The festive season is coming up quickly and that means lots of parties, dinners, perhaps some travel… oh, and the stress of getting your gifting sorted! While close girlfriends may be easier to gift to, how about colleagues, partners and family members? My trick this year – books! Here are my best Christmas Gift Books to give this year.
And yes, spoiler alert for everybody who will receive a gift from me… it will probably be a book.
In October, I shared my Top Three Inspirational Books. These are ALL, of course, great gifts to give this holiday season. However, here are four more books to gift to different people based on their personality!
The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
“For the Procrastinator“
While writing this I realise that I didn’t actually read this book. I listened to it via Audible (one of the few books I’ve done this with). I even listened to it twice! But I’m actually gonna put this book on my list to actually read. What’s super powerful about Mel’s message is its simplicity.
The core message is that when you want or have to do something that’s outside your comfort zone, your mind will often ‘protect’ you and talk you out of doing it. This can be for something that’s scary, but also for something you’re super excited about. We all have those moments when you think of something and before you actually do it, you’ve backed out.
Mel proposes an alternative. Instead of your mind taking over, count back from five and when you get to one, just DO IT. Whether this means picking up the phone to have a difficult conversation, pressing send on an email or heading to the gym (when you’re about to back out). Just count… five, four, three, two, one and off you go! In the book, Mel shares her personal story as well as scientific studies which back up why this simple countdown works.
FIND Mel Robbins, The Five Second Rule on Amazon or Book Depository.
The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
“For the Business Savvy”
This is such a classic. Many people have seen Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk: How Great Leaders Inspire Action (over 47 million when writing this!). However, I don’t know many who actually read this book. This is a must-read for anybody who wants to start a business or is into brand building. It really goes back to the core of having a successful business or brand.
With business, most of us start with what it does. Simon urges us to change this and start with why. Why does your business exist? Not what you do, but why you do it? It sounds so simple. However, when you think about this for your own business or brand, it becomes a lot harder.
Simon’s messages and models in the book are a great starting point for brainstorming sessions or even general discussions about your company. While reading, I kept scribbling ideas into margins and on the pages. This book will get your business creativity going, guaranteed! Bonus – you can totally use Simon’s ideas for personal development and to figure out your own why.
FIND Simon Sinek, Start with Why on Amazon or Book Depository.
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes
“For the Health-Conscious”
A bit of a warning – this book will make you question everything you believe about food so far. Part One gives a detailed historical account of how our eating habits have changed over time and how this has impacted our physical appearance. In Part Two Gary digs deeper into why we get fat, why diets succeed and fail, the meat vs plants discussion and what the nature of a healthy diet is.
He’s the first to admit that his recommendations are not (fully) scientifically proven, and he strongly lobbies for a lot more research into this field. If you think you know everything already, his response is gold: “For those who insist we know what a healthy diet is and it doesn’t need to be tested, I counter that when 100 million or so Americans are obese and 30 million have diabetes, we clearly don’t understand something about healthy eating .” – Source: diatribe.org
Gary’s biggest fight is against sugar and the excessive amounts we knowingly and unknowingly eat. In addition, he challenges you to think less about the quantity of carbs you take in, but rather focus on the quality. Gary has also published a new book, The Case Against Sugar (which I have yet to read).
FIND Gary Taubes, Why We Get Fat on Amazon or Book Depository.
Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes
Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – And Why Things are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling
“For the Nerdy Know-It-All”
Several people recommended this book and I’m so happy I finally read it. It was such an eye-opener! Especially to see how we often (subconsciously) misinterpret facts by not looking at the context.
Hans gives many examples in relation to the situation. These case studies range from wars to pandemics, child mortality as well as education. In these cases, when looking at the numbers as a standalone case, the “facts can feel disastrous“. When looking at the numbers in a bigger context, they’re often not as bad. Hans argues that things can be good and bad at the same time.
After reading this book, I noticed I was a lot less sensitive about dramatic headlines in the media. Personally, I was less affected by the positive or negative results in my business as I focused on the context rather than the individual moment.
FIND Hans Rosling, Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About The World – And Why Things Are Better Than You Think on Amazon or Book Depository.
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About The World – And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About The World – And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling
Happy Gifting!
Have a great festive season ahead and let me know in the comments if you’ve read or gifted any of the books I recommended! As always – if you have a book recommendation for me, please share in the comments.
What else would you like to hear about on Vanilla Beige? Check out our Travel adventures or stories For Inspiration.
This review was written by Karin van Vliet, distributor of Arty-Shock in Asia. If you have a sense of humour and love art, you must check out their range of fun, beautiful and affordable art.
This post contains affiliate links which means we earn a commission if you purchase items through them. We were not paid to write these reviews and our views are honest and personal. Karin purchased each of these books independently.