Literary Gift Guide, Part 3
December 4, 2011

I still don’t have my tree up, damnit. Every year I try to get it up the Saturday after Thanksgiving because it signals the start of the Christmas holiday season to me. I love this time of the year. I love the songs, the sights, the lights, the colors, and walking around soaking it all in. Admittedly, I have very little if any gift shopping to do because I tend to spread it out all year. (Yes, I am one of those annoying people.) Not everyone does, though, which is why I offer this multi-part series on ideas for readers and book lovers.

This week, the gifts move into the three-figure range. Even if you are not buying anything priced in it, some of the things I discovered will be enormous fun to look at. So enjoy the shopping, virtual or otherwise, and I’ll be back next week—with a tree.

$100 - $200:
Classic 1950s science fiction stories often featured ray guns. Now you can actually own one with this Ray Gun Sculpture. Looking for a kitchen clock? Look no further than Meat! Garden lovers will surely appreciate How Does Your Garden Grow?

Because wine and reading go so well together, these Wood Bottle bookends made of acacia wood might be just the thing for your literary oenophile. Map fans will enjoy these Revolving Globe bookends with beautiful bronze finishes or maybe these Authentic Model ones. I especially like these BO OK ones too. These new Tuscan bookends are unusual as are the Ships Anchor ones. There are quite a few animal ones but these American Eagle ones look particularly attractive. A search under “antique bookends” brought up the LITTCO Foundry, a Pennsylvania company that is offering ten of their early designs, most in this price range. And the New York Public Library’s famous lions (in marble) are also available as bookends.

Children will adore watching birds flit in and out of these Pooh or Oz Birdhouses. Or give your young reader her or his own bookish rocking chair. (Contrary to the ad copy, this is not for boys only, though there is this more pastel one.) If your child is already beginning to collect books, this Time 2 Read Revolving Bookcase is sure to get some good use. For a child’s room, check out this Alice in Wonderland Canvas Room Divider.

Puzzles anyone? Especially if they are made from wood. This Bodleian Library Woodcut Puzzle Game contained 450 pieces (and made in America)is a replica of a children’s game in the Bodleian archives that is suitable for adults.

Jewelry is always nice, and this handmade silver book pendant is very well done. This Lindau Gospels brooch was inspired by an ornamental boss from the binding of the book, a late ninth-century creation and the first major medieval manuscript acquired by J. Pierpont Morgan.

How about a bedtime story, literally in be. This unique duvet cover is two lightweight synthetic duvets plus a poly-cotton cover printed with Sleeping Beauty. (Be warned: the shipping cost to the U.S. is horrendous.) 

For your feathered friends outside, how about a Julie Child Cookbook Birdhouse?

If you like to keep a variety of books on your nightstand but they are getting too high, consider this Rotating Bookcase with two 11-inch tall circular shelves. There’s also the Bedtime Reader’s Nightstand for those who prefer their shelves stay in one place. There are lots of bed pillows designed for reading upright, but not many include a massage. The Messaging Bed Rest, with a built-in LED light, side pockets and cup holder, even though it is five cents under this category’s limit, is just too good to not include.

Handmade is always popular and guaranteed to be an original. The Ultima is an oversized (11 x 15”) journal, and you can customize it even further with your choice of paper, leather, and even the number of pages. The Super is smaller at 7.5 x 11” but you still get the same three choices.

Deborah DeWit, a reader and a painter, offers prints of any of her work including these wonderful readerly scenes.(See this page for information on ordering.)

Librarians looking to raise funds should look at Library Mysteries. These original whodunit plays have been written specially to be performed in libraries, and performed by eight to twelve local luminaries as part of a fundraising evening.

$200 - $300:
For traditionalists, these Monticello Acanthus bookends are wonderful. For those who appreciate the antique end, Parrot on a Book would be an excellent choice. The famous Library Lions that frame the New York Public Library come in a traditional and very attractive bronze.

If the man in your life is in need of a reading lamp, how about this Reading Man Lamp made of steel and stone? (It’s made in Sonoma, California.)

You can’t sit in it—its only six inches high—but this Reading Chair might be just the thing to put on one of your bookshelves.

For the biblio-cook, what about a special bookshelf called Pandemonium in the kitchen to display onions or garlic?

$300 - $400:
If you’re like me and regularly consult your oversized dictionary, this Franklin library book stand might just be the thing to get. No larger than it needs to be it is nevertheless sturdy and contains a storage drawer, a ledge and a bottom shelf. Or if you prefer a one-of-a-kind bookcase, how about this Blue Shrine?

Book guns? Yes, these are guns, non-working of course, made out of books, a specialized for form of book art. The artist usually sells these through two museums, but you can e-mail him if you want to know what other book art he might have for sale: Inside the Fed: Making Military Policy, Normal Adolescence, The Shape of Illusion, and The Virility Solution.

If you’re looking for a special shelf for the kitchen, how about Jewish Cooking? Cooking not your thing? How about the Promise Anything shelf? For the baseball fan comes the Baseball Shelf.

$400 - $500:
This Book Pedestal Table will loudly proclaim your love of books (and unique tables). For a single lovely long bookshelf, this Five-Foot Shelf of Books (actually 63 inches long) is both classic and lovely. The Wall Mirror is actually a frame, 21 x 26”, and can be custom made in your choice of color.

Upcoming Book Festivals and Fairs:
Unfortunately, there are no more book festivals in 2011. They will start up in January.

The Pub House:
Blank Slate Press is a niche publisher that knows its niche: St. Louis. Though small, they are particular and to date have only three authors. But based on what I see I anticipate more in the future. The Samaritan, for example, is a debut novel that focuses on Dale Sampson, a man with a “super-human” gift he doesn’t believe he deserves and who lives in voluntary isolation—until a chance encounter with a woman from his past sets into motion one last shot at redemption. Dancing with Gravity reaches deeply into the selfhood we call our humanity through a priest who is also the head of Pastoral Care at a local hospital. Father Whiting finds himself facing sabotage, difficult ministrations, odd behaviors, and confusion over a sexual attraction, but he also finds a new and unique relationship that opens up his own life choices and what the future might be. Daybreak is set on the brink of the Civil War. Three people dream of building a new society but as this social experiment begins to draw others in the original vision changes, especially when both union and rebel commanders demand the loyalty of the community members.

Imaging Books & Reading:
This is a scene after my own heart. It is probably what everyone who hasn’t actually lived in snow country thinks living is snow country is like—and that includes me. No shoveling, no driving, no icy sidewalks, just a gentle snowfall while you sit by the window with a cup of tea and some good books.

Of Interest:
Have you ever been to the Morgan Library and Museum in New York? If not, this short but breathtaking online tour is a superb overview of the extraordinary result that can be achieved when money is virtually limitless. Be sure to visit the interior as well as the objects in his study. You can also read about the restoration that took place over five months in 2010. Fabulous!

Until next week, read well, read often and read on!

Lauren