An End Of The Year Gift Guide For You. Just You.
Our readers' recommendations for what to get midlife women who write.
This isn’t a gift guide of last minute gifts for your friend, co-worker, sister, or kids. This is a list of recommendations from all of you about what to give women like us, in the messy middle of life, who are also writers, readers, creative people.
I asked for recommendations from Midstory Magazine readers and our regular email subscribers and from followers on social media (such as Threads… Are you on Threads? We are finally there! And wow. I’m not much of a social media person, but I am loving Threads right now. So many women, so many writers. So much support and encouragement.)
We asked for a list of your favorite things, as writers and as midlife women.
Here’s some of what you told us…. (Apologies to those whose recommendations I missed! There were too many to include in one post.)
Writerly Gifts For Yourself
Notebooks: We received quite a few mentions from women about their favorite notebooks. One of our community members
recommends this classic journal. Andra says, “I invest in Moleskine journals for my daily journaling practice. A quality receptacle keeps me consistent.”
Another notebook recommended by
, who writes The Inside of My Brain Substack, is this one. Karen tells us, “I am addicted to these Koyuko notebooks. They are large enough to be my everyday writing notebook, but not so thick that it’s a difficult notebook to tote around. Instead I just go through them every month or two and switch to a new one.”Digital writing Tablet: Alice of Confessions and Coffee told us about the Remarkable 2. She said, “I'm the sort of woman who has multiple notebooks, calendars, lists all over the place, and who tries to manage the chaos with To-Do lists etc. I was nervous about making the change, but I watched the Remarkable from afar for a couple of years before making the commitment (expensive, what if it doesn't work, I love paper etc)…As a full-time writer who also teaches, loves learning, manages life (just about) with four kids, it's SO GOOD.”
Because I am a person who is filling many notebooks at the same time with my notes and musings but am dismayed by the disorganized results of such written chaos, I was so intrigued by Alice’s description of this tablet that I did some serious research and debated between Remarkable 2 and Amazon’s alternative, the Kindle Scribe. I ended up getting the Scribe, because I can not only journal and write lists, notes, etc. but I can only read all of my Kindle books and take notes directly on them (to use later or export).
Thank you so much to Alice for introducing the concept of a digital notebook to me. I’ve already used it to take notes during an online workshop this weekend (see photo, below, with Mabel, my Zoom workshop companion). The experience is remarkable (sorry) and feels just like writing on paper. After the workshop, the Scribe converted (much to my surprise, successfully!) my poor handwriting to written text in a PDF, which I was then able to save and email. I’ve set up multiple “journals” inside the Scribe for various topics, used several of the notebook templates, and feel like this thing could be a life-changer.
Pen: Colleen from Threads recommended this pen, saying, “Everyone needs a status pen!”
Mug: This mug was recommended by one of our previous contributors, Jessica Vealitzek, who received it as a gift along and suggests getting it along with this whiskey, Writers’ Tears.
Subscription to Midstory Magazine.:Okay, this isn’t just for yourself. Here’s how to give a gift subscription to Midstory to any midlife woman who wants to support storytelling by women like us.
Books
Many women recommended books that had a special meaning from their pasts, useful books for writing, or books they had written themselves. Here are a few of them:
Untamed by Glennon Doyle (recommended by
of Create Me Free). She also recommends Rae Katz’s Substack because she says it’s been “one of the most useful things to me to glean wisdom from other women, mostly in midlife, who deal with chronic illness.”The Way of the Fearless Writer by Beth Kempton (recommended by Jocelyn Elizabeth)
Called To Be Creative: A Guide to Reigniting Your Creativity by Mary Potter Kenyon
I Am “Why Do I Need Venmo” Years Old: Adventures in Aging by Janine Annett
Society of Shame: a novel by Jane Roper
Other Random Life Stuff
- of the Dear Nina Substack and podcast recommends an immersion blender. She calls it “life changing” and said, “It's great for anyone who wants to make soup but rolls their eyes the moment the directions say to pour the mixture from the pot into a blender. Immersion blender to the rescue!”
Reader Margret recommends a cooking scale, stating, “Just put the mixing bowl on the scale and scoop in ingredients. Great for flour and sugar. Life changing for anything sticky so I’m not fighting a measuring cup - peanut butter, molasses, honey, etc.”
- recommends Loop earplugs. As a long-time ear plug wearer, I am definitely checking these out!
Marie from Threads recommends any of these candle warmers. She has one with a timer.
And meant to add that I really stand by that immersion blender rec! :)
Great list!