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Meg Smith
To give
...
When it comes
to giving books as gifts, I try to buy for the reader's tastes and interests,
not mine. My father likes non-fiction, the fatter the better and preferably
with mentions of WWII, so I'd give him one of the most thrilling books
I've read, No
Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, The Home Front in World
War II -- by Doris
Kearns Goodwin. My mother is deep into character, and big messy lives,
so I'll loan her The
Corrections, by Jonathan
Franzen (should I actually ever finish it!). And my brother....well,
frankly, my brother prefers golf to reading. Sometimes a book just doesn't
cut it!
To receive
...
It's time
to ask for all those books I've been meaning to read, so I might get one
step closer to actually reading them. I'm determined to fill the holes
in my education with works such as: the entire library of Iris
Murdoch and Alice
Munro, the speeches of Winston
Churchill, The
Group, by Mary
McCarthy, and anything by John
Cheever, whether I've read it before or not.
Check
out Meg's Holiday Wish List!
Gavin
J. Grant
To give
...
Well, there
are so many! I should preface it by mentioning one that my wife has given
to damn near everyone she knows, Dodie
Smith's I
Capture the Castle. Smith is best known (for now) for 101
Dalmatians, but over time this one may yet take over. The book
is a book club favorite about a girl growing up, and I haven't met a reader
who didn't like it. I enjoyed it a lot, but I don't think it's the book
I'd give out. I'm tempted to go for something like
John Robbins' The
Food Revolution, because I want all my friends and family
to be more healthy, but maybe they'd appreciate it more after the holidays?
So, I'll
go for Ursula
K. Le Guin's The
Other Wind. (I'd also like to give short story collections,
Unlocking
the Air and Searoad, [out of print] but I was only supposed
to pick one...)
Le Guin is
a take-your-breath-away writer -- not all the time, but when she is on,
she is better than anyone else (although comparing writers is like comparing
apples to power drills). The
Other Wind answers some questions that have arisen from earlier books
in her Earthsea series (running from A
Wizard of Earthsea to Tales
of Earthsea). Le Guin is spot-on in her characterizations, and,
while the main theme of the book is incredibly serious (death!), there
is also humor and warmth here, and that feeling of being lucky enough
to read a master at work.
To receive
...
First of
all, a book I really want to read: The
Future of Ideas by Lawrence
Lessig. Lessig has been trying to scare some sense about intellectual
property and copyrights into us for years, and he's pretty sure that not
only has he failed, but that we've lost. To whom? To large corporations
who are outspending everyone else and lobbying to get what they want from
the government. Should we be worried? I think so. Of course I'm not sure,
I haven't read the book yet, but it was recommended by Bruce
Sterling -- who's a pretty smart guy -- and I reckon if we don't start
listening to these guys, we could be in really deep trouble.
My second
choice is much more fun: Andy
Goldsworthy's new book Midsummer
Snowballs. Goldsworthy produces beautiful and surprising art and
this new book looks like a great addition to his oeuvre. Goldsworthy takes
natural objects and moves them out of context, then photographs the result.
Sometimes, due to the organic nature of his material, his work will change
over time. That's what happens here, when he unloads his 13 one-ton snowballs
onto the streets of London. Candid photographs show the public's reaction
-- and detail what happens to the snowballs (I'm guessing they melt).
If I get two of these, I already know who I'm giving the second copy to!
Check
out Gavin's Holiday Wish List!
Eric Wallenstein
To give
...
Call me "The
Kenny Rogers of Gift-Givers," because I like to gamble. Usually, this
means I give people books that I really liked, and, usually, I
end up being dumbfounded when those very books go unread. Perhaps one
day I'll end this vicious cycle, and learn my lesson: other people
have tastes that differ from my own. But … probably not. They'll be
time for learning lessons when the dealing's done, I say (is that how
the song goes?).
So, with
that caveat in mind, here are two gems that I've enjoyed recently:
The
True Adventures of The Rolling Stones by Stanley
Booth -- You could file this one under Literature just as easily as
you could file it under Rock Biographies ( a genre tainted by too many
"guilty pleasures," methinks) -- it's that good. Not only is this the
story of the band's infamous 1969 tour, which culminated in the disaster
at Altamont, but it's also the personal story of Stanley Booth, who toured
alongside The Stones, both witnessing and taking part in o the circus
of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. It's easy to see why this triumph of
rock writing is considered one of the best books on the 1960s.
The
Things They Carried by Tim
O'Brien -- Is it a novel? A collection of short stories? A memoir?
Hmmm … well, I'll take choice #2. And I'll also venture to say that this
book is a true classic. It's O'Brien's take on the Vietnam war and its
aftermath, but it also doubles as a mediation on memory and storytelling
as well. I'm not sure how he does it, but, here, O'Brien hones in on some
sort of higher truth, and the results are truly amazing. If I could, I'd
make everyone I know read this one.
To receive
...
A
Convergence of Birds: Original Fiction and Poetry Inspired by Joseph Cornell
edited by Jonathan
Safran Foer
Joseph Cornell -- now there's an artist I can truly get behind. He was
a real weirdo -- a fabric salesman with no art training whatsoever (he
couldn't paint or draw or all), a complete mama's boy, a hermit, and a
truly obsessive collector of junk -- and his artwork is completely unique,
full of daydreams, poetry, and nostalgia. He's known for making these
small wooden boxes filled with collages made of odds and ends, such as
the "Bird Boxes" in this book. But, not only does this book have fabulous-looking
color plates of Cornell's artwork, it also has a number of contributions
from some ace writers (like Robert
Coover, Joyce
Carol Oates, Rick
Moody, and Anne
Beattie), all of whom pay tribute to Cornell in their own idiosyncratic
ways. I don't normally budget for art books (they're pricey, I'm cheap)
but if this one ain't under the tree this year, I might just have to buy
it.
And hey ...
while you're at it, Santa, I'll take the entire works of Don
Delillo. Thanks!
Check
out Eric's Holiday Wish List!
Len Vlahos
To give
...
The
Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu, translated and with and introduction
by Brian
Browne Walker. I'm not a member of any particular organized religion
(I consider myself agnostic), nor do I subscribe to any one particular
philosophy/spirituality of life. But, Chinese Taoist philosophy comes
closer to identifying my own world view than any other organized set of
principles I've encountered. This beautiful translation really gets to
the essence of Taoism. (Part and parcel with this, I'd probably also give
a copy of The
Tao of Pooh by Benjamin
Hoff -- a wonderfully fun, and truly life-changing book.)
To receive
...
As a horse
racing fan, I've wanted a copy of Champions:
The Lives, Times, and Past Performances of the 20th Century's Greatest
Thoroughbreds by the Editors
of the Daily Racing Form since I first laid eyes on it. But the book
is $75, so I've put off buying it. However, I would be more than a little
delighted to receive this wonderful tome -- it captures the best of horse
racing over the past hundred years -- as a gift.
Check
out Len's Holiday Wish List!
Patti
Neske
To give
...
The
Darkroom Cookbook by Stephen
G. Anchell
My friend Andrea has recently become interested in developing her own
photographs, so I've picked up a copy of this book for her as a Christmas
gift. Although it teaches basic darkroom techniques, and offers the usual
helpful hints, The Darkroom Cookbook differs from other similar
books in that it contains information on how to make your own developers
and toners. With more than 200 photographic formulas, author Stephen Anchell
helps photographers gain more creative control of their work.
To receive
...
Pug
Shots
by Jim
Dratfield
Pugs are just irresistible with their wrinkly smooshed faces and big googly
eyes, and photographer Jim Dratfield has captured the heart-tugging charm
of my favorite dog in his collection of Pug Shots. With 96 pages
of delightfully amusing photographs, this book would be a welcome addition
to my coffee table. Since I have been yearning for a pug since I was a
wee one, this book the second best thing to actually having one.
Check
out Patti's Holiday Wish List!
Martha
Schulze
To give
...
For a friend
that's into cows, I'm giving Cows
Cowparade 2002 Calendar. This collection of images from the public
art project CowParade, recently in Chicago and New York and now moving
on to other cities, looks to be a lot of fun.
For a friend that's into technology, Robo
Sapiens by Peter
Menzel and Faith
D'Aluisio. Beautiful photography and interviews with people in the
field of robotics.
For my brothers,
one of the best science fiction series I've read lately, The
Sparrow and Children
of God by Mary
Doria Russell. A very believable story of space exploration and alien
first contact with three-dimensional characters and complex situations.
A race is discovered when a broadcast of beautiful music is captured and
while diplomats discuss what to do, the Jesuits
send an eight-man crew. The mission fails, and only one priest survives
after terrible torture at the hands of the well-meaning aliens. The book
is a mentally stimulating story, delving into ethics, and the terrible
consequences of thinking you understand an alien culture because of apparent
similarities to your own.
For a vegetarian
friend who likes to cook and has a taste for Indian food:
Quick
Vegetarian Curries by Mridula
Baljekar
The
Indian Vegetarian by Neelam
Batra and Shelly
Rothschild-Sherwin
The
Spice Box by Manju
Shivraj. Singh and Edna
Z. Michael
To receive ...
So what do I want? Hmm, not sure. My stack of books to read threatens
to topple on me lately!
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