This is the fourth edition of my attempt to surpass Oprah in her dominance of the favorite things market. It is my most interesting list yet and includes a lot more of my friends. Check them out, support them, and Merry Christmas!

1. Jigisha Patel’s “Positive” T-shirts

Check out the Dot Not Shop with creative T-shirts and other great gear. Comment at the bottom with suggestions for Jigisha. My favorite .not gear that doesn’t exist yet is YourFace.not  What .not shirt do you want to see next?

 2. Libby Harris’ Book Box Club

My friend Graeme’s entrepreneurial daughter started this online book club for teens. It’s based in the UK, so it must be cool and of course they are the English experts. Get your high school age kids into something positive on the vast internet!

3. Katie’s Tru Man Brand

I met Katie of Tru Man Brand appropriately enough during an Ohio State football game. I had already seen her “OH So Good” T-shirts out and about so that makes her Columbus famous at least. Get a cool Ohio T-shirt this year that is designed a little off the beaten path from the usual Buckeye gear. Click here for the Tru Man Brand store.

4. Meet Cbus TV

OK, it isn’t even out yet, but Meet Cbus TV is coming in 2018 and it’s part mine, so of course it’s one of my favorite things. Subscribe, or buy a T-shirt (coming soon), to support our effort to put a camera on the most interesting people in Columbus!

5. Simple Kneads Gluten-Free Bread

They just keep growing and growing. Simple Kneads is in Whole Foods and expanding fast to a grocery near you. You can buy online while you wait for their arrival at the grocery.

6. Logitech Bluetooth Headset

If you talk on the phone, this product will change your life. This accessory is an absolute must-have.

• Wireless
• Hear conversation in both ears
• Hands-free
• Rechargeable with standard USB
• Quickly switch between computer and phone

7. NutriBullet

High quality and essential for getting a healthy breakfast on the run in those always-short morning hours.

8. What to Watch

There is so much alternative media out there, I decided to select the best-of-the-best to help curb those at-work and late-night “end of the internets” binges. Click here or on the TV and you’ll earn a history degree by accident:

The Challenge

Oprah has around 365 live audience members at her show. I’ll shoot for 365 hits to this page. Help me out and help the small businesses by sharing.

I have just two favorite things this year. They must be good then!

1. Audible and The Great Courses

The Great Courses are separate from, but available through Audible. They each deserve to be on my list in their own right, but I group them together because that’s how I buy them. I have an Audible subscription and I use many of my monthly credits on The Great Courses. Audible is Amazon’s way of selling audio books. For me, they have transformed several otherwise boring tasks such as removing wallpaper, yard work, and driving between Ohio and North Carolina, into riveting adventures. The Great Courses are series of lectures organized into 30 or 45 minute segments given by the best professors that academia has to offer on each subject. I am currently listening to my 4th. I highly recommend “History’s Greatest Stories of Exploration,” to start. You’ll be hooked! Better than fiction!

2. Darn Tough Socks

Have you ever been down to your last socks and thought, “This is gonna be a bad sock day.” Why? Why wear cheap, thin old socks? Throw them out! Donate them! The industrial revolution has brought all the comforts that technology can offer and you reject the efforts of our ancestors by wearing third-rate socks to save a few dollars? Socks touch your skin all day long. They have to deal with your sweaty feet. They support you when you stand and walk. They have to fit like gloves. If you spend more than $10,000 on a car in which you spend less than an hour per day, how can you justify saving $10 on socks? It’s ridiculous!

Darn Tough socks were part of the gear issued when I was in the military before we went on deployment. Great gear. Everybody loved them. They are expensive, but worth the money. There is only one drawback, they are not good for hot weather.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! I hope you kick back with some new socks and listen to an audio book!

Oprah has 104 favorite things this year. That’s 2 new things per week, each week, all year long. Really!? Clearly my list is 52 times as authentic as hers.

Oprah has 87 favorite things this year. For her favorite things, click her picture.

Notice she has teamed up with Amazon this year! She must have stolen that idea from me, since I have been doing that right here on my website since March 2014. Oprah is rich and trendy. Her favorite things are expensive and trendy. My favorite things are just awesome. See below.

1. GE LED Light Bulbs

Technology has finally produced a bulb to truly replace the incandescent light bulb. These have all of the advantages of the incandescent bulb with none of the drawbacks of compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), and use less energy than CFLs. They even look just like regular light bulbs. Perfect for that guy on your list who just wants cash. One 60W equivalent that costs less than $6 saves more than $100 in electricity over the 22 year life of the bulb!

40 Watt Equivalent

60 Watt Equivalent

I have not bought anything more than a 60 watt. Maybe next year.

2. Simple Kneads Gluten-free Bread

Brand new product available to order only since last week! The best gluten-free bread available. Get it while it’s hot! My favorite is the sourdough.

3. The Best Phone Charger You Can Buy

Ever notice that some chargers charge your phone fast and some take a long time? That is because of the current rating of the charger. This thing puts out enough power to light that 40 watt (equivalent) bulb above! It also has a long cable with a little light on the end and a USB port so you can remove the cable.

4. The Best Car Charger You Can Buy

Same as above, but for your car.

5. Supplemental Battery

This will run any phone (even smart phones) for several days on a charge. I used it while traveling on my bike for days at a time.

6. Trailer Hitch Bike Rack

While not as beefy or secure as its name-brand $450 counterparts, it gets the job done for 130 bucks. It is certainly heavy-duty enough that the bikes will not come off on the highway. You can get it stolen twice and still spend the same as for the name-brand!

7. Go Buckeyes!

8. At a Glance Phrasebooks by Barron’s

For whatever language, At a Glance phrasebooks are the best you can buy. They have the usual phrases, as well as pronunciation, and a handy dictionary in the back. I have personally used the Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese. Good pocket size and sturdy cover. Only one fits in your pocket. This is the best one.

9. The Best Pens

How many different types of pens are out there? Way more than there should be. This should be the only type. They are the best.

10. Kindle Paperwhite and Carrying Case

The Kindle Paperwhite is the best e-reader out there. I haven’t used the other e-readers, so how do I know? Because you can’t improve on perfect. The screen looks like paper, the pages flip fast, and it has a built-in back light for reading at night. You’ll want to be able to carry it without scratching the screen and this case is just that. Nothing fancy, just a well-fitting cover.

11. Jump Rope

A great product for a great exercise. It has ball bearings, adjustable length, and what else do you need in a rope?

 

Oprah and I have a few things in common. For one, we both have favorite things. If you want to see her favorite things, click her picture. If you would rather see my favorite things, read on.

Check out the Amazon Affiliate program for an explanation of why I made this post.

If you have never read your e-mails, browsed Facebook, Netflix, or YouTube from your couch, then you are missing out, trust me. With this on my lap, my wireless roller ball mouse in one hand and the King of Beers in the other, I am king of my domain (my domain being my living room).

Borderline sadistic, this product makes you want there to be more flies to kill. For an extra $10, there is also a PRO version for those man-eating horse flies.

This flashlight got me through many aircraft pre-flights in Afghanistan with the white light, then switched colors to green for the flight. Single AA battery, durable metal, bright enough. Must-have flashlight.

Favorite movie, hands down.

Seriously? They sell Snickers bars on Amazon? It is my favorite candy bar, but I actually don’t recommend buying 48 at a time…