventure, excitement, heartbreak, and a tapestry of richly developed characters.
Lose yourself in the challenges and emotions of eighteenth-century Maine.
In 1753, Johann Oberstrasse’s wife, Christianne, announces that their infant sons will never soldier for the Landgraf of Hesse like their father, hired out to serve King George of England. In search of a new life, Johann and the family join an expedition to the New World, lured by the promise of land on the Maine coast. A grinding voyage deposits them on the edge of a continent filled with dangers and disease. Expecting to till the soil, Johann finds that opportunity on the rocky coast comes from the forest, not land, so he learns carpentry and trapping. To advance in an English world, Johann adapts their name to Overstreet.
But war follows them. The French and their Indian allies mount attacks on the English settlements of New England. To protect their growing family and Broad Bay neighbors, Johann accepts the captaincy of the settlement’s militia and leads the company through the British assault on the citadel of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. Left behind in Broad Bay, Christianne, their small children, and the old and young stave off Indian attacks, hunger, and cruel privations.
Peace brings Johann success as a carpenter, but also searing personal losses. When the fever for American independence reaches Broad Bay in 1774, Johann is torn, then resolves to kill no more…unlike his son, Franklin, who leaves to stand with the Americans on Bunker Hill. At the same time, Johann faces old demons and a new crisis when an escaped prisoner—a hired Hessian soldier, just as he had been—arrives at his door.”
DASH AND NIKKI AND THE JELLYBEAN GAME
By Anthony Delauney
“Dash and Nikki and the Jellybean Game is a rhyming book that teaches children about the value of saving for the future. This book describes a simple game that any family can play and gives parents a tool to discuss the importance of patience and sharing. With a rhyming format that is easy for children to read and remember, it’s easy to follow along as Dash and Nikki play the Jellybean Game, learning to be patient in their decisions and to always help one another. Sometimes a simple game can teach a lifelong lesson!”
Available for Purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble / Published by Mascot Kids
WELCOME TO PLANET EARTH
Written by Simon Blanchard / Illustrated by Rebecca Flitcroft
“An inspiring and positive introduction to our world for adults to share with children as they grow up. Looking back through history and imagining our future ‘Welcome to Planet Earth’ takes us on a journey exploring all the wondrous possibilities open to a child.”
Available for Purhcase on Amazon / Published by Grosvenor House Publishing Limited
HANUKKAH COOKIES WITH SPRINKLES
Written by David A. Adler Illustrated by Jeff Ebbeler
“Sara and her family are getting ready for Hanukkah — which means delicious foods, including cookies! But then she notices one man who doesn’t seem to eat much at all, let alone Hanukkah treats. Sara decides to try and help.
PJ Library, a non-profit program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation which delivers more than 630,000 books to kids around the world (including Russia!) each month, is getting ready for Hanukkah in a big way. If you’re looking for a wealth of free holiday resources as well as information and advice for families who want to celebrate Hanukkah, look no further than PJ Library.
Any family raising kids may sign up EACH of their offspring for a free-of-charge subscription for books each month. What could be a better holiday gift than age-appropriate books delivered to the mailbox each month? PJ Library’s children’s literature experts curate the book list to provide the very best children’s story books that convey Jewish values, traditions, and themes for the broad spectrum of families raising Jewish children.
Along with books, PJ Library’s parenting experts are updating their Hanukkah Hub, which offers child-friendly versions of the Hanukkah story along with craft ideas, recipes, and lots of educational and fun printables. For example, please check these out:”
10 Easy (and Kid-Approved) Hanukkah Recipes
Available for Purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble / Published by PJ Library
THE VERY ANGRY TOOLBOX
Written by Mike J.B. Illustrated by Gemma Stanley
“Leroy Boulder wants a toolbox just like his Dad. One day he visits the industrial mart and finds an angry toolbox sitting alone on a shelf. Leroy is intrigued by this toolbox and tries to find out why he is so angry. Leroy discovers that the angry toolbox longed to make friends, to be loved and be filled with his own tools so that he could help others.”
Available for Purchase on Amazon and Barns & Noble / Published by Grosvenor House Publishing
FROM THE POCKET OF AN OVERCOAT
by R. Vincent
“From the pocket of an overcoat — came Max.
Max, the most sweet and lovable cat.
This book tells the story of Max’s adventure finding a new home, a new family — and being loved for who he is.
MEET MAX
Max is friendly and curious.
He loves to be with family.
Max prefers to be home, but also looks for adventure — by himself and with friends.”
Available for Purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Target / Published by Archway Publishing (from Simon & Schuster)
PEGGY PARSLEY AND THE BUZZY BUMBLES OF HONEYCOMB COTTAGE
By W J Bixby
“Peggy Parsley is about a little girl who spends the summer holidays with her grandparents in the country.
There Peggy befriends Blue Bell who happens to be a Bumblebee and they embark on a magical journey.
The aim of the story is to engage a young minds into the importance of our bees and our wildlife but to add that dust of magic along the way.”
GUARDIANS OF THE WORLD GATES
“There’s a World Gate in Crow Forest. World Gates can only be seen for three nights in midsummer when a Guardian Circle is needed to protect the entrance to the mysterious Secret Worlds at the time of opening. Jay and Jill are staying at Crow Forest Farm when they notice strange happenings. What are Uncle Sam and Auntie Mo getting up to at the dead of night? Who made the large footprints in the forest? Why are the talking crows arriving? And who or what is The Watcher?
A walk in the forest with the dogs Sniffy and Finn and the little cat Sharp turns into an adventure when, in a clearing, Jay finds something hiding in the roots of a tree. Little do they know that being near the World Gate has turned on special mind-sensing powers – for all of them. With these talents they can join a Guardian circle – but can they seal the World gate and prevent a disaster in Crow Forest?
Available for Purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble / Published by Grosvernor House Publishing Limited
Such a great book compilation! I would love to gift a few books from this list to my book-lover friends 😍.
These are great gift ideas for my friends who like to read. I will check them out.
Wow! These are all really great gift ideas! I really love the selection of these books!
More books mean happier holidays. these are all great suggestions!
Our family loves reading and books make such great gifts! My daughter would love Dash and Nikki and the Jellybean Game and I’d love those personal finance books as a holiday gift.
These sound like some great reads for all the family. I have to admit there is nothing quite like going off into a new world via reading a good book.
What an excellent selection of books! I know which ones I’ll get for everyone. 🙂
What a great collection of books to choose for gift ideas!! I haven’t even started shopping yet.
Owning the Dash is a clever title and has drawn me in. Adding to my list.
I am not familiar with any of these titles. I am hoping to do some reading after the holidays and I enjoyed reading through your list.
Love your suggestions. I love that you advice different types of books and I love almost all of them.
Having a bookworm for a husband, thank you for the list! 🙂
Looks like a fabulous selection of books here and I am loving many of the children’s books 😉 I esepcially need to snag a few for my niece 😉
These all look like a wonderful selection of books, they would make such gifts for sure
What a great resource for a book gift! And this list will work for me all year long as well!
Lots of great books! I’d love to read that memoir or the one about why we need to create.
I have a friend I need to buy a book for and these are great selections. Thanks for sharing.
These fiction and nonfiction books make excellent holiday gifts for everyone on my list! Thanks for the ideas
There are so many great gift ideas here on this list. I love giving books as gifts.
My family loves getting (and giving) books for gifts. Thanks for these great suggestions!
Women who become single later in life really struggle (hand raised). I do not know how I’ll catch up, but I will.