5 tips for Black Friday & my top rated books

The best of the best from the last 5 years

Gosh Christmas buying seems to be upon us and we’ve only just hit November. I had my first Black Friday discount email 2(!) weeks ago and my instagram feed is full of Christmas wish list edits and Sephora sale picks. Whilst I love starting Christmas celebrations early, it feels rather overwhelming to have so much consumption rammed in your face like this.

Here’s a few things I find really helpful for navigating the upcoming buying and discount season:

1. Focus on joy: My fave purchase of this period is a Christmas tree. I find having a tree indoors is so happy and I like to maximise this by having one for as long as possible. If I could have had it delivered tomorrow I would have. The other thing I like to prioritise through November & December is dinners out with friends.

2. Keep focused: I have a live list on my phone for all my friends and family with ideas of what they might like and/or are wishing for. This helps to cut through the marketing noise and focus on what they actually would love to receive. I do this for birthdays, special celebrations, anniversaries, babies, you name it. I’m always so grateful for this ready made list when there’s a lot going on.

3. Make sure you actually want it: I also have another list for myself. If I see something I want then it goes on the list, and once it’s been on the list for 2 months I can get it. I’ve found this so helpful with impulse buying and also means you are super delighted when you do get to treat yourself. Ann Patchett has a brilliant essay on her year of no shopping and it sounds wonderful. In the meantime, baby steps.

4. Be intentional with the sales: Based on the above, I can quickly narrow down what I need or want to gift, and these are the only things I will buy on Black Friday. I like Martin Lewis’ advice on this 👇. Girl maths is fun in a meme, but I’d rather spend my money on a nice meal out.

   

   Source: Money Saving Expert

5. When in doubt, the best gifts are books: I might be a bit biased here but there is nothing better than receiving a book lovingly chosen for you, or a book voucher for you to go use yourself. This my list of go to gift books from last year.

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My top rated books of the last five years

To help with your gift buying, I’ve pulled out my top 5 reads from the last 5 years (based on the year I read them). This took so long to narrow down, but the below are standout reads that I would, and have, gifted to friends and family time and again. They are also the ones I have recommended the most over the years.

Here’s part 1, 2019-2021, with part 2 coming next week.

2019

• Heartburn by Nora Ephron. Witty, funny, heartbreaking, hilarious - Ephron is master of taking the painful and making it funny and true. Great food throughout, plus that salad dressing that went viral.

• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. One of my top books of the 21st century, a coming of age story about a group of friends in New York.

• Christodora by Tim Murphy. This book is an epic heartbreaker, centred around the lives of those who live in one building in New York - from the middle of the 1980s AIDs crisis to the hipster 2000s and onwards. Amazingly told.

• The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo. Another multi-generational epic centred around the lives of one family, covering sisterhood, messy family relationships and great love.

• Fleishman Is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. The breakdown of a marriage told initially from the male perspective. Fabulous ending. I think about this book a lot.

2020

• American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. I think this is my favourite Sittenfeld. Dealing with all the complexities of love and the courage and integrity of staying true to yourself, whilst also becoming part of something bigger.

• Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel. My fave of the Wolf Hall series, focused on Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII. I love how Mantel took such an overly focused on part of history and made it feel so fresh.

• Breath by James Nestor. One of the more profound books I'd read in a long time, really interesting study of nose breathing vs mouth breathing.

• Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. A worthy winner of the 2020 Women’s Prize, based around Shakespeare’s family left behind in Stratford, particularly the females in the family.

• Dispatches from Pluto by Richard Grant. Travel writer Grant and his girlfriend move to the Mississippi Delta where they learn to live in the ‘most American place on Earth’. A very engaging and fascinating read.

2021

• These Precious Days by Ann Patchett. One of my favourite reads ever. This book of personal essays will make you laugh, cry and feel passionate about subjects just because of how brilliant Patchett’s writing is.

• A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. I re-read this book every year and always learn something new. One of the FEW books I actually pick up time and time again.

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This is my favourite book of the wonderful universe Jenkins Reid has created, but all are worth exploring. Perfect holiday escapism.

• Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason. A brilliant book, with so many layers, covering mental illness, family, relationships and new beginnings.

• The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller. A women relives her life over the course of 24 hours at her family home in Cape Cod. Totally gripping, you won’t put it down.

Here’s the full list.

Part 2 (2022-2023) next Monday.

Say goodbye to bad recommendations and hello to a better reading experience 👇