Having wealth gives you privileges–including the ability to buy the most expensive Kindle books on the planet. If the highest price is your true goal, you should start by purchasing nonfiction:

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: $16,870 ($.97/page)

At just under a dollar per page, this encyclopedia is a steal. While the hardback version costs $12,000 less, the Kindle version is infinitely superior, because it means you can have a lightweight-yet-comprehensive encyclopedia as your constant companion.

Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics: $11,850 ($1.32/page)

According to editorial reviewers, this book is “breath-taking.” It is also the same price I paid for my first car.

Comprehensive Organic Functional Group Transformations II: $10,070 ($1.57/page)

Written by 144 specialists, it’s possible this book may even contain the secret to understanding women. That in itself is worth reading 6000 pages for.

Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II: From Biology to Nanotechnology: $7,823.99 ($.82/page)

This book was published in 2003. I’d like you to imagine how much this book would cost if the info on nanotechnology weren’t over a decade old.

Treatise on Geochemistry, Ten Volume Set: 10 Volume Set: $6,559.99 ($.84/page)

If you’re not sold on the fact that it’s a Ten Volume Set, maybe you’re sold on the fact that it’s a 10 Volume Set!

Collier on Bankruptcy: $6,399.20 or $6,212.80 per volume; or get all 28 volumes for $178,059.20 (mystery per page price)

My best guess is that the first line of every volume is “So, now that you’re bankrupt.” Even if you have millions to burn, I recommend sampling the one cheaper Collier on Bankruptcy volume before you buy the full set. You can purchase Collier on Bankruptcy Taxation for only $283.99.

 

Let’s shift to the most expensive fiction Kindle books of 2014:

Antología Poética de los Siglos XVI y XVII: $5,611.20 ($10.96/page)

Obviously the 16^th and 17^th centuries were good for Spanish poetry—they’re charging $10.96 a page! Or if you’re completely old-fashioned you can buy the paperback for under $20 (though we will judge you for it).

Ma belle-mère et moi !: $606.64 ($13.19/page)

If you don’t speak French, then what better way to learn than through reading a French comic? Surely it’s more effective than Rosetta Stone…

The Crime Quintet: $200 ($2.63/page)

 

Just think–you could be the very first person to review (or read) this book.

DETANRACNI: $200 ($1.60/page)

 

It’s a love story with a horror twist. And it features the Bermuda Triangle. Clearly no more needs to be said.

Sinderella: $200 ($100/page)

This book is only 2 pages long, but the cover is clearly worth $200 on its own.

 

Now if only someone would leave me an inheritance so I could start buying.

It’s easy to get caught up in consumerism at this time of year, and to put material possessions–both the giving and gaining of them–above everything else.

As a family, we made the decision that this would be a light Christmas. In part, it’s for the cost savings, but in part it’s a philosophical decision.

Yet even though we’ve made that decision, I find myself second guessing myself, thinking thoughts like: I know my husband said he didn’t need much, but what if I don’t get him much and he’s disappointed? Am I a bad parent if I’m only getting my child two or three small presents? But that’s really cute/awesome/perfect/doesn’t cost much…should I just go ahead and buy it?

We went to the thrift store a few days ago, and as I was walked down the aisles I saw this hilarious and terrible spectacle:

Yes, that is at least 50 naked, semi-broken Barbie dolls.

My first thought was to laugh. And then as I kept looking at those naked Barbies, I realized it was a good reminder.

That is where all the presents I’m giving this year are going to end up. You give a present. It’s either used or not used, loved or not loved. But ultimately, it’ll end up at a thrift store, in a trash can, or shoved in the back of a closet.

There’s a lot of pressure that says you need to BUY, BUY, BUY! There’s pressure that says your house has to look a certain way, you have to make certain food, you have to do a certain number of activities. And all of it just adds stress.

And so this Christmas season, here’s a few things I’m going to do:

1. Try not to compare myself to others. I always compare my negatives with other people’s positives, and when I compare myself to others, I always seem to come up short.
2. Say many positive things to the people I love every single day. I find myself being too critical of the people around me, and it damages relationships and makes me feel bad as well. But when I’m positive, everyone is happier.
3. Enjoy the little moments. It’s too easy to miss the beautiful things around me, or to take the time and energy to be grateful. But when I let myself enjoy the little things, I realize that they might actually be the most important things.
   

   My daughter, excited about finding blankets in a museum.

4. Think about the Savior. For me, that’s the real meaning of the season. And I’ll probably watch some videos to help get me in the mood. This one, “A Gift to the World,” is one of my favorites: