I was surprised when my husband told me that outdoor retailer REI has had a campaign the last few years to #OptOutside on Black Friday. They don’t open their stores, at all. I’m taking inspiration from them today: I’d rather be reading, and decorating the tree, and making Chex Mix with my kids than shopping. I walked to one local shop earlier this morning, and have a few online purchases I’d like to make, but today my big plans are decorating, coffee, and books.

If you want to do some shopping–gift giving or otherwise–or score a great bookish deal, we are running a sale in the MMD shop.

For the first time ever, classes are on sale for $10 each.

Choose from:

• Book Journaling for Book Lovers
• 1 Hour to a Better #bookstagram
• What’s your reading personality?

You can take these classes on your schedule, and watch and replay as many times as you’d like. We’ve gotten terrific feedback on all three, and know that each class can make a real difference in your reading life, whether you start today or in the new year. Choose the one that most grabs you, or snatch up all three while they’re cheap.

Journal sale

Our fabulous Leuchtturm journals are buy one, get one half off with the code BOOKMAIL. These are my very favorite journals, whether you use yours for your to-do list, deep thoughts, bullet journal, or reading log.

It’s Black Friday every day

If you’re looking for something to read, we curate a list of the best ebook and Kindle deals almost every day. You can get the latest hand-curated deals emailed to you every day by signing up right here.

As you can see below, today’s deals are particularly good (no surprise). I hope you find something great to read at a great price. (We post deals every day right here, and recommend you subscribe to the deals email for updates.)

PLEASE NOTE: Amazon says we can’t include prices on our site, but we assure you these prices are solid. (We curate based on U.S. prices; international readers can follow these steps to find deals that will always be valid in their region.) Click here to see all prices in one place, or click through the buy button on each book for details.

Get Lucky

Author: Katherine Center

After forwarding an inappropriate email to the whole company, Katherine gets fired, moves back to her hometown in disgrace, and starts her life over. This short and easy read has a familiar arc: girl in a mess, girl sees the light, girl finds happiness, yet its themes of sisterhood, forgiveness, and redemption make it worth your while. More info →

Silver Sparrow

Author: Tayari Jones

Opening line: "My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist." In her third novel, Jones writes about the link between two African-American half sisters, one legitimate and one secret, only one of whom knows the other exists. That is, until the secret of their father's second marriage starts to force its way into the open. Rather than writing back-and-forth between two perspectives, the reader encounters almost all of one sister's point of view in the first half, followed by the other's. The result is an absorbing coming-of-age narrative wrapped in a complicated family novel. I already loved this book, but when we discussed it with author Tayari Jones in the MMD Book Club, my appreciation and enjoyment skyrocketed, as so often happens. I love to peel back all the layers of a good book. More info →

Circe

Author: Madeline Miller

Miller’s Odyssey retelling focuses on the witch Circe, who is known for having turned men into pigs. Here we see how and why she got to that point. Circe grows up as the daughter of Helios, the god of the Sun and a Titan. She doesn’t fit in with her family but over time, she discovers she does have magical powers all her own. Banished to a deserted island by Zeus, she comes into her own as she meets both friend and foe. This is an inventive take on a familiar story that allowed me to see it in a new, fresh way. I loved this on audiobook as narrated by Perdita Weeks. Whispersync narration available. (Content warnings apply.) More info →

Moloka’i: A Novel

Author: Alan Brennert

Alan Brennert tells this story through the eyes of Rachel, a young girl when she’s diagnosed with leprosy and taken from her family home to the leper settlement on Moloka’i. All the hallmarks of a coming-of-age story, set against the well-researched backdrop of exile. More info →

Apeirogon

Author: Colum McCann

An apeirogon is a polygon with an infinite number of sides, an apt metaphor for this non-linear tale of the real life friendship between Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian, and Rami Elhanan, an Israeli. They form a bond through their shared grief and empathy after their daughters are killed in separate incidents. More than that, they want their grief to lead toward peace and lasting change. A timely heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful read. More info →

Mythos: Modern Telling of Classical Greek Myths Book

Author: Stephen Fry

Writer, actor, and humorist Stephen Fry has a knack for making Greek mythology compulsively readable; the whole Greek Myths series is on sale. These reimagined myths feel like bedtime stories for grownups; it's easy to get lost in the tales of valiant heroes and dastardly villains, which feel by turns fresh and familiar. More info →

Demon Copperhead

Author: Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver is back with a retelling of David Copperfield; no familiarity with the original required but if you have read it, you’ll appreciate her updates. Damon Fields, known as Demon Copperhead for his red hair, grows up impoverished in the southern Appalachian mountains in Virginia. We first meet him at age 11 and then follow along as his mother becomes addicted to opioids, he goes through the foster care system, and later wrestles with substance abuse himself. Just as David Copperfieldwas an impassioned work of social activism, this examines the ravages in southwestern Virginia and how the people Demon loves and identifies with are oppressed by those who have power. It’s a big book and it’s worth every page. More info →

Other Birds

Author: Sarah Addison Allen

Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club members read this as a flight pick with Unlikely Animals. From the publisher: "Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It's called The Dellawisp and it's named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy. When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother's apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn't yet written. When one of her new neighbors dies under odd circumstances the night Zoey arrives, she's thrust into the mystery of The Dellawisp, which involves missing pages from a legendary writer whose work might be hidden there. She soon discovers that many unfinished stories permeate the place, and the people around her are in as much need of healing from wrongs of the past as she is. To find their way they have to learn how to trust each other, confront their deepest fears, and let go of what haunts them." More info →

Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?

Author: Crystal Smith Paul

When Hollywood legend Kitty Karr Tate dies at age 81 in 2017, there’s one question the whole world wants answered: why did the iconic white actress leave her billion-dollar fortune to the Black daughters of her co-star in a sitcom that first aired nearly fifty years ago? To find out, debut novelist Paul takes us back to 1930s Winston-Salem where we meet a young Black girl whose mother is determined to give her a better life than the one she herself had. Traversing the Jim Crow south and 1950s Hollywood, Smith introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters, portraying the emerging ties between two show business families and the unlikely road that brought them together, while examining questions of gender, race, privilege, and family. More info →

Awake: A Memoir

Author: Jen Hatmaker

I read this back in April out of pure voyeuristic curiosity and it was a really good book. This is a big personal story, but more literary in nature. From the publisher: "In Awake, Jen shares for the first time what happened when she found herself completely lost at sea-and how she made it to shore. In candid, surprisingly funny vignettes spanning forty years of girlhood, marriage, and parenting, Jen lays bare the disorienting upheaval of midlife-the implosion of a marriage, the unraveling of religious and cultural systems, and the grief that accompanies change you didn't ask for. And, drawing on all resources-from without and within-Jen dares to question the systems beneath the whole house of cards, and to reckon with the myths, half-truths, and lies that brought her to this point. More than one woman's story, Awake is a critical analysis of the story given to all of us: the story of gender limitations, religious subservience, body shame, self-erasure. With refreshing candor, Jen explores a midlife renaissance-grieving what's lost, cherishing possibility, and entering the second half of life wide awake." More info →

I’m off to read now. Happy reading to you!

5 comments

Chrissie says:

November 23, 2018 at 4:01 pm

Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl is in my top five most important books of all time. Read this book if you are coping with a never ending trial. Read this book if you are in the middle of a crisis. Read this book if you are grieving. Read this book if you tend to worry about what might happen in the future. Read this book before you need it. Then, read it again once a year for good measure. Collect copies to give to people who are facing any of the above. Happiness comes and goes. What we really need and want is to find is meaning in life and in suffering. In the age of Freud, Frankl, a psychiatrist, parted ways with his hero and developed logotherapy to treat the suicidal teens in his care. He discovered that if these teens could be taught to find meaning in their suffering and meaning in life, they could get well. This was in Austria in the 1930’s. A Jew, he was given the opportunity to leave because of his renown. But he couldn’t take his parents and family so he refused to go. When he and his entire family were divided and sent to different Concentration Camps he was sent to Auschwitz where his theory was tested in unimaginable circumstances, amid suffering and loss. After being liberated, he spent the rest of his life caring for survivors. With all that, this is a hopeful book. It reminds us to be less focused on fleeting personal happiness, and dedicate ourselves to living life with meaning and purpose, in the ordinary and extraordinary.
- Paula R says:
  
  January 2, 2024 at 11:01 am
  
  I have heard so much about this book and just have not gotten around to getting it. Your recommendation has made me determined to get it. Thank you.
Sofia says:

November 23, 2018 at 7:08 pm

Clicked this post so fast that I almost broke my computer! Love all these suggestions! Have read a few, heard of a few, and adding a few to my list. Bookmarking this post to remember it all 🙂

x Sofia
http://www.thecozie.co
Alyssa says:

November 23, 2018 at 8:08 pm

All of these recommendations are fabulous! I saved almost all of these books to my Goodreads list!
Isaly Holland says:

November 26, 2018 at 11:16 pm

I remember reading Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel and it was really interesting especially for my psychology background. I ended up buying a few things for Black Friday especially a few books that I wanted. I am going to be looking into the other books that you mentioned because they had great plots. Thanks for the recommendations!