A Holiday (Reading) Gift Guide

Do I dare ask this question.  Have you started shopping for the holidays?  (Do I hear groans out there?).  With the economy in such a dire state it's really hard to get in the gift buying mood even with the stores already decorated and my niece busy practicing Christmas carols.  Yes, tralalalala--singing away.  In no time at all I'm going to be Jingle-Belled out!  Alas, help has arrived.  In the form of fantasy shopping anyway, a la Holiday Bas Bleu catalog.  I love Bas Bleu and really should order from them more often.  In any case I pour over their catalog every time one arrives in the mail.  Shall I share my personal favorites?  Their gifts are prefect for any booklover.

André Kertéz's On reading is wonderful.  I can attest to it, as I have the now out of print Penguin paperback edition.  It's been republished as a lovely little hardcover.  The images are black and white taken between 1915 and 1970.

Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern by Joshua Zeitz has found a place on my wishlist.  It's just the time period I am interested in and concentrates on the US phenomenon.  Were there flappers in England?  Or were they a particularly American invention like the Jazz that ushered the period in?

Daphne du Maurier's Don't Look Now has been published by New York Review of Books Classics.  I'm glad some of her short stories have found an American publisher.  The title story is truly excellent (also made into a great movie) and very well worth reading.  I'm not sure which other stories the collection contains, but I think I need to get it to add to my du Maurier collection.

Too Many Books totebag.  Because you can never have enough bookbags.  And the illustration is by Edward Gorey.

I've discovered a new mystery author.  L.R. Wright's The Suspect sounds like something I would enjoy.  A mystery that is less a whodunit than a why-dunit.  It's set in Canada and won the 1985 Edgar Award.

These keychains are the sort of thing you buy for someone else (or hope someone buys for you).  I think the Jane Austen is my favorite: "I always deserve the best treatment, because I never put up with any other."

Yes.  Book Darts.

I love this one.  Brilliant Women: 18th Century Bluestockings by Elizabeth Eger. The National Portrait Gallery in London had an exhibit earlier this year about bluestockings.  This is the companion book filled with illustrations and "scholarly yet accessible text."  It's a bit pricey, but maybe my library would order it.

I wish I wrote more letters, then I could use these cool Bronte Sisters Note Cards.  Very pretty in any case.

Okay, so totally frivolous, but it's the perfect weather to snuggle up with a good book and drink some hot chocolate.  Belgian chocolate no less.  Yum.

Hmm.  I think this may only have put me in the mood to buy things for myself.  It's good this is only wishful thinking.  Virtual window shopping if you will.

I've mentioned Bas Bleu before (no connection with the company by the way--just fond of bookish stuff), and if you don't get their catalog you can ask to be added to their mailing list.  They really do have a great selection of unusual books and other gifty items.

Comments

[Frances]

Great suggestions! Just received my copy of On Reading from Bas Bleu and posted about it -http://nonsuchbook.typepad.com/nonsuch_book/2008/11/on-reading.html
Also have an out of print copy that I love. So charming.

[LindaY]

I have a copy of Flapper and enjoyed it. If you want a good read about the 1920s, try Frederick Allen's Only Yesterday, which was written in 1931. Unlike many history books written in that era, the prose is very lively, and wow...an understandable explanation of the Teapot Dome affair!

[Joanna]

Wow, what a cool website. I think I have to have that "too many books" tote. Thanks for posting!

[Edd]

Danielle,

If you read but one more book this year, let it be "The Suspect" by L.R. Wright.

[darlene]

I don't know what happened but I found myself in a bookshop yesterday, shocking! I bought the Everyman's Pocket Classics Christmas Stories and requested the Ghost Stories version for Christmas from my family. Sounds right up your alley Danielle.

[Melanie]

Thanks for the link to Bas Bleu - wonderful stuff! And I agree, L.R. Wright is a wonderful Canadian author. I think you'd enjoy her books -- I do, especially because they feature librarian Cassandra Mitchell (along with an RCMP officer) solving the mysteries.

[BelleEnchanted]

What a great holiday gift guide idea - for readers especially! I've just added The Suspect to my tbr ...

[Dorothy W.]

What fun stuff! The book about the bluestockings sounds great, doesn't it? I would have loved to see the exhibit too.

[litlove]

Oh don't! I know I must start shopping but I haven't done more than a couple of gifts so far. But I was going to buy books for as many people as possible. Lovely suggestions, but I'll bet Bas bleue charge an arm and a leg to ship to the UK! Still, as you say, virtual shopping has lots to recommend it.

[Michelle]

I have already finished my Christmas shopping! YAY me! But I do still look all your fun links. The start of a birthday list, me thinks!

[Stefanie]

Isn't catalog shopping/wishing fun? I like the keychain. I get my book darts from Levenger and absolutely love them!

[Danielle]

Frances--I would love to get the nice new hardcover. It is a lovely book, but for now I will hold on to my little OOP paperback. Thanks for the link by the way--I'll have to read what you wrote about it.
Linda-Thanks--I'll look out for that book. It is a fascinating era, though I've mostly been reading about British history at that period--I must read more American history as well!
Joanna--I love that tote. I have a sweatshirt with that Gorey illustration on it. I must dig it out now that it's cold enough to wear it.
Edd--Oh, you sold me. I was going to ask for it for Christmas, but I think I'll have to get it now rather than waiting! :)
Darlene--They both do. I think I've seen the EL Christmas story collection, but I have not seen the ghost story one. I'll have to check them out. Isn't it strange that ghost stories are told on Christmas, too. In any case I'll have to at least try and borrow the Christmas story collection!
Melanie--I had not even heard of this author before (thanks to Bas Bleu!). I like the sound of a librarian sleuth!
BelleEnchanted--Bas Bleu is a wonderful catalog. They always have lots of good stuff (books and otherwise). And I've added The Suspect as well.
Dorothy--Doesn't that exhibit sound great? The book is a bit pricey, but maybe it's something my library ordered and I never saw come in. I'd love to take a peek at it (and maybe own it).
Litlove--Postage is always the thing that puts me off ordering and international shipping makes it almost impossible to afford--I agree. Still, it's nice to look. And I have yet to buy a single gift (ugh). I try and fit in as many books as gifts as I can as well.
Michelle--Oh, lucky you. I always say I will start in the summer and then be done with it all by fall, but it never happens that way. I'll be doing it at the last minute I suspect.
Stefanie--I used to get the Levenge catalog...sigh... they have such lovely things. I wish I could do all my holiday shopping online and avoid the malls, but it may not work out that way. And I love those keychains as well. I may have to get a few of those for gifts as a matter of fact.

[iliana]

I'm always afraid to open those Bas Bleu catalogs - they have such lovely items and I want all of them! :)

And, nope, haven't started my Christmas shopping yet. I'm thinking Amazon & Etsy are going to be my main sources again this year.

[chartroose]

I love those totebags. Forget about giving one as a gift--I'm going to purchase one for myself!

[Danielle]

Iliana--I always look through the catalog and mentally mark everything I want. But I don't order from them often I'm sorry to say. It's only due to lack of funds, however. Gift cards will be my buying solution this year. And books where I can--though not everyone in my family is a reader or wants books (terrible!).
Chartroose--I am a bad holiday shopper--I tend to splurge more on me than on the people I am buying for--but I would love that tote, too!

[Jennifer Dee]

After your recommendations I went onto the web site, and when I tried to order the 'Reading Women Wall Calendar' along with a catalogue, only to find they don't distribut to the United Kingdom. What a shame because like you I could find lots of things to buy.

Many Thanks for your lovely blog one of which I visit everyday.

Jen.

[JaneGS]

Thanks for reminding me of this great catalog. I've fallen off their list, so I haven't received one recently.

I love the Bronte notecards, and have a sister who just might like a set.

[Matt]

I have ordered On Reading...for myself! :)

As to holiday shopping, I have been buying gifts along the way, whenever I see books that might be of interest of my friends. I have made it a point to make gifts out of books this year and am strongly recommending book bloggers to do so. But I also have exception, depending on the practical needs of some of the recipients.

[Matt]

I have ordered On Reading...for myself! :)

As to holiday shopping, I have been buying gifts along the way, whenever I see books that might be of interest of my friends. I have made it a point to make gifts out of books this year and am strongly recommending book bloggers to do so. But I also have exception, depending on the practical needs of some of the recipients.