Forget the shortages
There are lots of great gift books for Christmas
You’ve probably heard that the supply-chain crisis has been particularly hard on bookstores. These next few weeks, the most sought-after titles could be frustratingly sought after, even after you’ve stopped soughting on Christmas Eve.
But here’s what I say: Great gift books — great gifts! — come out of left field. Plus, most likely, the best readers on your shopping list are curious by nature. In other words, don’t sweat that supply chain this year, and forget what’s expected. What everyone is desperate for is not usually what gets a smile on Christmas morning.
The children’s classic
One of my favorite book gifts to give has been something, anything, from the posterity-minded folks at the Folio Society in the U.K. (Don’t worry, they also have a U.S. shipping point.) New this fall is a handsome box set of Roald Dahl classics ($115) with Quentin Blake illustrations: “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “James and the
Giant Peach” and “The Twits.” The cover fabric is nearly tweedy.
For the Marvel fan who has everything
“The Story of Marvel Studios” ($150) is the authorized history of the franchise that ate Hollywood, which means it reads like a fraction of the probing, lesspolite history someone will eventually write. (This thing is so uplifting, Robert Downey Jr.’s afterward inserts a Maya Angelou quote.) Now the fun part: “Marvel Classic Black Light Posters” ($125) is an actual Hulking portfolio, a recreation of the 12 DayGlo posters that Marvel sold mostly though head shops in the early 1970s. A handful were created by Jack Kirby. Silver Surfer rides a rainbow, Captain America smashes the margins of the panel itself. It’s a big (20 by 30 inches) smile of a treat.
The Roger Ebert memorial landfill
“For Promotional Use Only: A Catalog of Hollywood Movie Swag and Promo Merch from 1975-2005” ($52) arrives via production house A24, which apparently just ran with this clever archive of total junk. Who is it for? No idea, and yet here is page after page of the sort of freebies that journalists receive in the mail, to remind them that “The Color Purple” (satin jacket) or “Kill Bill” (letter opener) is coming soon. A cataloging of “Fargo” letter shredders, “Waterworld” mini-tomato plants and “Twister” neckties.
Tolerable Christmas morning nostalgia
“Toys: 100 Years of All-American Toy Ads” ($40) is exactly that, the Sears Christmas catalog you never get now, minus the tool section. Think 500-plus pages of toys, from windup tin cars made in Freeport, Ill., to MC Hammer dolls. There’s scant history between the ads, but that’s welcome. “Pac-Man: Birth of an Icon” ($75) does exactly what a good coffee table history should do, it goes deeply into every aspect of a very specific thing. I mean, there’s one page here on whether the PacMan ghosts are actually monsters.
Sir Paul, pen pusher
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from another coffee table book of rock lyrics. I certainly didn’t expect more of “The Lyrics” ($100) by Paul McCartney. Though at 79, he seems to recognize these songs are the same as autobiography. He writes personal history, then, for each of the 154 songs in this two-volume set, an essay, a reminiscence or a clarification. Filled out with candids and Beatles ephemera, it’s all pretty absorbing: He still isn’t sure about the opening chord of “Hard Day’s Night,” and when Michael Jackson called to work on “Say Say Say,” his first thought was: How did this girl get my number?
Fantasy baseball camp
Longtime sports writer Joe Posnanski must not like peace and quiet because no sensible person would assemble 800 pages arguing for the 100 greatest baseball players without wanting a fight. That said, I love “The Baseball 100” ($40) so much, to be frank, I haven’t finished it yet; I keep throwing it across the room — Derek Jeter, better than Carlton Fisk!? — only to return a day or two later. He doesn’t compare players so much as write lively pocket profiles of each, making ample room for the Negro Leagues and Japanese players, honoring and expanding our thoughts about the game. (Never heard of Oscar Charleston? He was better than Ted Williams.)