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I NEED A GIFT
FOR...
SPORTS
AN
EXTREME SPORTS ENTHUSIAST.
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it from
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or
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HORSEMEN OF THE ESOPHAGUS: COMPETITIVE EATING AND
THE BIG FAT AMERICAN DREAM
By JASON FAGONE
Three Rivers Press (paperback)
Journalist
Jason Fagone profiles the heavy-hitters in the peculiar
extreme sport of competitive eating. Fagone writes about
the gurgitators' training rituals, heartbreaks, and
triumphs with a sense of awe. (Marie Mundaca)
[See
the HBC review]
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A
SPORTS ENTHUSIAST WHO IS EXTREME.
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or
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|
ESPN GUIDE TO PSYCHO FAN BEHAVIOR
By WARREN ST. JOHN
With AMIR BLUMENFIELD, SPENCER HALL, and ETHAN TREX
If
your enthusiast is the type of person who wears body
paint to the outdoor stadium in the dead of winter,
this is the perfect book to encourage such behavior.
Written in ESPN's classic jocular style, sportswriter
Warren St. John tackles such issues as mascot kidnapping
and how to raise a child to root for the right teams.
(Yennie Cheung)
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A
BROTHER WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE TAKING FANTASY SPORTS TO AN
ALMOST RELIGIOUS LEVEL.
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it from
Amazon
or
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HATE MAIL FROM CHEERLEADERS AND OTHER ADVENTURES
FROM THE LIFE OF REILLY
By RICK REILLY
Sports Illustrated
This
collection by columnist Rick Reilly contains bite-sized
tales, both inspiring and hilarious, about all things
in and around sports for someone who may enjoy all aspects
of the world of sports. (Kyle Olson)
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
Buy
it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
|
SEVEN
SECONDS OR LESS: MY SEASON ON THE BENCH WITH THE RUNNIN'
AND GUNNIN' PHOENIX SUNS
By JACK MCCALLUM
Touchstone (paperback)
CAN
I KEEP MY JERSEY?: 11 TEAMS, 5 COUNTRIES, AND 4 YEARS
IN MY LIFE AS A BASKETBALL VAGABOND
By PAUL SHIRLEY
Villard
After
I dragged my fantasy sports nut brother into a bookstore
the other day, he became very interested in buying a
paperback copy of Seven Seconds or Less. In it,
Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum spends
the entire 2005–2006 NBA season with the Phoenix
Suns—a team widely considered to be the league's
most entertaining to watch. However, said brother also
told me that any fantasy sports nut who scours the internet
for stats will know of Paul Shirley, the NBA player
and ESPN blogger who has been a member of 11 basketball
teams in four years. In Can I Keep My Jersey?,
Shirley regales his readers with humorous anecdotes
about getting rejected on the court by Kobe and off
the court by women. As an added bonus, Chuck Klosterman
writes the intro. (Yennie Cheung)
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it from
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|
REFRESH,
REFRESH
By BENJAMIN PERCY
Graywolf
Benjamin
Percy's hard-boiled, and crystal-sharp stories about
guns, animals, and death in the murky woods of rural
Oregon will give your brother a welcome reprieve from
the corporate sheen of professional sports. Refresh,
Refresh will leave your brother him feeling more like
a man—and more like a human being. (Brian Hurley)
[See
the HBC review]
|
FOOD, COOKING
SOMEONE
WHO IS JUST LEARNING TO COOK.
|
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it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
Buy
it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
|
COOK WITH JAMIE: MY GUIDE TO MAKING YOU A BETTER
COOK
By JAMIE OLIVER
Hyperion
COOKING
By JAMES PETERSON
Ten Speed Press
Perhaps
suggesting a book by a celebrity chef is obvious, but
Jamie Oliver's everyday recipes and famously laid-back
approach will help ease a novice cook's anxieties. Plus,
the proceeds from the book benefit the Fifteen Foundation,
Oliver's organization that helps underprivileged youth
gain professional cooking experience. For those looking
for a little more sophistication, Cooking by
James Peterson seems to have a few more step-by-step
instructional photos but fewer shots of the finished
products. Both offer basic how-to information, not only
on how to make delicious meals but how to buy ingredients,
what tools to use, and how to cut. (Yennie Cheung)
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A
FOODIE WHO IS PARTICULAR ABOUT COOKBOOKS.
|
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it from
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|
THE TENTH MUSE: MY LIFE IN FOOD
By JUDITH JONES
Alfred A. Knopf
Rather
than get the wrong cookbook, try a memoir. Most people
may not know of Judith Jones by name, but a good foodie
at least knows of the cookbooks this Knopf editor has
published, including Julia Child's influential Mastering
the Art of French Cooking. Naturally, the people
with whom Jones has worked reads like a veritable who's-who
of the cooking world: James Beard, Marcella Hazan, Madhur
Jaffrey, and of course, Child. In The Tenth Muse,
Jones recounts her life working with some of the greatest
chefs of the Twentieth Century, laments the decline
in home cooking, and offers a few recipes of her own.
(Yennie Cheung)
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MY
FRIEND, WHO LOVES FOOD THAT LOOKS LIKE OTHER FOOD.
|
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it from
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|
DECEPTIVELY
DELICIOUS: SIMPLE SECRETS TO GET YOUR KIDS EATING GOOD
FOOD
By JESSICA SEINFELD
Collins
Mrs.
Jerry Seinfeld offers parents sneaky ways to get kids
to eat their veggies in her debut cookbook. More Suggesting
more than just stealthy recipes sure to outwit the most
discerning of vegetable-hating children, Seinfeld—with
the help of a professional chef and a nutritionist—also
discusses the basics of children's nutrition and the
culturally-ingrained pitfalls to avoid, like sugar-infused
breakfast cereals and extra-large portions. Seinfeld
also offers suggestsed grocery-shopping lists and brings
up fun anecdotes about her own experiences. Geared towards
parents trying to trick their kids, Deceptively Delicious
makes a great resource for anyone who wants to eat more
healthy food. (Bri Lafond)
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A
VEGETARIAN WHO IS THINKING OF GOING VEGAN.
|
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|
VEGANOMICON
By ISA CHANDRA MOSKOWITZ and TERRY HOPE ROMERO
Marlowe & Company
These
two established vegan chefs offer over 300 pages of
vegan recipes with user-friendly instructions. Those
looking to see pictures of the prepared dishes may be
a trifle disappointed with the seemingly spare number
of photos, but the wealth of recipes is what's really
important here. (Yennie Cheung)
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MY FRIEND, WHO JUST HAD A BABY AND IS
TRYING TO RAISE HER FAMILY ON THINGS THAT ARE NATURALLY AND
ORGANICALLY MADE.
|
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it from
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|
TO
BUY OR NOT TO BUY ORGANIC: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
CHOOSE THE HEALTHIEST, SAFEST, MOST EARTH-FRIENDLY FOOD
By CINDY BURKE
Marlowe and Company
Some
organic food proponents will tell consumers that buying
organic is always the best choice for healthy
living. However, Cindy Burke, a food journalist and
former chef, has done some investigative reporting to
uncover the truth. In this book, she writes about how
to protect children from pesticides, which foods should
always be purchased from the organic section (strawberries,
apparently, are high on that list), and how to determine
which foods are pesticide-free even when they aren't
organic. (Yennie Cheung)
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ANIMAL-RELATED
A
FRIEND WHO I MIGHT THINK IS AN ACTUAL BABY BIRD.
|
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it from
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|
THE BEDSIDE BOOK OF BIRDS
By GRAEME GIBSON
Doubleday (paperback)
Your
friend will find a menagerie of good companions in this
charming collection of lush illustrations and literary
fragments dealing with birds. This collection will be
a treasure every time your friend opens it. (Brian Hurley)
|
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it from
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|
BIRD SONGS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
By LES BELETSKY
Chronicle Books
Ornithologist
Les Beletsky's second book of bird songs provides descriptions
and gorgeous full-color illustrations of over 200 birds,
but the best part isn't visual. The book comes with
a digital audio player that actually plays samples of
each bird's vocalizations. If your friend is, in fact,
a little birdie, this book may help you figure out which
type. (Yennie Cheung)
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it from
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|
THE DAY MY MOTHER LEFT
By JAMES PROSEK
Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
For
fiction, try James Prosek's semi-autobiographical book
about a young boy whose mother runs off with another
man. One of the few possessions she takes with her is
his self-drawn Book of Birds. Jeremy, Prosek's
alter ego, attempts to cope with the abandonment by
fishing and drawing birds in his New England hometown.
The book is peppered with beautifully detailed bird
drawings, all rendered by Prosek himself. (Yennie Cheung)
[See
the HBC review]
|
THE
CAT PERSON IN MY OTHERWISE DOG-FILLED LIFE.
|
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it from
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|
CAT GETTING OUT OF A BAG AND OTHER OBSERVATIONS
By JEFFREY BROWN
Chronicle Books
This sweet, simple book features short, mostly wordless
vignettes of moments in the lives of cats and the people
who love them. While a dog person will likely find this
book utterly baffling, it will have a cat person laughing
along in recognition of the little quirks they find
so charming about their preferred pet. Even (or perhaps
especially) if you don't understand cats yourself, this
book will win you big points with any cat lover in your
life. (Aiko Akers)
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MY ANIMAL-HOARDING FRIEND, WHO BOLTED
HIS FRONT DOOR SHUT TO KEEP OUT THAT PESKY HUMANE SOCIETY.
|
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it from
Amazon
or
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|
BURIED
IN TREASURES: HELP FOR COMPULSIVE ACQUIRING, SAVING,
AND HOARDING
By DAVID TOLIN, RANDY O. FROST, and GAIL STEKETEE
Oxford University Press
Here's
a program that purports to help compulsive hoarders
reduce the items in their home. But are cats items?
Maybe help your friend find some homes for the cats
first. (Marie Mundaca)
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