November Recommendations and Resources
This is a part of our monthly series where we will share a bunch of new recommendations and resources — some fun and playful and some more serious and focused on your growth. If you want to contribute your ideas, share them in this survey! None of these are sponsored - just our favorite things we have been trying and loving.
I can’t really start this without highlighting that MY BOOK IS OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER! You can buy it anywhere you like to buy your books, and pre-orders are so SO important for new authors and help them get on lists/and create buzz! And if you missed my cover reveal puzzle video check it out here:
It’s officially Read Palestine week, and I have been intentional about getting to a lot of books I have and on my TBR by Palestinian authors. I just read Courting Samira, which was a cute romcom about a Palestinian young adult dating and finding love. I am currently reading Light in Gaza, and I have You Exist Too Much, They Called Me A Lioness, Against The Loveless World, and Salt Houses on hold from the library.
I also am a sucker for holiday movies and books. I just love this time of year, all the holidays and festivity — and for better or worse, that includes mainstream Christmas things. I just did my annual rewatching of The Holiday, and of course every time I am with my nephews, we end up watching Home Alone and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. For books, I have loved Royal Holiday and Christmas Shopaholic, and I have the following on my TBR this year:
Three Holidays and a Wedding (I love everything Uzma Jalaluddin writes)
A Trapped Holiday Heart and The Kingdom of Sweets (I love paranormal and magical realism)
And: A Holly, Jolly Diwali, A Merry Little Meet Cute, The Christmas Orphans Club
Unrelated, this month, I also recently watched Elemental and Polite Society, both of which I highly recommend. I’ve also been binging Bollywood albums and have been on a Bombay and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai kick.
I loved this NPR graphic post on creating an ancestral altar at home. It’s so beautifully illustrated and such a great idea for the many of us who don’t always feel connected — or know how to stay connected — to our ancestors. I loved this reminder about being a writer, and generally, I am such a fan of
’s kindness and generosity in her work. This gorgeous essay is still on my mind. It’s about a reporter encountering her great grandfather’s bones — literally gravediggers placing them before her — and her own journey of connecting with her ancestor. I am obsessed with this piece, but even more, the comments:
I loved this behavioral tip for taking care of your mental health from a fellow therapist. I will admit that I bought a few materials for annotating books and was deeply inspired by the trend here.
And IF you are looking for gift ideas, lean into practicality. Here are 9 ideas:
A subscription to your favorite substack/mental health group ;)
Groceries or gift cards for everyday things, like groceries, gas, child-rearing needs, and toiletries
A house cleaning service
Nice or intentionally researched/made products, like nice hand cream or chapstick or nice towels and sheets
Gift card or subscription service to a local small business, like a book club box from a local bookstore, or a local bouquet shop gift card!
A national parks pass
Custom stationary and/or a nice pen or writing utensil
If you know their favorite skin care, hair, coffee, or house products — get a new set for them so they can restock!
Donate your time to help them with a task that may be difficult to do alone, like finding a therapist, estate planning, decluttering, moving babysitting, or meal prep
A gift card that supports a hobby or experience (specifically something they have voiced interest in and talk themselves out of doing/paying for themselves. These can be things like, instrument lessons, writing workshops, sewing or pottery classes, workout classes they want to try, flying trapeze lessons, and so on!
What would you add?
Rooting for you,
Sahaj