Ten Book Gifts for 2011 Graduates

The tassels are soon to cross over from one side of the mortarboard to the next...

Your fingers are poised over Amazon.com's search box, or wandering the aisles of your local Barnes & Noble -- any still open after neighboring Borders have shut down -- wondering what book gifts to buy your little or big 2011 graduate loved one.

Be they 5 or 50, here are ten great suggestions to help get your 2011 graduate book gift list knocked out with a quickness:

#1 - Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth by T. Harv Eker

I just got off the phone with a guy who told me to "speed read that mug," speaking about T. Harv Eker's book.

The guy came back from Eker's The Millionaire Mind Intensive seminar in Austin, Texas, an apparent excellent addendum to the Secrets of the Millionaire Mind book.

I was up late reading the Kindle edition of this book, which would be a great gift for an 8th grade, high school, or college graduate.

My friend saw a 13-year-old at the seminar, so middle-school graduates aren't too young to learn the skills spilled out in the book, chiefly: How do our emotions and mindset attribute to helping us becoming millionaires?

We need a great cause to focus on beyond ourselves -- not merely getting rich for rich's sake, but to help someone or some greater cause than us or a new pair of shoes.

Like Suze Orman, Eker delves into the types of experiences we had in our childhoods -- like how our parents argued about money, who controlled it, or any negative perceptions they had about rich people -- and how to break those negative patterns and realize that they are not ours.

#2 - Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

Who doesn't love Dr. Seuss?

He inspires tots to 41-year-olds like me with his iambic pentameter with a pulse.

And "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" is the perfect push out of the proverbial nest, teaching 2011 graduates that yes, you'll run into groups of people waiting and waiting and waiting in life's Great Waiting Room, but you don't have to be one of them.

You will move on and win.

#3 - Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters

This book works for a large age range of 2011 graduates.

Illustrated beautifully by Loren Long, Of Thee I Sing opens with a striking cover of two girls walking a dog that looks just like Bo Obama.

A thin and good-natured big-eared President Barack Obama stands off in this distance in the rendering just inside the cover, looking at his daughters as they walk away, using the Alfred A. Knopf-published tale to pass on history lessons.

My kids are graduating into new great levels of success in life, and this book was the perfect recent gift from their "Grandpa & Grandma M" -- replete with the kinds of lines that make that funny feeling rise in your chest:

"Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?"

The Prez goes on to tell his children and ours (and remind us all) of greatly gifted people like Georgia O'Keeffe, Jackie Robinson, Sitting Bull, Billie Holiday, Helen Keller and others.

#4 - Angels in Our Lives by Marie Chapian

Of course, life isn't all about money and job fears and history lessons for our peeps moving to the next steps in life.

Marie Chapian's book hits on the spiritual aspect of being, and shows us how to open our eyes to the everyday miraculous in life.

#5 - Size Does Matter by Dr. R. A. Vernon

Dr. R. A. Vernon is a master marketer, having grown "THE WORD" Church from nothing in the year 2000 to experiencing more than 20,000 people walking down the aisles of the growing locations over the ensuing 11 years.

Recognizing that we live in a 21st-century market, with YouTube and Facebook competing for the attentions of young and old, Dr. Vernon shares his marketing philosophy in this newly released tome to help people apply it to any aspect of their lives or careers.

Perfect for a 2011 graduate looking to strike out on their own in business -- or just life in general - and aim to triumph.

#6 - Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter

This classic has become a well-worn classic for a reason: Kiyosaki turned the financial world upside-down by revealing the secrets he learned from his rich dad -- a man with little formal education but a big calculated risk-taker -- versus his poor dad -- a highly educated man who bought into the "get a job and work hard" philosophy and ended up dying broke and angry.

The lessons uncovered in this work might teach your 2011 graduate more than they learned their entire high school and college career!

#7 - The Amazonian Profit Plan: A Step-by-Step Blueprint for Making Money with the Amazon Associates Program by Paula and Wanda of Affiliate Blog Online

Not every book can be found on Amazon.com, or even in brick and mortar book stores.

There are plenty of ebooks online that your 2011 graduate might appreciate, especially if they are the techie type.

Enter Paula and Wanda of Affiliate Blog Online, two Australian women who figured out how to make $19,000 in one month from selling Amazon.com products online by writing product reviews.

Granted, there are a lot of ebook scammers out there, littering sites like Clickbank with their junk, but these two women seemingly stand out from the crowd.

Applying the techniques learned in their ebook, I'm already watching product reviews about jeans, swimsuits and Pro-X climb up Google and Yahoo pages.

Perhaps if you know a graduate who has their eye on setting up their own e-business, Wanda and Paula's book as a unique gift would be right up their alley.

#8 - The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary Chapman

Ah yes, love... a subject that your 2011 graduate will eventually need to know how to get a passing grade in the right way.

In The 5 Love Languages, Gary Chapman teaches readers how to uncover a person's "love language" -- the way they interpret that they feel loved.

Perhaps it's through touch, or by getting gifts, or maybe strictly spending quality time.

Others, like me, love approving words of affirmation to know that folks really care.

Still others like acts of service -- for example, filling up their car with gas or fixing the garbage disposal for them -- to show them that you love them.

Either way, Chapman's book can be a good course in learning how to effectively show our love to other people.

#9 - Kindle Edition Holy Bible

Plenty of 2011 graduates already have a Kindle stowed away in their purses or laptop bags -- or at least an iPhone, Droid, or iPad 2 in their possession or on the way.

Heck, with Amazon's Kindle PC free program that lets you read Kindle editions on your laptop, people now have plenty of ways to read Kindle books -- which are usually cheaper than the print edition of tomes.

Why not give them a little wisdom to feed their growing faith?

No matter what they believe, it's always good to have the Good Book handy, if not for the historical references and much, much more.

And since Amazon allows you to give Kindle ebooks as gifts sent straight to a person's email address, that means less running around and no gift bag and ribbon-buying for you!

What could be better?

#10 - One Minute After You Die by Erwin W. Lutzer

Perhaps you've got a seasoned 2011 graduate on your hands, one more pensive, with their mind turned to the mortal things in life.

Or just someone curious beyond what the latest Kim Kardashian gossip stories are saying.

One Minute After You Die would definitely be a unique gift for a graduate focused not only on their latest diploma or degree, but also on what happens after they graduate to the next lifetime.