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I NEED A GIFT
FOR...
GENERAL
NONFICTION
SOMEONE
WHO HAS EVERYTHING.
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PIGEONS:
THE FASCINATING SAGA OF THE WORLD'S MOST REVERED AND
REVILED BIRD
By ANDREW D. BLECHMAN
Grove Press
Who
would already have a book about pigeons? And who wouldn't
want one? Andrew D. Blechman goes into great detail
about pigeon history but spends most of his time chronicling
the humans who love and hate them. (Marie Mundaca)
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A
FRIEND WHO HAS BEEN ON EBAY TRYING TO FIND A REPLICA OF LUCY'S
SKULL.
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THE JESUIT AND THE SKULL: TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, EVOLUTION,
AND THE SEARCH FOR PEKING MAN
By AMIR D. ACZEL
Riverhead
In
1929, French Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin,
along with a group of anthropologists and archaeologists,
uncovered a pre-human skull near Peking. The skull—now
known as Peking Man—became known as the missing
link between apes and Cro-Magnons. For Teilhard, this
discovery posed a conflict between his dual roles as
a man of science and a man of faith. The book details
his inner struggles as well as the Catholic Church's
attempts to suppress his work. (Yennie Cheung)
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MY OLDER SISTER, WHO WANTS SOMETHING
TO READ OTHER THAN HER USUAL BESTSELLERS.
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THE MISTRESS'S DAUGHTER
By A. M. HOMES
Viking
Acclaimed writer A.M. Homes (Music for Torching,
The Safety of Objects) writes about reuniting
with her birth-mother, who became pregnant at 22 after
an affair with her boss. In true A.M. Homes fashion,
the relationship quickly turns dysfunctional, as her
birth-mother tells Homes to "jump off a roof" and refuses
to help her join the Daughters of the American Revolution.
I have no idea why Homes wanted to join the D.A.R.—it's
too late for her to get a scholarship from them! This
sad, riveting drama will fascinate people attracted
to the seamy side of family relations. (Marie Mundaca)
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MY
COFFEE TABLE, WHICH IS SAD AND LONELY WITHOUT A "COFFEE TABLE
BOOK" ON IT.
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LEARNING
TO LOVE YOU MORE
By HARRELL FLETCHER and MIRANDA JULY
Prestel USA
As
someone who identifies with the "hipster" label enough
to take gift-buying advice from the HBC, you are more
or less obligated to buy hipster poster girl Miranda
July's latest offering, Learning to Love You More.
LTLYM is an internet-based project where July
and Harrell Fletcher give out "assignments," like #27:
Take a picture of the sun, or #11: Photograph a scar
and write about it. Anyone is welcome to complete assignments
and submit them to the site. This is a random assortment
of completed assignments from the LTLYM website
and will be sure to make your coffee table happy. Even
better, it's a great conversation starter that might
inspire you and a bevy of buzzed friends to complete
some of the assignments yourselves. (Bri Lafond) [See
the related article]
[Win this book!]
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A
LIFETIME OF SECRETS: A POSTSECRET BOOK
By FRANK WARREN
William Morrow
Forget
the paintings of Baroque masters or covered bridges
of New England—this ain't your mom's coffee table
book (but if it is, I want to ask your mom over for
dinner). PostSecret appeals to the innate voyeuristic,
diary-peeking eavesdropper in all of us, only in this
case no one will be hurt by your discoveries. Each page
is filled with real-life, anonymous postcard revelations,
ranging from the impossibly shocking to the incredibly
sad. The variety of forms used (from collages to old
photographs) is just as much fun to see as the secrets
they reveal. (Jacquelyn Gill)
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SKINEMA
By CHRIS NIERATKO
Vice Books
While
not a traditional coffee table book in the North
American Guide to Barns picture-book sort of way,
Skinema is definitely something you could have
laying on your coffee table to keep guests interested.
Officially, it is a collection of Vice magazine's
porn reviews by Chris Nieratko. The genius of the reviews
is that they are almost never about porn. An article
might start with the cover of some DVD called Assraelies:
Israeli Erotica or Sperm Sponges #1 and give
it a rating, but the article itself will be about how
Nieratko lies about being in the Vietnam War, or how
he wants to know how contraceptive sponges work so he
can chloroform his wife (who has just stopped taking
birth control pills) and use them on her. The bite-sized
articles are as funny and crass as hell and bite-sized,
the subject matter is varied and typical the type of
stuff you'd expect fromfor a magazine like Vice, and
the cover almost guarantees thatn anyone visiting your
home will pick it up off the coffee table. (Kyle Olson)
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EVERYTHING
THAT RISES: A BOOK OF CONVERGENCES
By LAWRENCE WESCHLER
McSweeney's
The
McSweeney's brain trust of awesome things introduces
this beautiful collection of convergences—seemingly
disparate views or objects that show uncanny similarities
when viewed in relation to one another. Weschler highlights
unusual points of convergence in things as disparate
as Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night and a microscopic
view of ovaries. There's also ample commentary that
manages not to overshadow the gorgeous color photographs
that illustrate most of the convergences. (Bri Lafond)
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MY GIRLFRIEND, WHO HAS SOLD EVERYTHING
THAT ISN'T AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY AND ONLY KEEPS MUSIC AND
BOOKS THAT ARE IMPORTANT OR FULFILLING.
|
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THE
INTELLECTUAL DEVOTIONAL: AMERICAN HISTORY
By DAVID KIDDER and NOAH OPPENHEIM
Modern Times
The
follow-up to the bestselling The Intellectual Devotional,
this book is modeled after religious devotional books,
with the idea that secular daily lessons will help enrich
the mind. The lessons may be highly abbreviated—each
is about a page long—but they cover everything
from politics to the arts, so they're not monotonous.
After all, AP American History would have been much
more interesting if it'd had a lesson on The Simpsons.
(Yennie Cheung)
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THE
ASSAULT ON REASON
By AL GORE
Penguin
If
Al Gore had been elected president in 2000, he wouldn't
have spent time wandering through the political wilderness—a
journey that transformed him into the man capable of
writing his fascinating and (dare I say it) important
book, The Assault on Reason. Gore laments our
democracy's broken electoral system, which depends on
"the wisdom of a well-informed citizenry" and the Founders'
"ingenious design for checks and balances"—principles
Gore says are under assault. As a political theorist
and media critic, Gore is spot-on; the book should be
required reading for all voters in advance of the upcoming
presidential election. (Chris Mackowski)
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THE
ENVIRONMENTALIST WHO THINKS THE WORLD IS GOING TO HELL IN
A HANDBASKET.
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PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY:
DISENTANGLING THE MODERN CONUNDRUM OF PSYCHE AND PLACE
By WILL SELF and RALPH STEADMAN
Bloomsbury USA
If
we didn't already have enough reasons to eschew modern
transportation, Will Self (author of The Book of
Dave and How the Dead Live) provides yet
another. In Psychogeography, Self walks around
various parts of the world to study how one's environment
affects mood and behavior. Moreover, by walking the
miles to his destination, Self attributes a more personal
perspective to his surroundings, recognizing them as
more than a blur of buildings passed on a freeway. (Yennie
Cheung)
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MY
FRIEND WHO IS STARTING TO GROW FRUSTRATED WITH ORGANIZED RELIGION.
|
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FORESKIN'S
LAMENT
BY SHALOM AUSLANDER
Riverhead
From
the author of the hilarious short story collection Beware
of God comes this irreverent memoir that details
Shalom Auslander's life from his Orthodox Jewish upbringing
to his current frustration and rejection of the faith
that raised him. Auslander may reject his Jewish background,
but he channels the most entertaining and erudite Jewish
writers (Phillip Roth and Woody Allen come to mind)
in this narrative, which is by turns uproarious and
emotionally draining. Though Auslander's focus is on
his own experience with Judaism, those who find themselves
frustrated with the disparity between the message of
a loving God and the reality of war, famine, and countless
other horrors will find a kindred spirit in him. (Bri
Lafond)
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MY
BROTHER, WHO HAS NO IDEA HOW TO TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF.
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THE
COMPLETE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK
BY JOSHUA PIVEN and DAVID BORGENICHT
Chronicle Books
This
volume compiles the best of the humorous Worst-Case
Scenario books into one convenient hardcover. Covering
everything from avalanches to Christmas dinners gone
awry, this book should help your seemingly helpless
brother. (Yennie Cheung)
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FOR
MY LITTLE SISTER, WHO THINKS IT WOULD BE COOL TO RUN AWAY
FROM HOME.
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GIRLBOMB: A HALFWAY HOMELESS MEMOIR
By JANICE ERLBAUM
Villard (paperback)
Janice
Erlbaum had a crappy home life, but certainly not the
worst. So when this smart 15-year-old runs away and
ends up first in a homeless shelter and then in a halfway
house, it's all the more shocking. The terror of being
the new girl at the homeless shelter should be enough
to keep your little sister home. Erlbaum never glamorizes
her life—the casual sex and rampant drug use are
as seedy as they sound. (Marie Mundaca)
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AN
EXPECTANT MOTHER WHO IS CONSIDERING NATURAL PARENTING.
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PUSHED: THE PAINFUL TRUTH ABOUT CHILDBIRTH AND MODERN
MATERNITY CARE
By JENNIFER BLOCK
Da Capo Lifelong Books
Block's
information-packed screed against the American maternity
system will have the expectant mother ditching her OB
and dialing the local doula. Block—a former editor
at Ms. magazine and an editor on the revised
Our Bodies, Our Selves—is a knowledgeable,
thorough, and engaging writer. (Marie Mundaca)
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MY
STUDENT, WHO IS OBSESSED WITH VAMPIRES.
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SUNDAYS
WITH VLAD: FROM PENNSYLVANIA TO TRANSYLVANIA, ONE MAN'S
QUEST TO LIVE IN THE WORLD OF THE UNDEAD
By PAUL BIBEAU
Three Rivers Press
If
your student is anything like my student who is obsessed
with vampires [see related article], Stephenie Meyer's
Twilight books and Melissa de la Cruz's Blue
Bloods series are old news. Instead of going with
fiction, hand your student some hilarious nonfiction.
Maxim editor Paul Bibeau explores the history
of vampires, from discovering more about Vlad the Impaler's
influence on Dracula to chatting with the creator
of Count Chocula. (Yennie Cheung)
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MY BROTHER, WHO'S LOOKING FOR SOME
FUNNY NONFICTION.
|
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THE
BRAINDEAD MEGAPHONE
By GEORGE SAUNDERS
Riverhead Trade
Judging
from his highly satirical fiction, it's not hard to
guess that George Saunders would be an excellent cultural
commentator in his own nonfiction voice. Beginning with
the question of how we can overcome our vapid, commercially-driven
media, Saunders expands the scope of this book with
reports from Dubai, the US-Mexico border, and Nepal.
Short, hilarious pieces on Britain and Iran show examples
of cultural intolerance, while the longer pieces probe
questions of national identity and empathy. Further
proof that humor and cultural analysis are, in the tradition
of Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut, a perfect match. (Jen
Penkethman)
[See
the HBC review]
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A RESTORATION ECOLOGIST WHO LOVES
TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE PLANTS SHE FINDS.
|
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AMAZING
RARE THINGS
By DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, with SUSAN OWENS, MARTIN CLAYTON,
and REA ALEXANDRATOS
Yale University Press
Charles
Darwin meets high art in this gorgeous volume by renowned
naturalist and documentarian David Attenborough. Amazing
Rare Thing focuses on the collection of natural
history art held in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.
Attenborough and his coauthors write about various topics,
but the real treasures are the 160 drawings and watercolors
of various plants and animals, rendered by the likes
of Leonardo da Vinci, Maria Sibylla, and Mark Catesby.
I have no idea who these last two people were, but their
artwork is absolutely stunning. (Yennie Cheung)
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GENERAL
FICTION
MY
DAD, WHO IS OVER 50 AND SAYS HE'S CONSERVATIVE, BUT HAS TRIED
READING DAVID SEDARIS, TRUMAN CAPOTE, AND KURT VONNEGUT (AND
LIKED THEM!) TO GET ALONG WITH ME, MOSTLY READS CHEAP HARDCOVER
MYSTERIES, AND SECRETLY WANTS TO BE INTERESTING.
|
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Buy
it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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TREE
OF SMOKE
By DENIS JOHNSON
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
FALLING
MAN
By DON DELILLO
Scribner
2007
was a great year for serious, interesting American Dad
books. Six years after the shock of September 11, our
writers are finally beginning to put all of the radical
and reactionary politics aside and get at the heart
of what makes Americans so darn American. In fiction,
the best examples are Tree of Smoke, a sprawling
Vietnam War story about a CIA conspiracy and the ambivalence
of warfare, and Falling Man, a complex portrait
of a survivor who walks out of the WTC towers right
before they collapse. You and your dad will have plenty
to talk about after he reads these. (Brian Hurley)
[See
the HBC review of Falling Man]
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MY FRIEND'S LITTLE BROTHER, WHO IS KNOWN
FOR STARTING FIRES IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR BACKYARD.
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TENDER
AS HELLFIRE
By JOE MENO
Akashic (reprint)
Budding
arsonists will find their soulmate in Dough, the main
character in Joe Meno's recently reprinted debut novel.
Tender as Hellfire is the story of Dough and
his brother, Pill, who find themselves in a new trailer
park in a new town that's just like the old trailer
park in their old town. The boys are trying to make
it to adulthood without going to juvenile hall or worse,
but they're surrounded by criminal elements—like
the abusive boyfriends their babysitter brings home
and the violent sheriff who seems to have it in for
the boys—that discourage them from their goal.
Told in Dough's words, Tender as Hellfire is
a literary novel with the heart of a YA book. (Bri Lafond)
[See
the HBC review]
[Win this book!]
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MY
BROTHER, WHO LOVES LOST AND APPARENTLY ENJOYS NOT BEING
100% SURE WHAT'S GOING ON IN A STORY.
|
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SAMEDI
THE DEAFNESS
By JESSE BALL
Vintage
Poet
Jesse Ball has written a mystery novel that seems to
relish the act of smearing your understanding all over
the place, and his surreal, non-traditional writing
resists being pinned down. Reviews of the book constantly
name-drop people such as David Lynch, Lewis Carroll,
and Franz Kafka. Combine that with a plot that centers
around scheduled White House lawn suicides, labyrinthine
mental institutions, and hosts of pathological liars,
and you have yourself a book that'll titillate and entertain
folks looking for a story that doesn't unravel so easily.
(Kyle Olson)
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MY
ARTSY DRAG QUEEN FRIEND WHO IS HAVING SIGNIFICANT OTHER TROUBLES.
|
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THE
VIRGIN OF FLAMES
By CHRIS ABANI
Penguin (paperback)
Los
Angeles comes to life in this magical realism-tinged
novel from Chris Abani. Main character Black is an artist
obsessed with creating the ultimate portrait of the
Virgin Mary. He sees potential models all around him,
particularly in the enticing transsexual stripper Angel.
As Black struggles with his artistic vision and tries
to define himself and his sexuality as a multi-racial
man in a multi-cultural city, he's visited by angels,
visions, and the annual wildfires that surround the
city. (Bri Lafond)
[See
the HBC review]
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A READER WHO IS ALSO A DO-GOODER.
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CLICK
By RODDY DOYLE, NICK HORNBY, RUTH OZEKI, MARGO LANAGAN,
LINDA SUE PARK, DAVID ALMOND, GREGORY MAGUIRE, TIM WYNNE-JONES,
DEBORAH ELLIS, EOIN COLFER
Arthur A. Levine Books
Ten
authors each write a chapter in the life of George "Gee"
Keane, an enigmatic photographer and soldier. If the
all-star list of authors isn't an enticing enough incentive
to pick up this book, your do-gooder friend will be
glad to know that all of the book's proceeds go to Amnesty
International. (Yennie Cheung)
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FOR
A CUTE INDIEPOP GIRL I'M TRYING TO IMPRESS.
|
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NO
ONE BELONGS HERE MORE THAN YOU
By Miranda July
Scribner
Miranda
July is a master of the fey, whimsical, and vulnerable.
If you were to give this collection of her short stories
to a gal you like, you've just successfully telegraphed
the message, "Yeah. That's right. I'm a totally sensitive
dude who loves reading stories about love and relationships
that are adorable and heartwarming, as well as touching
and personal. We best commence to adorable hand-holding."
July's intimate and comedic tales of hope, charm, and
youthful wonder will set up a relationship of kite-flying
and making out in a field made of soft, warm cardigans.
(Kyle Olson)
[See
the HBC review]
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MY DAD, WHO LOVES A GOOD PLOT BUT IS GETTING
TOO OLD TO REMEMBER MILLIONS OF CHARACTERS OR MULTIPLE PLOT
TWISTS.
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THE
RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST
By MOHSIN HAMID
Harcourt
The
Reluctant Fundamentalist is a novel about how one
male Pakistani citizen reacts to a world turned against
him while living in post-September 11 New York City.
The book is short and has only three main characters.
Even better? The narrator is telling the story as part
of a one-sided conversation. No plot twists or being
confused as to who is speaking, as there's only one
voice. The novel takes the reader on an adventure to
see what a tragedy might look like from an outsider's
point of view. (Kelly Spoer)
[See
the HBC review]
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MY DAD, WHO LIKES TO RESTORE CLASSIC
CARS AND READ JOHN GRISHAM.
|
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it from
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Buy
it from
Amazon
or
Powell's
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THE
NAMING OF THE DEAD
IAN RANKIN
Little, Brown and Company
THE
OVERLOOK
MICHAEL CONNELLY
Little, Brown and Company
In
The Naming of the Dead, Scottish inspector John
Rebus investigates a death at the G8 summit. There is
a lot of smoking and drinking for those who like to
do those things vicariously. If your dad only likes
American authors, though, you may want to try Michael
Connelly's The Overlook. In it, Det. Harry Bosch
investigates the death of a top physicist. (Marie Mundaca)
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