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I NEED A GIFT
FOR...
HISTORY, HISTORICAL FICTION
MY BEST GUY FRIEND, WHO IS A HISTORY GEEK.
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1776:
THE ILLUSTRATED EDITION
By DAVID MCCULLOUGH
Simon & Schuster
If
American history books have a rock star, it's David
McCullough. 1776, his history of the American
Revolution, didn't read like a history text, but like
an engaging narrative. This new (and abridged version)
is like Dragonology or Egyptology for
grown-ups. The format that made those books so entertaining
for the young'uns works just as well here—it includes
pockets your friend can open to reveal letters, maps,
and other "artifacts" of the revolution. Even if he's
already read the original 1776, he'll love this
hands-on time machine. (Jacquelyn Gill)
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MY
BEST FRIEND, THE FEMINIST HISTORY BUFF.
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SIN
IN THE SECOND CITY: MADAMS, MINISTERS, PLAYBOYS, AND
THE BATTLE FOR AMERICA'S SOUL
By KAREN ABBOTT
Random House
A
book on the history of prostitution in Chicago might
be an odd choice for a feminist, but Karen Abbott's
careful research of the Everleigh sisters—Minna
and Ada—reveals the masterful political and business
acumen the sisters possessed in order to maintain the
most extravagant brothel in Chicago's Levee district
at the turn of the 19th century. Mixing narrative and
fact, Abbott details the sisters' rise to and fall from
power, as well as the particulars of sexual politics
in the early part of the last century. (Bri Lafond)
[See
the HBC review]
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A
KID WITH AN INTEREST IN HISTORY AND YOUTH CULTURE.
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AMERICA DREAMING: HOW YOUTH CHANGED AMERICA IN THE
'60S
By LABAN CARRICK HILL
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Laban
Hill's America Dreaming is an educational and
visual exploration of the U.S. in the 1960s, and focuses
on how the youth (the so-called "greatest generation")
caused a massive cultural shift. Included are pieces
on the Little Rock Nine, the radical youth movement,
the origins of environmental awareness, and even an
aside on hipster lingo. This is perfect for the young
adult who wants to change the world or anyone fascinated
by this unique period in time. (Samantha Storey)
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A
RUSSIAN HISTORY BUFF.
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THE WHISPERERS: PRIVATE LIFE IN STALIN'S RUSSIA
By ORLANDO FIGES
Metropolitan Books
Award-winning
author Orlando Figes uses memoirs and interviews to
assemble this look into how Russians endured or even
justified the Stalinist regime and the regime's after
effects on society. At 784 pages, this is a hefty book,
but one that will provide your history buff plenty to
contemplate. (Yennie Cheung)
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MY MOM, WHO LIKES HISTORICAL
STORIES, BUT NOTHING TOO RACY OR VIOLENT!
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NORTH RIVER
By PETE HAMILL
Little, Brown and Company
Tough New Yorker Pete Hamill shows readers his tender
side in this historical novel that takes place in 1930s
New York. Physician James Delaney is still mourning
his missing wife when his adult daughter mysteriously
drops off her toddler at his house. Hamill takes the
reader through a depressed city populated with saints
and sinners, treating the characters and the city itself
with affection. (Marie Mundaca)
[See
the HBC review]
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MARY
By JANIS COOKE NEWMAN
Harvest Books (paperback)
Janis
Cooke Newman's first novel is the story of a girl named
Mary Todd who grew up to become Mary Todd Lincoln, wife
of Abraham Lincoln. Newman begins at the end: years
after her husband's assassination, Mary has been placed
in an insane asylum by her eldest son, Robert. Mary
spends her days writing about her life from the time
she was a child on her father's Southern plantation
to her meeting a striking lawyer named Abraham to becoming
the first "First Lady—she was the first to hold
the title—to the tragedies that brought her to
her current state. Newman takes liberties with what
can be historically proven in order to bring Mary to
life, but the result is a fully-realized and relatable
narrator. (Bri Lafond)
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THE
SHADOW CATCHER
By MARIANNE WIGGINS
Simon & Schuster
The Shadow Catcher is historical fiction, following
a fictionalized Marianne Wiggins as she describes to
an agent her latest novel, a fictionalized account of
real-life photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis. Like Charlie
Kaufman's take on The Orchid Thief, the lines
between truth and authorial license are blurred as the
character Marianne Wiggins finds similarities between
her father's life and Curtis's life as a photographer
of the American West. (Yennie Cheung)
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A SOURED HISTORIAN WHO HAS READ AN
ENTIRE LIBRARY AND HAS BECOME DISAPPOINTED WITH FICTION, THOUGH
I'D LIKE TO GET HIM BACK INTO IT.
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SUITE
FRANÇAISE
By IRENE NEMIROVSKY
Vintage (paperback)
This
haunting, gorgeous novel is a historian's dream. Written
during the German occupation of France during WWII,
Nemirovsky originally intended these segments to be
the first of a six-part reflection on the war (which
she wrote while still not knowing the outcome). Nemirovsky
was killed in a concentration camp, and didn't survive
to complete her work. Amazingly, the fragments that
survived (and have only recently been published after
being mistaken for incomplete notes for a novel) are
one of the most brilliant, revealing, and masterfully
written novels I have read in my young reader's life.
This edition also includes Nemirovsky's notes for future
volumes, and the frantic and heartbreaking letters written
by her husband, trying to find out her whereabouts after
her arrest. (Jacquelyn Gill)
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MATTERS OF GEOGRAPHY
MY
BOYFRIEND, WHO LIKES NORWAY AND ELK.
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OUT
STEALING HORSES
By PER PETTERSON
Graywolf
The
English translation of this Norwegian author's book
was published last year in Europe and this year in America.
Described as both a mystery and a character study, the
story follows 70-year-old Trond Sander, who lives in
a cabin on the eastern edge of Norway and recollects
the day in 1948 when his friend suggests that they steal
horses. Granted, horse thievery is no substitute for
a lack of elk, but hopefully some prize-winning Norwegian
fiction will suffice. (Yennie Cheung)
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ICELANDER
By DUSTIN LONG
Grove (paperback)
This
quirky gem of a book is a detective story set in Iceland
(which is close to Norway, right?). As the daughter
of a famous Sherlock-style sleuth is forced to crisscross
the open roads and mythic places of a little-known Arctic
civilization, she is pursued by creepy gumshoes and
a villain who might be Evil incarnate. In this investigation,
every time the author closes a door, he opens a window
to somewhere else—unless he opens a trap door,
a dark cave, a whirlpool, or a time portal instead.
(Brian Hurley)
[See
the HBC review]
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MY
BEST FRIEND, WHO LOVES IRELAND.
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IN THE WOODS
By TANA FRENCH
Viking
Tana
French debuts with a psychological thriller set in Ireland.
A girl is found murdered in the woods of a suburban
Dublin town—the same woods where Detective Rob
Ryan was found 20 years earlier, clinging to a tree,
wearing blood-filled shoes, and unable to explain what
happened to him and his friends. Ryan must take information
from both this case and his own memories to solve both
mysteries. (Yennie Cheung)
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FOR MY STARRY-EYED SISTER, WHO WANTS TO
MAKE LIKE SINATRA AND STRIKE OUT FOR THE BIG APPLE (BECAUSE
IF SHE CAN MAKE IT THERE, SHE CAN MAKE IT ANYWHERE).
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CITY
LIGHTS: STORIES ABOUT NEW YORK
By DAN BARRY
St. Martin's
Meet
New York City and its Congress of Curious Peoples, captured
in one stunningly sublime literary snapshot after another,
courtesy of Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Dan Barry.
City Lights collects the best of Barry's New
York Times column "About New York." With patience and
poetry, Barry explores the city that's a world unto
itself, finding tragedy, triumph and, always, humanity.
The best literary journalist writing today, Barry illuminates
the ordinary in the most extraordinary of ways. (Chris
Mackowski)
[See
the HBC review]
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MY LAZY ALTER EGO, WHO CAN'T STOP
THINKING, "ALL I WANT TO DO IS GO TO THE BEACH RIGHT NOW."
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ALL
SAINTS
By LIAM CALLANAN
Delacorte
All
Saints takes place at a beachfront Catholic high
school in Orange County, California. But like you, church
history teacher Emily Hamilton has more pressing matters
on her agenda than soaking up the sun and catching a
few waves. You, however, probably are not a 50-year-old
divorcee who has kissed her teenage student and is trying
to sort out past regrets. Even so, it's probably best
to snuggle under a blanket and keep the beach between
the pages this month; even in Southern California, it's
kind of cold out. (Yennie Cheung)
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POETRY
A
HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHER.
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POETRY SPEAKS EXPANDED
By ELISE PASCHEN and REBEKAH PRESSON MOSBY, EDITORS
Sourcebooks, Inc.
The
second edition of this poetry anthology is chock-full
with the heavyweights of verse: Tennyson, Whitman, Frost,
Auden, Parker, and Plath, just to name a few. The real
punch to this collection, though, is the audio set that
comes with it. Three CDs contain tracks of the poets
reading their own works—a great resource to those
teaching, say, the beat of Gwendolyn Brooks's "We Real
Cool" or the passion of Allen Ginsberg's "Howl." (Yennie
Cheung)
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A FRIEND WHO LOST A FAMILY MEMBER THIS
YEAR.
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ELEGY
By MARY JO BANG
Graywolf
If
your friend is ready for a little introspection, books—whether
it be reading or writing them—can provide a wealth
of consolation. In this book of poetry, Mary Jo Bang
explores her grief after the death of her adult son.
Your friend may not find answers to any questions, but
the book may very well provide some solace, showing
that others have gone through similar situations and
have felt the same way. (Yennie Cheung)
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A POETRY FAN WHO DOESN'T HAVE A LOT
OF TIME TO READ.
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NEXT
LIFE
By RAE ARMANTROUT
Wesleyan
At
only 88 pages, Next Life is a pretty slim book,
but Rae Armantrout's poems are known for packing quite
a punch. Her poetry is not known for having plot-based
narratives, but expect plenty of irony and social commentary
in brief but expertly composed language. (Yennie Cheung)
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MATTERS OF QUALITY AND STYLE
A
FRIEND WHO IS ALL ABOUT STYLE AND HAS ALREADY READ NABOKOV.
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THEN
WE CAME TO THE END
By JOSHUA FERRIS
Little, Brown and Company
All
the talk of this being one of the best novels of the
year is surprising. The book is great, but its greatness
springs from its style—a very tight narrative written
in first person plural by an unnamed protagonist. (Marie
Mundaca)
[See
the HBC review]
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A FEMALE FRIEND LOOKING FOR ANOTHER
GUILTY PLEASURE.
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ECLIPSE
By STEPHENIE MEYER
Little, Brown and Company
Stephenie
Meyer's Twilight series reads like crack, and
Eclipse, its third installment, provides yet
another satisfying fix. The protagonist is a typically
awkward high school girl who begins dating a beautiful
vampire. The "monster falls in love with a mortal" premise
is by no means novel, but there's something delightfully
addictive about Eclipse and its predecessors Twilight
and New Moon. Younger readers will be entranced
by the teenage passion that drives the plot, and more
mature readers will completely forget that they're adults
toting around a middle school romance novel. If the
vampires don't do it for you, then the werewolves definitely
will. (Stephanie Chao)
[See
the related article]
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SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T BELIEVE THAT ALL
ENDINGS SHOULD BE HAPPY.
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THE ALMOST MOON
By ALICE SEBOLD
Little, Brown and Company
Anyone
expecting a warm and fuzzy ending from a book about
matricide clearly has delusions of optimism. The book's
opening line spells things out neatly: "When all is
said and done, killing my mother came easily." Protagonist
Helen Knightly comes from a family with a strong history
of mental illness, and Sebold portrays the characters
eloquently, without any sticky-sweet sentimentality.
(Yennie Cheung)
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SOMEONE WHO LIKES TEAR-JERKERS BUT HATES
CORNY, SAPPY BOOKS.
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BEFORE
I DIE
By JENNY DOWNHAM
David Fickling Books
A
book about a teenage girl dying of cancer is definitely
going to require a box of tissues, but Before I Die
is no after school special. Protagonist Tessa's to-do
list includes having sex, doing drugs, and committing
crimes. Jenny Downham presents a beautiful debut novel
that will resonate with readers long after they've finished
reading. (Yennie Cheung)
[See
the HBC review]
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MY MOTHER, WHO LIKES ROMANCE AND "GROCERY
STORE IMPULSE BUY FICTION" BUT COULD USE SOMETHING WITH MORE
BEAUTIFUL OR IMPASSIONED WRITING.
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it from
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THE
MADONNAS OF LENINGRAD
By DEBRA DEAN
Harper Perennial (paperback)
Debra
Dean's debut novel is fundamentally a love story. It
tells the story of the love between Marina, a young
woman in Leningrad separated from her fiancée on the
front during the siege by the Nazis. As the city succumbs
to starvation, Marina escapes into a "memory palace"
in her mind, reconstructing the paintings of the Hermitage
(where she worked as a tour guide) in her mind as a
labor of a different kind of love. It is also a love
story of the aging Marina, succumbing to Alzheimer's
in the present day, and the husband who came back from
the front to age alongside her. The writing is poignant
and accessible, and the novel is short enough that it
makes an easy foray into literary fiction. (Jacquelyn
Gill)
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