Dive into the magic of holiday gifting with books that are more than just pages – they're portals to different worlds and stories. Picture this: you're cosied up with a cup of your favourite holiday brew or a glass or two, unwrapping tales of resilience, pleasure, and the unapologetic power of women.
Here are my top three book picks that'll make for the perfect gift this season:
1. The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions by Larry Mitchell
I first saw this book being read by my dearest friend, Niko, as I was walking up to him for coffee in the Lower East Side. I was struck by its boldness, the bright red cover and the large font. What was held behind these scarlet covers is a history of grieving, prosecution, theft and stifling by Man and the story of how Women & Faggots have always found safety, frivolity and magic together throughout it all. Told in a poetic dialogue with beautiful illustrations throughout. I return to this book often and always, always find myself inspired.
Get your copy here!
2. Pleasure Activism the Politics of Feeling Good by Adrienne Maree Brown
If you're not already familiar with Adrienne Maree Brown, I suggest you drop everything you are doing and head her way now. I consider her one of the most influential thought leaders and poets of our time, a person fighting to spread knowledge about pleasure in all its forms and how we can exist in it every day. I read Pleasure Activism as I was redefining and rediscovering what living in a body deserving of and craving pleasure meant to me. For me, this was an education in releasing shame and claiming what is rightfully mine and yours, too.
Get your copy here!
3. Seductress, Women Who Ravished the World and Their Lost Art of Love by Betsy Prioleau
Calling all Sirens, Sluts, Goddesses and Adventuresses, this book is ripe for biting into, letting yourself indulge in and to luxuriate in discovering the Seductress ancestry. I love a book that has historical context and especially one rewritten with the mission of celebrating Women in mind. So much of what we were taught growing up was about men and how they conquered things, women included. This turns that narrative upside down, evoking scenes of Women in power - unabashedly so. Chapters cover categories such as women in politics, masculine women, silver sirens, women who publicly took many lovers and spouses and seducers of the arts. I feel empowered and excited just talking about it.
Get your copy here!
Wondering what is on my book list...
1. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
I am currently ripping through, like actually devouring everything written by Sarah Waters. A friend suggested I read Tipping the Velvet, written in 1998, and I'm a little embarrassed I didn't know of it before. Since that fateful Kindle Download seven weeks ago (yes, I, too, E-read sometimes), I have read four out of the six books Waters has written. Honestly, I better slow down to prolong the inevitable depression that comes due when there is no more of an author's world to be lost within. How will I cope? Stay tuned to see me lament leaving those characters (friends, dare I call them?) behind through my choices in jewellery. Each novel is written with beautifully researched historical detail and features a lesbian protagonist. The sex scenes are a steamy chef's kiss, and the plots are heart-wrenching in their characters' earnest wit and authenticity.
Viva la lesbian romance, even if you're not a lady lover, yourself!
Get your copy here!
2. Jewels That Made History by Stellene Volandes
Hi, my name is Elizabeth, and I have a jewellery problem; I don't know if you've noticed. So it's only natural that I get my fix through books I'm reading, too. Do I wear 15 rings, chandelier earrings and diamond necklaces whilst doing so? Well, that's just none of anyone's business gestures sparkly. Anyway, Jewels is a wonderful book to scratch that golden itch. Big, juicy photos of bulbous sapphires, glittering gems and the larger-than-life people who wore them burst from the pages while tales of Van Cleef, Tiffany, Dame Joan Collins and endless Queens and Kings are woven around them. Even if you fancy yourself an avid Jewelry Historian, this book is still a delight to skim through and revisit some of your favourite jewellery facts.
Get your copy here!
3. Stickler Loves The World by Lane Smith
Given that my favourite time of day is when I get to lay my head next to my daughter, feeling her warm little body curled into mine, it's befitting that a Children's Book makes it on here. We love Stickler as much as he loves the world right now, and honestly… it's a beautiful reminder to find excitement and joy and appreciate beauty in the everyday things around us. Also, I don't mean to brag, but I'm good at creating voices, and this one is an extra fun one to do for your mini. Make me an offer I can't refuse, and I might narrate it for you…might.
Get yours here!
Give the gift of stories that linger, a present to be treasured and shared through generations. Happy Holidays! Happy Reading!
Elizabeth
xoxo