Joe Forrest

Buy books online without feeding Amazon. Every order through Bookshop.org sends money to local indie bookstores. Crowd-pleasers across thrillers, sci-fi, horror, memoir, history, and cookbooks, plus a gift card for the reader who has everything.

Printed stuff for creators, bands, food trucks, and small businesses. Business cards, stickers, banners, merch, and signs that make a little operation look legit. Order online, it shows up at your door, done.

What's actually worth buying in bulk at BJ's. Paper goods, coffee, pet food, batteries, and the household staples you go through fast anyway. Stock up once and quit running to the store every week.

Craft and DIY supplies for gifts, holidays, and rainy weekends. Cricut machines, paint, yarn, frames, and kids' kits that keep little hands busy. Good stuff for getting a head start on holiday decorating and homemade presents.

Living in Nashville puts you a few hours from damn near everything: mountains, bourbon country, caves, lakes, and a handful of great cities. These are easy weekend trips you can drive to on a Friday afternoon and still be back for Monday. Rough drive times are from downtown Nashville.

Clothes for grown men that look good and hold up. Boots, jeans, flannels, a solid hoodie and a few sharper pieces, the kind of stuff you'll still be wearing years from now.

No-nonsense grooming for guys. Razors, trimmers, face and body basics, and a hair loss option, all stuff that does the job without a twelve-step routine.

Grooming and self-care picks for everybody, all from Ulta. Skincare bestsellers, hair tools, beard stuff and colognes, plus gift sets that make holiday and birthday shopping easy.

Cheap basics that actually last. HEATTECH, PUFFTECH, fleece, and good tees for layering up as it gets cold, plus a few everyday staples for men and women. Proof you don't have to spend a fortune to dress decent.

Running and walking shoes for real people, not just marathoners. Whether you walk the dog every morning, stand all day at work, or you're training for your first 5K, there's a Brooks shoe in here that fits. Plus a few pieces of gear to round it out.

Lululemon gear that's actually worth the price, for training and for everyday wear. Men's and women's bestsellers in here, pants, shorts, leggings, hoodies, bags. Solid gift ideas too if you're shopping for somebody who lives in workout clothes.

Gear for camping trips, power outages, and getting the hell off-grid. Knives, water filters, freeze-dried food, solar power, shelter, and the stuff you want in the Jeep when the lights go out or the trail runs out. Built from brands that actually stand behind their gear.

Comics aren't just capes. Gonzo journalism, chaos magic, crime noir, cosmic horror, and conspiracy madness, all told in panels. These are the ones that hook people who ‘don’t read comics.'

Strange stories are my whole thing. Weird horror, cosmic dread, cyberpunk, and horror-comedy that'll make you laugh and check the locks. If you like what I write, start here.

My Shiba Inu, Autumn, runs my whole day, so I know dog people. Here's stuff that makes life with a dog easier and more fun, for the humans and the furballs. Shedding season survivors, this one's for you.

I drive a JL Wrangler, and Jeep people are easy to buy for if you know what actually gets used. Recovery gear, trail toys, and the stuff that saves your day when the Jeep decides to be a Jeep. Always double-check fitment for their year and model.

Writer's are notoriously hard to buy for. This might help you get the shopping list done.

Short, cheap, no-fluff guides from my shop, Niche of One. Writing, selling strange work, owning your platform, and a little magick. If you like what I write, you're my people.

Building out a gaming or streaming rig? These are the upgrades that make the biggest difference, plus where to grab games cheap. Good for RP streamers, Twitch beginners, and anyone tired of a crappy headset.

You don't need a degree to get good at something. You need the right teacher and the right tools. Online classes, writing tools, and help for when you'd rather pay a pro than do it yourself.

Tools, not permission. Your data is worth money to a lot of people who aren't you. Here's the gear and software to keep your browsing, accounts, and devices your own business.

Got a dad, husband, brother or buddy who says he doesn't want anything? He's lying. Here's stuff that actually gets used: gear, good coffee, games, and gifts that keep giving after the wrapping paper's gone.

This is the stuff I've personally bought and stand behind. Quality home goods I know are worth the price.

Here you'll find some interesting, entertaining, inspiring, educational, and sometime weird articles I've found. I'm a Friend of Medium, so any of the Medium articles I share that are behind the paywall will be able to be read using my links. Enjoy!

A local's take on Nashville beyond Broadway. Music history, good food, parks, and spots the whole family can enjoy, from someone who actually lives here. Bookmark it before your trip.

My favorite tools I use to create and recommend to everyone! I use these constantly in my content creation.