Woman in Real Life: Christmas Book Gift Guide 2019 + Starbucks Giveaway

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Christmas Book Gift Guide 2019 + Starbucks Giveaway

If you are a book lover like I am, my fondest wish for you this holiday season is that you get some time to relax and read a book (or two). Nothing is more calming than curling up with a cup of tea and a great book. No doubt you also have friends and family who like to snuggle in with a book in winter.

Whether for you or those on your last-minute Christmas gift shopping list, I have browsed through many a book catalogue to come up with this selection of recommended books to buy for gifts this holiday season. There are book titles here for food lovers and home cooks (a lot of those because I'm obsessed with food!), decor enthusiasts, Anne of Green Gables fans, musicians and more. Of course there are countless other books to enjoy this Christmas. I suspect that many fans of The Handmaid's Tale will have Margaret Atwood's The Testaments: The Sequel to The Handmaid's Tale on their wish lists, for example.

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Click on the book titles for buying information.

For foodies

Eat More Plants: Over 100 Anti-Inflammatory, Plant-Based Recipes for Vibrant Living

The title says a lot - eat more plants. It's a simple yet powerful concept that applies whether you are vegan, vegetarian, somewhere in between or a meat-eater. More plants means more vitamins, more minerals, more fibre. It means you can focus on adding great things to your diet instead of focusing on deprivation or dieting. Eat More Plants aims to transform your diet with powerful anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense, plant-based recipes. It will help you create meals to support your immune system, improve gut health, fight disease, reduce stress and restore balance. Registered dietitian Desiree Nielsen has created 100 anti-inflammatory recipes, including Blackberry Ginger Muffins, Socca Pizza with Zucchini, Olives, and Basil, Creamy Pasta with Smoked Tofu and Kale and Cocoa Cherry Brownies. The book has expert advice on understanding inflammation and a 21-day meal plan to help you eat more plants too.

Chloe's Vegan Desserts: More than 100 Exciting New Recipes for Cookies and Pies, Tarts and Cobblers, Cupcakes and Cakes--and More!

This isn't a new book, but I consider it a must-have for vegans, those who are dairy-free or anybody who wants to expand their dessert repertoire. I have loved my other Chloe Coscarelli cookbooks - Chloe's Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way and Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen: 150 Pizzas, Pastas, Pestos, Risottos, & Lots of Creamy Italian Classics. The recipes are simple to make, use common ingredients and everything I've tried has been delicious. Chloe's Vegan Desserts starts off with desserts for breakfast, and that makes me like Chloe even more. Crumb cake, coffee cake, chocolate babka, doughnut holes, granola and more - and remember that's just to start the day. You're going to move on from there to cookies, bars, pies, tarts, cobblers, cakes, cupcakes, spoon desserts, drinks and sauces! And I guarantee nobody will guess any of it is vegan.

The Everything Vegan Meal Prep Cookbook

This vegan meal prep cookbook is from the Everything series, accessible books that help you with a new hobby or topic. The book has tips for meal prepping and then loads of recipes that you can make ahead of time, perhaps on a meal prep Sunday. From the cover: "With this book and a little advanced planning each week, you'll be able to enjoy ready-when-you-are breakfasts; fresh, packable lunches; and satisfying and delicious dinners that can be available within fifteen minutes of getting in the door." The idea is that you can stick to a vegan lifestyle without too much trouble and while avoiding tempting pre-made, less healthy foods. I made a simple beefless stew recipe from The Everything Vegan Meal Prep Cookbook one night for dinner, and my husband and I enjoyed leftovers for lunches over the next couple of days. The format is simple, with just a small selection of photos as an insert, but the recipes are also simple and tend to feature readily available whole foods, with the addition of some convenience items like packaged "chick'ns" and "beefless" tips.

The Beginner's Guide to Dehydrating Food, 2nd Edition: How to Preserve All Your Favorite Vegetables, Fruits, Meats, and Herbs

Maybe your friend got a dehydrator last Christmas but barely uses it? (That would be me). I've used my dehydrator to make these dehydrated pear chips with vegan caramel sauce and to make the dried orange slices pictured on this page. But I definitely could be doing more with my dehydrator. The Beginner's Guide to Dehydrating Food can help, with instructions on dehydrating everything from apricots to zucchini. You can prep for a camping trip, save the surplus foods from your garden or make baby food with advice from the book. It outlines food selection, preparation, pretreating methods and how to test for dryness. It also discusses equipment, including manufactured dehydrators, home-built dehydrators and oven-drying. Methods of drying fruits and vegetables are outlined, A to Z, and then herbs and spices and leathers and candied fruits. The book also has recipes to use your dried food goodies, including vegetable broth powder, overnight oatmeal with fruits and nuts and carrot-oat cookies.

Epic Vegan: Wild and Over-the-Top Plant-Based Recipes

Winter calls for some great comfort food recipes, and vegan chef Dustin Harder's Epic Vegan has got a ton of them! You might know Dustin as the Vegan Roadie - he has travelled around the United States and abroad filming his original YouTube series. The book has over 120 "Instagram-worthy" recipes, from pastas and pizzas to burgers and milkshakes. As you can see from the cover image, what's unique about this vegan cookbook is that it encourages us to layer comfort foods on top of one another in unexpected yet delicious ways. You can choose to keep it simple - think biscuits - or build on your creation - think Deep Dish Brunch Pizza with Garlicky Cheddar Biscuit Crust! Easy Creamy Shells and Cheese can become Mac and Cheese Pretzel Bites. This is the food you serve your friends on New Year's Day or on a birthday. (It looks too incredible not to be shared!) There are FUNdamental recipes, sauces, breads, appies, handhelds, pizzas, pastas, bowls, shakes and floats and sweet treats, including Caramel-Stuffed Cookies 'n Cream Cupcakes and I Try To Think About Elvis Ice Cream.

Saladish: A Crunchier, Grainier, Herbier, Heartier, Tastier Way with Vegetables

"A 'saladish' recipe is like a salad, and yet so much more. It starts with an unexpectedly wide range of ingredients, like Japanese eggplants, broccoli rabe, shirataki noodles or Bosc pears. It emphasizes contrasting textures - toothsome, fluffy, crunchy, crispy, hefty. And marries contrasting flavors - rich, sharp, sweet, salty. Toss it all together, and voila: an irresistible symphony that's at once healthy and utterly delicious." I'm sharing this straight from the book jacket because I think that description is amazing. Don't saladish recipes sound so delicious? Expect "one-bowl wonders" (broken down by season) like Baby Carrots with Carrot-Top Pesto, Tex-Mex Cornbread Salad and Red Potatoes with Chorizo and Roasted Grapes. This is not a vegetarian cookbook, but as the recipes are salad adjacent I think most of them could easily be adapted to be vegetarian or vegan.

For decor enthusiasts

Nomad: Designing a Home for Escape and Adventure

If you like watching YouTube videos of tiny homes, remote cabins, people in Australia living in buses and vans, etc., you'll love this book. (I, a suburban home dweller, am addicted to those videos btw.) Nomad is a gorgeous book, from the textural cover to the beautiful photos of adventure seekers in travelling homes and minimalist cabin dwellers. The book has me dreaming of owning a canal boat in the Netherlands, like Wim and Anneke Robbertsen, who have modernized an old tug boat. Nomad features 26 unconventional homes and the people who live in them, plus information on bathrooms and storage and a comprehensive guide to finding the right home, assessing renovation costs and sourcing things like replacement parts and portable power solutions.

Creative Walls

Do you like to collect things? Art, vintage glassware, earrings, vases? Then you'll find Creative Walls inspiring. No more feeling guilty about adding another item to your collection - just put 'em on the walls. "For me, a wall is a beautiful blank canvas. A great big opportunity. I can't wait to get 'painting.' My paints are virtually anything I can find, or hang, or lean against that wall - photographs, art, ceramics, carvings, obscure curios discovered in bottom drawers, gorgeous objets unearthed in unlikely flea markets," says author Geraldine James in her intro. She advises against going with the "safe" options when decorating our homes. Rather, put together fascinating displays using simple objects in creative ways. I like it. And it might just give me the excuse I need to head back to the thrift shops in search of more treasures! You with me? Creative Walls has over 200 pages of beautifully photographed inspiration.

Insta-style for Your Living Space: Inventive ideas and quick fixes to create a stylish home

Insta-style in this case doesn't mean creating an Instagram-worthy home, although the decor ideas in this book are definitely perfect for Instagram. Rather it refers to quick, impactful style ideas for temporary homes, either rented or home-for-now. In other words, Insta-style for Your Living Space shows you how to personalize your home beautifully without spending a fortune. There is so much colour and character in the homes featured in this book. I find it really refreshing when so many interiors now are primarily white. The homes range from apartments to small houses, with creative display, decor and storage solutions. Upcycling ideas make decorating eco-friendly. Getting creative means throwing out rules like matching up furniture sets and displaying items only in conventional ways, such as on shelving and mantels. Temporary though these homes may be, I think I'd be quite content in any of them, pretty as they are.

For Anne fans

The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables: The Enchanting Island that Inspired L. M. Montgomery

When I think back to reading Anne of Green Gables as a girl, one of the things I remember being most fascinated with was L.M. Montgomery's "flowery" descriptions of the woods and fields around Green Gables. Prince Edward Island sounded like paradise to me. With new and historical photography, The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables shows how Montgomery's love for nature and the landscapes of PEI inspired the bestselling Anne of Green Gables series. The book looks at Montgomery's journals, scrapbooks and hand-coloured photography, along with archival images and new photographs of the landmarks immortalized in Anne of Green Gables. A great gift for any Anne With An E fans.

For parents

How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Calmer, Happier Parent

I am the parent of two teenagers. Enough said. How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids may not be fun reading, but it's a much-needed resource for many parents. We as parents don't want to lose it on our kids, but man they can be challenging. They push those buttons like experts. Carla Naumburg, PhD, a clinical social worker, created this short, empathetic, tip-filled program for how to manage your triggers, stop meltdowns and become a calmer, happier parent with calmer, happier kids. The book begins with six truths to help you feel less ashamed of past anger explosions, moves on to exploring why you lose it, explains why you need to try not to lose it and explains how Naumburg stopped losing it (so often anyway). This is a highly readable and relatable book that would be a great read over Christmas break. Maybe we parents can start the new year by setting a new tone in our households?

For musicians

Guitar: The World’s Most Seductive Instrument

There are few things in this world my husband loves more than his guitars. (I think) the kids and I are on that list (maybe). This book is a great present for people like him, who lament every dollar spent that could have been spent on a new guitar instead. Guitar is a beautiful, boxed, hardcover book that looks at 200 guitars in detail. There are iconic instruments, like Leo Fender's famous Broadcaster and Les Paul's "Log," and historic guitars, like Eric Clapton's "Brownie" and Prince's "Yellow Cloud." There are also quirky homemade and one-of-a-kind guitars. This is eye candy for the guitar enthusiast. The downside of gifting this book to my husband is he'll want to go out and buy another guitar!

For women of all ages

Younger Next Year for Women: Live Strong, Fit, Sexy, and Smart―Until You’re 80 and Beyond

This bestselling book on reversing the aging process has been updated for its 15th anniversary with two new chapters on the link between physical exercise and brain health. Younger Next Year for Women tells us that consistently exercising and eating right not only helps us physically but also improves memory, cognition, mood and more. That just might be enough to get me off my butt and onto the elliptical a little more often. There is also useful information on menopause, because ain't that a trying thing, my friends! The New York Times called this book "one long, exuberant New Year's resolution," which makes it an ideal gift for anyone who wants to make some important changes in 2020. "You may well live into your nineties, whether you like it or not. But how you live those years, on the other hand, is largely under your control," says the book.

For people who need a break

A Sloth's Guide to Taking It Easy: Be more sloth with these fail-safe tips for serious chilling

Who among us couldn't use a bit of a break? Life can be fast-paced these days. A Sloth's Guide to Taking It Easy is a small, cute book that you can pick up anytime you need a moment of peace and clarity. "We think it's time that everybody slowed down, relaxed, and took more time to enjoy the little pleasures the simple life can bring," says the book's intro. Sounds good, huh? Brian the three-toed sloth guides us through easy ideas for how to chill - like slowing down to enjoy your food rather than rushing and eating on the go. Stretch regularly, have a laugh, take a vacation. Give this book to a friend who needs to slow down and recognize the power of serious chilling.

For crafters

Modern Embroidery: 35 stylish and contemporary hand-sewn designs

I'm embarrassed to say I bought embroidery hoops months (possibly years) ago and I've yet to try my hand at embroidery. But I still want to! Modern Embroidery is a fun gift idea for people like me who want to embroider as well as embroidery experts looking for more ideas. Modern motifs include everything from cacti to crystals and mandala patterns. There are full step by step instructions for each of 35 projects, from botanical napkins to a drawstring bag to a pocket mirror bedecked with an adorable fox. Colour charts allow you to recreate the looks exactly, or you can switch up the colours as you desire. All the stitches you need to know are covered, as well as colour theory, advice for finishing pieces and an outline of equipment and supplies needed.

For teens

Five Feet Apart

This young adult novel is on my daughter's Christmas wish list. Five Feet Apart is a New York Times bestseller written by Rachael Lippincott based on the screenplay (by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis) for a 2019 feature film starring Riverdale's Cole Sprouse. The story revolves around Stella Grant, a young woman with cystic fibrosis who must keep her distance from anyone who might pass along infection and jeopardize her chances of a lung transplant. Keeping her distance is more difficult when she meets fellow patient Will Newman. The film was inspired by a real-life couple, Dalton and Katie Prager, who both suffered from cystic fibrosis. This is a tearjerker along the lines of The Fault in Our Stars.

Questions for you

Which of these books would you most like to receive as a gift? Will you be doing some reading over the holidays?

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Enter to win a $20 (CAD) Starbucks gift card! (Canada and US)

Because it's nice to sip on your favourite warm beverage while you read a great book, I'm giving one reader (in Canada or the US) a $20 (CAD) Starbucks gift card. Enter using the widget below until January 6, 2020. Not affiliated with Starbucks.

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