8 Books for Holiday Gift Giving 2015

I'm betting you and I share a few things in common, and I'm probably right when I say that one of those is our love of giving books to family and friends. Of the new releases that crossed my desk this fall, here are eight I thought would be perfect for gift giving. Take a look and see if there isn't something just right for the people on your holiday list.

For six years, Tyler Knott Gregson (a professional photographer) has written a daily haiku celebrating love. That's more than two thousand poems! The pieces in All the Words Are Yours, Gregson's second haiku collection, run the range from romantic to evocative. Some are hand-lettered and some are typed, and almost all are accompanied by one of Gregson's beautiful photographs. Give this small tome to someone special and share the positive energy. (Perigee, 9780399176005) Here's an example:

I have simple needs, / Just you and my morning tea, / The moment I rise.

Pamela Paul's collection of writers and other notable people talking about their reading life is now out in paperback, just in time for the holidays. By the Book contains interviews that originally appeared in the New York Times Book Review; they offer fascinating reading for inquiring literary minds. What are Neil Gaiman's reading habits? What writer would Elizabeth Gilbert like to meet? What kinds of stories call to Jhumpa Lahiri? (Picador USA, 9781250074690) Here's where Francine Prose likes to read:

The passenger seat of a car on the New York State Thruway, on a sunny day without much traffic.

Caitlin Kuhwald's Hillary Rodham Clinton Presidential Playset is just too much fun not to be a part of this list. You get dolls and three-dimensional sets of Bill, Hill, the White House, the Clinton enemies, the ghosts, and more. You can change their clothes and their facial expressions to act out a variety of scenarios for the Oval Office, situation room, or White House lawn. Imagine life with Hillary as president. The dolls are printed on thick card stock in full color, and the sets open up within the pages of the book. There's even a pocket in the inside cover to store your dolls. (Quirk, 9781594748318) This one is appropriate for your friends on both sides of the aisle--as long as they have a good sense of humor.

The Time Chamber is Daria Song's newest adult coloring book. This volume introduces us to a red-haired fairy who lives in a cuckoo clock. We get to accompany her on her adventures into the world of humans and see our everyday items from the perspective of a very small magical being. The pages range from intricate to simple and just beg for colorful embellishment. Although Song provides the beginning of the story, it's up to readers and artists to interpret the illustrations in their own way. (Watson-Guptill, 9781607749615) Don't forget to pick up a box of colored pencils or artists' markers to go with. Hours and hours of calming creativity for the teens and adults on your list.

Also new in paperback this fall is The Whaling Season by Peter Lourie. I love the books in the Scientists in the Field series, which are geared to middle grade readers but are appropriate for science geeks of any age. This amazing nonfiction adventure is packed with photographs, facts, and stories of what it's like to be an Arctic whale biologist, both in the field and in the lab. In one chapter we learn just how difficult it is to study whale anatomy (see the quote); the animals' shear size can be daunting. (Harcourt Brace, 9780544582415) Pick this up for your young scientist.

A forty-five-foot bowhead whale has a 450-pound heart. The bowhead aorta, the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the other arteries, is at least a foot in diameter. The average adult human's aorta is one and a half inches.

Here's a cool book: Andrew DeGraff's Plotted: A Literary Atlas. The pages of this book are chock-full of colorful maps showing us the worlds and/or the journeys we've learned about in all kinds of classic books, from Kafka to LeGuin. For example, DeGraff creates New York City from the perspective of Ellison's Invisible Man, the fictional warrens of Adams's Watership Down, and the U.S. South of Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn We see ships and ocean voyages and even the five stages of Dickens's A Christmas Carol. Each map or set of maps is introduced by a short essay (written by Daniel Harmon), identifying the original book or myth or poem or story. (Zest, 9781936976867). Engrossing browsing ahead for the literary set.

Baby boomers, Mad magazine fans, comics lovers, and cold war fanatics will all love Spy vs Spy, edited by John Ficarra. This volume collects 150 classic "Spy vs Spy" comic strips that were first published in the irreverent magazine. No matter your age, you'll find plenty to laugh at as the pointy-nosed spies attempt to thwart each other at every turn. They stop at nothing and will use every lowdown trick they can thing of. The cold war may be over, but East still fights West and spies are among us. Don't miss the short introduction by the comedian Lewis Black. (Liberty Street, 9781618931597) Children of boomers: here's the perfect gift for your liberal parents. This is also recommended to anyone you know who has a warped (in a good way) sense of humor.

The final suggestion on this list is Steve Turner's The Complete Beatles Songs. This large book contains stories, lyrics, history, and trivia about every song the Beatles ever recorded. (Note that the book doesn't include music or chords.) The text is accompanied by many photographs, some of which will be familiar and others that you may not have seen before. Turner describes the circumstances that inspired the songs, the meanings of the lyrics, and the interpersonal dynamics of the group as they went through the various stages of their career: the changing musical styles, the Eastern influences, and so on. (Dey Street, 9780062447340) This is a must-have addition to any music lover's library. Here's John looking back to 1963:

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" materialized when Paul came up with an opening line, then hit a chord on the piano. I turned to him and said, "That's it! Do that again!" In those days, we really used to absolutely write like that--both playing into each other's noses.

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Thanksgiving Thoughts and Reading Plans

To all my friends in the United States, I wish you a happy, healthy, and relaxing holiday weekend. Hope you find time to read a book or two between tending the turkey and visiting with friends and family.

To everyone else, pardon our many photos of food over the next twenty-four hours and may your upcoming weekend be filled with all things good.

We're planning a quiet weekend at home. Besides cooking and eating, I'm looking forward to reading, walking, and doing some book culling. I may even get around to watching Jessica Jones.

Here are some the books I have at the top of my reading list. I may read these or pick up something else entirely. I'm going to see where my mood takes me.

A couple of years ago I read and liked Paolo Giordano's The Solitude of Prime Numbers, so when I was offered a copy of his newest novel, Like Family, I didn't hesitate to say yes. According to the publisher's description, this is a story of a young family and their housekeeper. The themes seem to be marriage, parenthood, family, facing personal setbacks, and negotiating adulthood. I have high hopes. First sentence:

On my thirty-fifth birthday, Mrs. A. abruptly gave up the determination that in my eyes characterized her more than any other quality and, already laid out in a bed that by then seemed too big for her body, finally abandoned the world we all know.

I'm giving away a copy of this next week.

Even though the second volume of The Outlandish Companion by Diana Gabaldon entered my house in October, I haven't had time to sit down and read it. I don't plan to read this book front to back all in one go. Instead, I'll flip through, reading the essays (on language, on writing, on the television show, etc.), browsing the maps, and skimming the synopses of the more recent Outlander books. Good fun ahead. Here's the first sentence of the first chapter:

The Outlander series includes three kinds of stories: The Big, Enormous Books, which have no discernible genre (or all of them).

It's true: It's damn near impossible to describe the Outlander books by genre.

Also high on my list is the novel by Robert J. Mrazek. I can't resist a mystery / thriller that stars an archaeologist. The first book in the series, Valhalla, involved a discovery of Viking ruins in Greenland. The Bone Hunters concerns hominid fossil remains found in China. The premise promises politics, the military, religious beliefs, and science combined with a twisty and action-packed plot. Good escape reading. Here's the first sentence of the prologue:

It was one of the two darkest nights Corporal Sean Patrick Morrissey could ever remember.

The opening scene is set in China in 1941, but chapter one takes us to Boston in modern times. I'll be giving away copies of both Mrazek books in a couple of weeks.

I have a gazillion other books on my plate, so we'll see what I really get around to reading over the next few days. Enjoy the weekend, and see you Saturday for Weekend Cooking!

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4 Adult Coloring Books with a Twist

I hardly need to introduce you to adult coloring books. They are everywhere, and many grownups have spent countless hours relaxing by coloring in pictures using pen, pencil, or crayon. Here are four recent coloring books, each with a unique twist. Whether you're looking for a new book for yourself or are considering a gift for the holidays, you can't go wrong with any of these. Click on the images to see them full size; each shows the cover of the book and one of my creations.

Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford is subtitled "An Inky Adventure & Coloring Book." Besides having dozens of beautiful pictures to color in, artists will enjoy taking a virtual dive into the ocean, looking at shipwrecks, fish, coral, seaweed, and more. To up the fun factor, Basford has included a treasure hunt within the pictures: As you color, search the pages for watches, keys, rings, jewels, and other treasures that were lost to the depths of the oceans. Can you collect them all? (Penguin Books, October 2015)

The Time Garden by Daria Song is subtitled "A Magical Journey and Coloring Book." The pictures included in this book illustrate the story of a young girl who gets inside a magical cuckoo clock and from there discovers a fantastical world. The first drawings (one is seen here) are simple, but the pictures become more complicated as the girl climbs trees, meets a fairy, flies with an owl, and explores a variety of shops. You'll use your imagination, telling the story in your own way because the words disappear after a couple of pages. Boost several levels of your creativity with this beautiful book. (Watson-Guptill Publications, September 2015)

The Little Prince Coloring Book is just what you think it is. The entire story, complete with the familiar illustrations, is contained within the covers of this book. But you'll also find new drawings to color in. All are inspired by the original artwork and are just as enchanting. This is a must-have book for all Antoine de Saint-Exupery fans and a wonderful way to reacquaint yourself with the beloved classic. Share this coloring book with a young person, and watch him or her light up and fall in love with the Little Prince, as he learns about Earth and tells us about his home. (Harcourt Brace & Co., November 2015)

The Vampire Combat Field Guide by Roger Ma is an informative coloring book from the well-respected "Institute for Undead Combat Studies." Ever wonder how to tell vampire from human? Need to practice your self-defense moves? Unsure about what weapons to have on hand? This coloring book has your back. From basic anatomy to detailed training moves, the pictures in this book will teach you survival skills as you color in the pages. Whether you're young or old, you need to know the correct way to stake that fangy fiend who's trying to drain your body of its vital blood. Perfect for Halloween or for anytime you suspect there's the possibility of a vampire attack. (Berkley Books, October 2015)

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