The gift list was easy this year. For once, you knew what to get everybody. Every. Single. Giftee. Easy-peasy… except, oops, that one person who vexes you each year.
What to get? Well, books are always good gifts, and they’re super-easy to wrap, too. How about one of these great selections for that one person?
FICTION
For the independent traveler on your list, Paris for One & Other Stories by Jojo Moyes might be a great bon voyage gift. It’s a collection of short stories about change, opportunity, independence, and life in general. Pair it with The Jungle Around Us: Stories by Anne Raeff. It’s a collection of tales with the jungle, its mystery, darkness, and richness, as both metaphor and connecting force here.
Dog lovers will howl over Jonathan Unleashed by Meg Rosoff. It’s the story of a man who’s at the end of his leash, and his brother’s dogs, who begin to show him that dogs are smarter than they seem.
MEMOIR / BIOGRAPHY
Fans of the latest Harper Lee novel will love receiving My Father and Atticus Finch by Joseph Madison Beck. Pulling a page from Lee, it’s the tale of a white trial lawyer in Alabama who defended a black man charged with rape. Happened in 1938. Your giftee will love reading it in 2017.
For the mother-daughter duo on your list, The Bridge Ladies by Betsy Lerner may be perfect. It’s the story of two generations of women, mom and daughter, who don’t quite understand one another. One flees, then comes home, helping out and gaining love and understanding through an unlikely tribe of women. Or, here’s one for fathers of sons: Love That Boy by Ron Fournier is a book about a dad and the love he has for his boy, who has Asperger’s.
POLITICS
Undoubtedly, there’s a political animal on your gift list who didn’t get enough politics this year. Fear not! Man of the World: The Further Endeavors of Bill Clinton by Joe Conason will let you check off another name. This book takes a look at Clinton’s work in his post-presidential years.
If your giftee is still wondering what happened this political year, you can’t go wrong when you wrap up The Year of Voting Dangerously by Maureen Dowd. It’s a book filled with essays by the woman who’s covered elections for the past nine presidents. Nope, can’t go wrong here.
MUSIC / MOVIES / TV
There’s someone on your gift list who loves music of all kinds, and They Call Me Supermensch by Shep Gordon will be a welcome gift. Gordon was a manager for a number of big name music acts, as well as an innovator in the entertainment industry. Who can resist a book like that? Nobody,
For the midnight-movie fan who can’t get enough of toast or Janet, The Rocky Horror Picture Show FAQ by Dave Thompson is exactly what you want to give. This book is absolutely jammed with facts, stories, fun-to-know details, everything you ever wanted to know about Frank-N-Furter and more.
Want to see the biggest smile ever? For the fan of the newest Pulitzer Prize Winner for Literature, wrap up Bob Dylan: The Lyrics 1961-2012. This book is HUGE – at nearly 700 pages and weighing, well, let’s just say the reindeer will complain. It’s also on the spendy side, but if you’ve got a Dylan fan on your list, this will get you hugs through at least Independence Day. For the ultimate gift, you can pair it with Madonnaland and Other Detours Into Fame and Fandom by Alina Simone. It’s a look at The Material Girl, music, and being a rock star.
LGBTQ INTEREST
In Saving Delaney by Andrea and Keston Ott-Dahl, your giftee will read the story of one little girl, her life before birth, her lesbian moms and her wealthy parents, and what happened when she entered the world with Down’s syndrome. Wrap it up with tissues and Journey to Same-Sex Parenthood by Eric Rosswood, a book filled with tips and tales of gay and lesbian folks who finally became parents.
For the mom or dad who’s just learned that their child is gender-questioning, The Gender Creative Child by Diane Ehrensaft, PhD might be a loving gift. It’s a book that will guide them through many early questions and thoughts they may have now, and later. Wrap it up with When Your Child is Gay by Wesley C. Davidson and Jonathal L. Tobkes, M.D., for the answers to even more questions.
What does it mean to be a man or a woman? In The Fate of Gender by Frank Browning, your giftee will learn what science says about gender, brains, chromosomes, social pressures, and how other countries see gender and the spectrum. Wrap it up with Queer Identities and Politics in Germany: A History 1880-1945 by Clayton J. Whisnant, a fascinating history book that looks at German LGBT organizations, people, publications, and the culture, especially during World War II.
Seasons readings!
