Great Gift Books for Adults
Posted on December 3, 2013 at 6:00 am
by Debra Park
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Goldfinch follows an old-fashioned theme of loss and obsession yet is written with details to alert all one’s senses. Initially, thirteen-year-old Theo Decker survives an accident in New York that kills his mother. He becomes obsessed with a painting that reminds him of his mother. Later, as Theo moves between worlds of rich art collectors and the antique store where he works, the plot grows increasingly urgent.
$30
Sister, Mother, Husband, Dog: Etc. by Delia Ephron
Ephron’s collection of essays about her career, her family, and a special story about the loss of her sister, she provides delightful entertainment. Not exactly a memoir but layered with humor.
Her essays switch between family phobias and obsessions, laughter and tears.
$26
Day Hiking: Eastern Washington – Kettles-Selkirks, Columbia Plateau, Blue Mountains by Rich Landers
Day Hiking: Eastern Washington features 125 day hikes throughout the eastern Washington region, roughly covering the area of the state east of Highway 97. These hikes cross the Spokane area, the state’s wine country, the eastern reaches of the Columbia River, and much more. Maps, photographs and local history galore.
$19
Aida Mollenkamp’s Keys to the Kitchen: The Essential Reference for Becoming a More Accomplished, Adventurous Cook by Aida Mollencamp
A comprehensive manual of more than 300 innovative and contemporary recipes, color photographs, and helpful how-to information on a wide-range of subjects. A gift book destined to be kept close to the kitchen.
$35
The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida
A 13-year-old Japanese author describes his autism using questions and answers and short fictional stories. Higashida explains why he and others with autism do the things they do and bares his soul sharing questions people ask. He shares his wisdom and charm in this one-of-a-kind memoir.
$22
Great design by Philip Wilkinson
Enjoy a visually delightful coffee-table book with glorious photographs of 100 great designs from around the world. From the ordinary to the avant-garde, this book documents what we use and value today.
$ 30
The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Goodwin’s latest biography of the friendship and later political competition between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft sounds much like today’s current events. Newspaper headlines serve as the backdrop for The Bully Pulpit – a dynamic history of the first decade of the Progressive era in the United States. Goodwin’s research of primary materials, includes more than four hundred letters between Roosevelt and Taft.
$40
Night of the Comet by George Bishop
Illuminating and unforgettable, The Night of the Comet is a novel about the challenges of growing up and the hope that love and redemption can be found among the stars. Set in the 1973, with the comet Kohoutek drawing close to earth, a family in Louisiana connects around a telescope given as a birthday gift from the father, an amateur astronomer/teacher of science.
$25
Dissident Gardens by Jonathan Lethem
This novel is predicted to be a hit among those who enjoy political satire. Lethem has crafted a hilarious satire of American ideas and Utopian dreams. One reviewer predicts Dissident Gardens might just be the next Big American Novel and another compares Lethem to Philip Roth.
$28
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
How about a bittersweet love story for a holiday read? Don Tillman, a genetics professor, struggles with social encounters; he has never been on a second date. The Rosie Project allows the reader to laugh throughout quirky and unforgettable encounters.
