My Favorite Things: Christmas Ideas for Readers, Book Lovers, Poets, & Writers

Since tomorrow is the first day of December, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things for this holiday season.

My Favorite Things:

Terry's Chocolate Oranges (dark or milk)  $4-5 in grocery stores
**Our yearly tradition.  Chocolate & poetry go together well.


Old School Wooden Lap Desk  $59
***Note, I also saw these on Amazon for $30, but they had some bad reviews, so I'm linking to this one as it's the one I purchased about eight years ago and love.  You can store all your notecards & pencils 
under the desktop.  Plus it helps stop my laptop from overheating when I write in bed.


DogBones Chiropractic Pillow $8.81
***I just bought one of these in a Hawaiian print and I love it.  I use it every night and I take it with me on long car rides and trips.  One of the reviews said it was "too soft" but I would lean the other way saying it could be just a tad softer and smaller, but for the price, it's been an absolute win for me. It's actually saved me a lot of neckaches.  They have better colors (than the one I've linked to), but they're a few dollars more.

The Frugal Book Promoter: Second Edition: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher  $12.88

***I just received a review copy of this book and I'm already quite impressed with it.  It gives a lot of ideas on marketing one's book and offers a lot of info for someone who is just publishing their first book.  I like how the author, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, writes in easy-to-read style.  It's a pretty big book that you can pick and choose what you need help on.

Poetry Books! Under $20
***Kristin Berkey-Abbott did this incredible list of poetry books AND included a short summary of EACH book!  Definitely a resource for you or any other readers in your life.


Smart Wool Socks $14-$16
***Just the best socks ever!  You can't write with cold feet!


On Writing: A Memoir on Craft by Stephen King
***Fantastic book.  Read it in one sitting.


SkullCandy EarBuds $9-$14
***A great way to shut out the world.  I have an orange and green pair.  I like the brighter colors as they are easier to find.  I only use these when I listen to audio books.  Comfy & perfect.




Il Postino (DVD)  $24 & up!
***This is one of my very favorite movies and perfect for poets and those who love Pablo Neruda. Absolutely beautiful and incredible music too.  I'm thrilled I own this DVD as I see they aren't available from Amazon, but from indie sellers.  You can probably rent this on Netflix-- please do if you haven't seen it.  (Oh and in case you hate reading your movies, it is subtitled.)


Il Postino Soundtrack $14.99
**I have the music on my laptop and when I listen to it, I feel as if I leave this world.


Midnight in Paris DVD (Woody Allen Movie with Owen Wilson) $17.99
***Incredible movie for the literary types.  I loved this movie and its soundtrack as well.  Best Woody Allen movie in a very long time.  Available on Dec. 20th.




2012 BusyBodyBook Organizer  $12.88
***This is my second year with the BusyBodyBook.  They are dated (1 page each week) & created in columns to help track your family members (i.e. column 1: dad, column 2: mom, column 3: daughter, etc.) however, I use each column to track my projects and list off what I need to do for them each day  (Column 1: Poetry, Column 2: Crab Creek Review, Column 3: Fire On Her Tongue Anthology, Column 4: Home Projects, etc.)  There are 5 columns and as a list maker, I love seeing what I need to do each day and cross it off.


Sea Salt Caramels sold in the Nordstrom Cafe $20 (sorry, couldn't find a link for these!)
***Yummers!


Chore Chart $38 (Etsy)
**Okay, this may seem weird, but I purchased one of these for our family (& my daughter) and I realized, this might also be a great way to give yourself goals or projects as the creator of this board will make your chore magnets, whatever you like.  So where I have "wash dishes," the writer can have "submit poem" or "write 500 pages," or "do writing exercises."   


Okay, I'm a Mac gal and actually kind of anti-Kindle (I worry about how Amazon is creating its own little empire and I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with them), but Collin Kelley recently got a Kindle Fire and did a great review of it you can watch here if you're considering buying one.

They are currently $199 and available at Amazon--





I have an iPad that I love, but for $199, I can see why these are such a hit.


Let me know what your favorite things are this year!


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