Gift suggestions

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, December 2015; written by Lisa Pearson.

As the holiday shopping season shifts into high gear, I would like to point out that the public library is an excellent place to browse for gift ideas. We stock a wide variety of books, music CDs, videos and magazines suitable for a range of ages and interests. Picking out a cookbook, picture book or magazine subscription for someone is so much easier when you can actually flip through the pages and see what you are buying. To get you started, I’ll give you some suggestions for books that have caught my eye recently here at the library.

For someone with an interest in art and/or technology, try “Digital Handmade”, by Lucy Johnston. This is a gorgeous piece of eye candy that displays the various ways in which artists are using computers to design - and, in many cases, produce - their art. 3-D printing, computer controlled wood lathes, CAD designs and digital photography have all been used to create beautiful, innovative and intricate works of sculpture, textile art and portraiture.

Parents will benefit from the new trend in craft books for families: dad craft. I dislike the implication that only Dads get to do fun things like build PVC catapults, skateboard surf waves from tarps, and backyard zip lines (and it’s just as wrong to assume that only Moms can teach kids to bake and sew). But, generally speaking, these are books written by dads for dads. Two of the most recent ones we’ve added to the collection are “Dad’s Book of Awesome Projects”, by Mike Adamick and “Handy Dad in the Great Outdoors”, by Todd Davis. There are a variety of age levels for the kids and skill levels for the parents, from a simple game of flashlight tag to making homemade ice cream to building a 14-foot-tall tepee. Adamick’s book leans more towards crafts, while Davis is more about outdoor adventuring. Either is full of fun, out-of-the-ordinary ideas for parents and kids.

This year was the 150th anniversary of the publication of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, by Lewis Carroll, and if you have an Alice fan on your list you should consider the beautiful annotated edition edited by Martin Gardner. Published specifically to celebrate this sesquicentennial, “The Annotated Alice” is full of definitions, commentary and backstory from expert Gardner, as well as illustrations from the dozens of different artists who have contributed to previous editions of Alice in Wonderland, including a 1975 Australian Aboriginal version by Byron Sewell where Alice cradles a bandicoot instead of a pig.

For fans of classic literature and graphic novels, try “Plotted: a Literary Atlas” by Andrew DeGraff. This is a fascinating collection of intricately-drawn maps and diagrams that correspond to famous literary works. Some of these represent journeys taken by the protagonists: Odysseus, Phineas Fogg, and Huckleberry Finn. Other journeys are more metaphorical: the emotional island of Robinson Crusoe, Godot’s waiting room, the tesseract of Madeline L’Engle, and the intertwining relationships in “Pride and Prejudice” (one of my favorite pieces in DeGraff’s work). This is a ‘where’s Waldo’ book for adults, and will surely make you seek out one or more of these literary icons for re-reading.

Cookbooks are always hard to select, as you need to keep the cooking skills and taste preferences of the recipient in mind. The “Theo Chocolate” cookbook by Debra Music is a delicious book, but not for someone who’s on a diet. And not everyone is ready to take on the prep work involved in “Maangchi’s Real Korean Cooking” by Maangchi. In order to pick out an appropriate cookbook, you need to be able to look at the ingredients, techniques and glossy pictures of the finished project. Library shelves are perfect for this. In terms of all-around compatibility, America’s Test Kitchen has just published a nice choice: “The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook”. Each of the 700+ recipes are fully explained, with labels for vegan, quick and gluten-free recipes. They also include the science behind how each recipe works, as well as helpful tips (such as spraying a plastic cutting board with vegetable oil before slicing raw beets to prevent staining).

Whatever your budget, and whoever your recipient, you are sure to find something inspiring on the shelf in a more enjoyable fashion than scrolling through webpages. And, since our local Southeast bookstores are happy to special-order, you can support the local economy at the same time.