I’ve always LOVED the library: it’s where I went as a young weirdo in those murky pre-internet days to learn if there were other people out there who thought more expansively about justice and the possibilities in the world than my family seemed to, like I did. It’s where I met my first boyfriend, him pushing a carrel of books around in a Skinny Puppy t-shirt and me skulking around in the World Religions aisle. The existence of libraries is one of the key reasons I feel great about paying taxes: I imagine every one of my dollars going straight to a librarian or a program that hooks people up (the library is full of them!).

Library Events

So, it’s with a lot of joy that I get to share I’ll be doing a few free workshops at two Brooklyn Libraries this Spring, check them out on the events page (or check out my free e-course or online courses if you can’t make it to a Brooklyn library.)

All about books

Of course, the key component of a library is organized information in the form of books. Books are beautiful, really: a compact format to move information around. Can’t wait to finish mine… but in the meantime, I want to share a few of the books I’ve read recently on personal finance, money mindset, and economics that I think some of you might be interested in. Let’s go read!

It’s Not About the Money, Brent Kessel [get it]

Recommended to me by a dear friend, this is a smart personal finance book written with a deep sense of empathy and compassion – and given that it’s from a CFP who’s also a Buddhist and yoga guy it makes sense. This book spends most of its pages defining various money archtypes – find yours! – and then drops an incredibly useful last two chapters on investing and creating abundance. The key thing about this book is its perspective: money is a vehicle, and when we can unload our judgements from it and ourselves we can move more freely into getting and managing money with a holistic perspective.

Good for you to read if: you like to learn about yourself and also want a kind-guy approach to learning finance.

You Are a Badass at Making Money, Jen Sincero [get it]

Internet marketing lead me to this money mindset book and I could not be happier about it, which is out of character because as a lifetime east-coaster I’m not particularly woo and as a working class person I generally distrust approaches that infer one can “think yourself out of your money limitations” — HOWEVER, Jen’s approach is practical and motivational as hell, and she goes hard on the combo tactic of clearly envisioning where you want to be so as to energetically bring it in AND working like hell to make it real. #yesgirl

Good for you to read if: Because she was a broke musician/writer for a long time her writing is relatable and real to those of us not on a dayjob track who want to do some manifesting with our money management.

Your Money or Your Life, Vicki Robin, Joseph R. Dominguez, [Get the new 4th Edition]

As I shared about in my post on FI, privilege and the racial wealth gap, Your Money or Your Life is a hugely popular book with counterculture and counter-consumer types. Providing a framework to get out of the weeds of the daily grind and view your money as part of your life energy,  the goal of this book is to transform your relationship to money to one of “intelligence, integrity, and independence” through a 9-step program that provides a framework to get out of the daily grind, and view your money as part of your life energy.

Good for you to read if: you want to think about money and consumerism on a whole other level and learn to get financially free.

Women and Money, Suze Orman [get it]

“This plan isn’t just about money. It’s about every woman’s sense of who she is and what she deserves…and why it all begins with the decision to Save Yourself.”

Look, it’s not easy being a lesbian finance real talker – I would know! – and I don’t even have Suze’s OneOfYou haircut to increase my market appeal. It’s cool though, I have the most amazing readers, like you. This book will sit you down, frankly explain in multiple ways why you need to be planning for retirement, and give you stories about kinda normcore nice people doing just that.

Good for you to read if: I want YOU to know about Suze (see what I did there, Suze readers?) especially if you have a salaried job and have ever experienced marginalization due to your gender.