Books as Gifts
Cathy Belben
from Northwest Life and Times, December 2001
Why buy books as gifts? Why not a tie or
a box of chocolates? “Books are the greatest gifts…they are gifts you can
open again and again,” notes bookseller Megan Scott O’Bryan of Scott’s
Bookstore in Mount Vernon. Additionally,
she notes, “books offer a wonderful opportunity to escape from daily life, to
travel to far-off places, or to learn something new.”
Her feelings are echoed by booksellers throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Chris Satterlund, owner of Snow Goose Books in Stanwood, says that books are a
wise investment. “Especially in tight times,” she says, “books are a
better value—you get more entertainment time for your money.” Krista Hunter,
buyer at Village Books in Bellingham, agrees. “Books are thoughtful gifts,”
she says, “something that can be
treasured over time, not losing their excitement once the gift wrap is thrown
away.” In addition, bookstores
are an excellent place to escape from the craziness of the holiday season Hunter
notes. Bookstores offer a “congenial atmosphere and [a place] to find
something for everyone on your gift list at the same time.”
If you’re overwhelmed by the possibilities when you enter a
bookstore, sellers in the area have ideas about what you can consider for the
recipients on your list. For
fiction lovers, Hunter suggests Jonathan Franzen’s new novel, The
Corrections, which has already been widely acclaimed and reviewed, as well
as having been selected for Oprah’s Book Club.
“It has been described as a ‘darkly hilarious, deeply humane’
novel,” she says. Michelle Erickson at the Boekhandel in Lynden recommends
Tracy Chevalier’s first novel, Girl With a Pearl Earring, about a maid
and her relationship with Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, and Chevalier’s
second novel, Falling Angels, is the top fiction gift idea from Megan
Scott O’Bryan. It is, she says,
“a beautiful, story; our hands-down fall favorite.”
Two new, unusual novels are among the books Snow Goose Books
recommends for the fiction readers on your gift list. The first, The
Heartsong of Charging Elk by James Welch, is loosely based on real events in
the life of a Native American who became a performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild
West Show. Owner Chris Satterlund says, “This would be a great book for a book
group. Snow Goose bookseller Kristine Kaufman offers Ella Minnow Pea:
A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable by Mark Dunn, about an
imaginary land where residents must learn to communicate with fewer and fewer
letters of the alphabet. Kaufman
says, “There are no other books like it.
It’s clever, but it’s also a good story.”
Another unique work of fiction recommended by Krista Hunter
of Village Books is British Columbia author Nick Bantock’s latest offering, The
Gryphon, which is the fourth in a series of beautifully illustrated, fantastic
novels that includes Griffin and Sabine, Sabine’s Notebook, and The Golden
Mean. Hunter says, “If
you’ve never taken a look at Nick’s books you’ll be in for quite a treat.
Not only is he a wonderful storyteller, but his tremendous artistic talents are
amazingly integrated into each of his books. And The Gryphon continues
this intriguing, visual feast.”
As might be expected in the wake of the September 11
terrorist attacks, books about American and
Middle Eastern culture have become more popular.
Michelle Erickson of Boekhandel in Lynden says, “People want more
information on Afghanistan and what’s happening in the world,” and Megan
Scott O’Bryan of Scott’s confirms this trend. “We have a four-shelf
display area on related subjects, including comparative religions, democracy,
and biological warfare,” she says. Several
of the recommended non-fiction titles will
appeal to readers interested in celebrating America: Portraits of
America by William Albert Allard and My Story as Told by Water, by
Oregon author David James Duncan, The
Pacific Northwest Landscape: A
Painted History by Kitty Harmon (editor) and Jonathan Raban (introduction),
and Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers. Of the Allard book, which is a
collection of photographs of people and places throughout the United States,
Chris Satterlund says, “It makes you feel that there’s a lot to love about
the country.” Hunter, who
recommends Duncan’s book as her top non-fiction gift item, describes the
collection of essays as “a lovesong to wild places” and adds that it has
already garnered a National Book Award recommendation.
“People have shown a resurgence of interest in memoirs,”
notes O’Bryan, and she recommends Terry Ryan’s memoir, The Prize Winner
of Defiance, Ohio, about her mother’s success entering jingle-writing
contests, as a “quirky, funny, sad, and honest” selection. Tiger Woods’
memoir/how-to book, How I Play Golf, recommended by Michelle Erickson,
will likely appeal to sports fans. Besides memoirs, several new biographies are
suggested as good holiday gifts. For history buffs, O’Bryan recommends John
Adams by David McCullough. “The
Pulitzer Prize-winning author breathes new life into our second President, an
interesting man who led an amazing life,” she says. Krista Hunter suggests Mark
Twain: An Illustrated Biography
by Geoffrey C. Ward, Dayton Duncan, and Ken Burns. “Their books are richly illustrated and illuminating and no
one can resist Mark Twain,” she says. “This should be a great Christmas gift
for just about anyone.”
Other non-fiction of note includes Cold Zero:
Inside the FBI Hostage Rescue Team by Christopher Whitcomb, which
Chris Satterlund describes as “funny and wildly entertaining,” and Last
Breath: Cautionary Tales from the
Limits of Human Endurance by Peter Stark. This book, which Megan Scott
O’Bryan describes as “fascinating,” “explores how your body dies—the
actual physiological and psychological stages—in a variety of situations, from
hypothermia to drowning.” Another
non-fiction title suitable for adults and children in the publication National
Geographic: The Wildlife
Photographs by John G. Mitchell. “These
are amazing, breathtaking photographs of birds and animals in the wild,” says
O’Bryan. “Quite simply, it is a
beautiful book.”
Several book buyers commented that buying books for children
is an important and powerful way to encourage them to develop a love of reading.
They had many favorites in this category and had trouble narrowing their
choices to just one book. For young adults, both O’Bryan and Satterlund
recommend first-time novelist Ann Brashares’ Sisterhood of the Traveling
Pants, about four friends who undergo life-changing events during the first
summer they are separated. O’Bryan says the book is “a great feel-good
story” that has “great girl characters.”
She also recommends Robert Cormier’s last novel, The Rag and Bone
Shop, about a twelve-year-old boy who is the subject of intense police
questioning after being the last person to see a neighbor girl alive.
For younger children, Village Books’ children’s book
buyer Jeanne Fondrie recommends Kingdom of the Sun: A Book of Planets by Jacqueline Mitton, illustrated by
Christina Balit. This book about
the planets “is written by a distinguished astronomer and has wonderful
illustrations. Enchanting!” Fondrie says.
O’Bryan recommends Enemy Pie by Derek Munson.
“We LOVE this book,” she says. “It has great illustrations,
wonderful story, fantastic father character, and a timely message about how to
treat your ‘enemies’.” She also suggests Olivia Saves the Circus by
Ian Falconer, a recommendation echoed by Michelle Erickson at Boekhandel.
“It’s not often that a picture book sequel actually surpasses the
original for cuteness and originality, but Olivia Saves the Circus does
just that,” O’Bryan says. She describes the protagonist, Olivia, as “the greatest
porcine character since Wilbur in Charlotte’s Web.”
Maybe you’ll still buy that tie for Grandpa Chuck or a big
box of gourmet chocolates for Aunt Marge. But consider the ideas offered by
local booksellers—there are thousands of ideas in every bookstore for all of
the readers on your list, young and old, and books are presents that last.
“They make wonderful gifts,” says Michelle Erickson. “Reading stays with you. You can get lost in stories over
and over again.”
Book Buyers’ Holiday Gift Giving Guide
FICTION
Bantock, Nick. The
Gryphon: In Which the Extraordinary
Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine is Rediscovered.
Chronicle Books, 2001. $19.95.
Chevalier, Tracy. Girl With a Pearl Earring.
Plume, 2001. $13.00.
Chevalier, Tracy. Falling Angels. E.P. Dutton, 2001.
$24.95.
Dunn, Mark. Ella
Minnow Pea: A Progressively
Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable. MacAdam/Cage Publications, 2001. $22.00.
Franzen, Jonathan. The Corrections. Farrar Strauss
and Giroux; 2001. $26.00.
Welch, James. The Heartsong of Charging Elk. Anchor
Books, 2001. $14.00.
NON-FICTION
Ambrose, Stephen. Band
of Brothers: E Company, 506th
Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest.
Touchstone Books, 2001. $16.00.
Duncan, David James. My Story as Told by Water.
Random House, 2001. $24.95.
Harmon, Kitty (editor), Jonathan Raban (Introduction).
The Pacific Northwest Landscape:
A Painted History. Sasquatch
Books, 2001. $21.95.
McCullough, David. John
Adams. Simon & Schuster,
2001. $35.00.
Ryan, Terry. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My
Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less. Simon and Schuster, 2001. $24.00.
Terkel, Studs. Will
the Circle Be Unbroken? Reflections
of Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith.
New Press, 2001. $25.95.
Whitcomb, Christopher.
Cold Zero: Inside the FBI Hostage Rescue Team.
Little Brown and Company, 2001. $25.95.
SPECIAL INTEREST
Allard, William Albert, and Richard Ford (foreword). Portraits
of America. National Geographic
Society, 2001. $50.00.
Burns, Ken, and Geoffrey C. Ward, and Dayton Duncan.
Mark Twain: An Illustrated Biography. Knopf, 2001.
$40.00.
Mitchell, John G. National
Geographic: The Wildlife Photos.
National Geographic Society, 2001. $50.00.
Stark, Peter. Last Breath: Cautionary Tales from the Limits of Human Endurance. Ballantine
Books, 2001. $24.00.
Woods, Tiger. How I Play Golf. Warner Books, 2001.
$34.95.
CHILDREN’S
Lovell, Patty, and David Catrow (Illustrator), Stand
Tall, Molly Lou Melon. Putnam
Publishing Group, 2001. $14.00.
Mitton, Jacqueline, and Christina Balit (illustrator).
Kingdom of the Sun: A Book
of the Planets. National
Geographic Society, 2001, $16.95.
Munson, Derek, and Tara Calaban King (illustrator).
Enemy Pie. Chronicle Books, 2001.
$14.95.
YOUNG ADULT
Brashares, Ann. The
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Delacorte Press, 2001.
$14.95.
Cormier, Robert. The Rag and Bone Shop. Delacorte,
2001. $15.95.
