Books, home video and music: An entertainment gift guide
Swans, geese, hens and turtle doves.
As a guide to holiday giftgiving, “The 12 Days of Christmas” offers a bonanza of gift ideas for bird fanciers, but aside from the drummers and pipers raising a racket at the end, it doesn't offer many suggestions much for the film buffs or pop music fans on your list.
If you want to avoid laying an egg while shopping for these folks, there is one thing out there for everyone on your list: the new Adele album.
Here are 12 more entertaining gift ideas — books, home video and music — if you want to mix it up a little.
BOOKS ‘THE ART OF THE WALKING DEAD UNIVERSE,’ BY MATTHEW K. MANNING (AMC Networks Publishing, $49.99)
“Every time we go out on locations, we have to create the apocalypse,” says a production designer on AMC'S hit zombie series. This fascinating book shows how they do it, from creating elaborate sets such as The Prison and Alexandria, which Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his band of survivors called home for a time, to costumes, dozens of improvised weapons and the chilling graffiti painted on abandoned buildings. For those who trace their “Walking Dead” fandom to the comic books that inspired the series, there is a section of fine art prints to gawk at.
‘DAVID COPPERFIELD’S HISTORY OF MAGIC’ (Simon & Schuster, $35)
David Copperfield's grandscale illusions (remember when he made the Statue of Liberty disappear?) made him a star in the '80s. It also made him wealthy enough to amass a collection of props, posters, photographs and books to fill a private museum devoted to the history of magic. This book presents a rare public tour of the wonders contained there, including Harry Houdini's straitjacket and Doug Henning's metamorphosis trunk.
‘RENEGADES: BORN IN THE USA,’ BY BARACK OBAMA AND BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (Crown, $50)
In the summer of 2020, as the United States was reeling from the pandemic and the fallout from the George Floyd murder, Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen sat down for a wide-ranging conversation that would become their eight-episode podcast “Renegades: Born in the USA.” This book contains the transcripts of those podcasts, but there's much more to it for admirers of the 44th president and the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer. It's like a double scrapbook packed with personal photos, speeches and song lyrics, and trivia connected to their
conversations about music and American history.
‘SPIKE,’ BY SPIKE LEE (Chronicle Chrome, $50)
From “She's Gotta Have It” to “Da Five Bloods,” director Spike Lee walks fans through his 40year movie career in this book shaped like a movie screen. It's mostly photos shot on set by Lee's brother, David, with occasional commentary. Lee also wrote the screenplays for most of his movies, but “Spike” drives home how many indelible images he's captured on film in movies such as “Do the Right Thing,” “Malcolm X,” “25th Hour” and “Blackkklansman.”
HOME VIDEO ‘COLUMBIA CLASSICS 4K ULTRA HD COLLECTION VOLUME 2’ (Sony Pictures, $164.99)
This six-movie box — plus a book — is the gift for the family that has a TV in every room, or one film lover with wide-ranging tastes. It includes the Jimmy Stewart legal drama “Anatomy of a Murder,” the Oscar-winning musical “Oliver!,” Martin Scorsese's New York nightmare “Taxi Driver,” the Jane Austen adaptation “Sense and Sensibility” and “The Social Network,” the 2010 account of the creation of Facebook. Great movies all, but no one will judge you if you start with Bill Murray's military comedy “Stripes.”
‘DUNE’ (Arrow Video, $59.99)
Director Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of the science fiction classic “Dune” is one of the most talked-about films of the year. Some who saw David Lynch's version of “Dune” in 1984, which starred Kyle Maclachlan, remain loyal to his vision of the futuristic epic. This deluxe reissue is for them. It includes a new, ultrahigh-definition restoration of the movie; a book; poster and lobby cards; and several new behindthe-scenes features, including an interview with members of the band Toto — this was the '80s, remember? — about writing the film's score.
‘SEX AND THE CITY: THE COMPLETE SERIES + FILMS’ (Warner Bros., $139.99)
Without Samantha Jones, the “Sex and the City” sequel might as well be called “The City,” or, as HBO Max would have it, “And Just Like That,” a new, Samantha-free series that begins streaming Thursday. Fans of Kim Cattrall's voracious, fun-loving character can more than make do with this box set, which includes all six seasons of the landmark series, which ran from 1998 to 2004, and the two theatrical movies that followed.
‘STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES’ (Paramount, $111.99)
Actor William Shatner recently spent a few minutes in space aboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. He owes the trip, of course, to the three seasons he spent in the 1960s starring as Capt. James T. Kirk in “Star Trek.” Fans of the series already may have all 79 episodes on Blu-ray, but they have been reissued in shiny, limited-edition Steelbook cases ideal for gift-giving. For completists, there's also a new box set of the four original “Star Trek” theatrical movies on 4K UHD Blu-ray discs (Paramount, $90.99).
MUSIC THE ROLLING STONES, ‘TATTOO YOU’ (Interscope, $35.98 vinyl, $19.98 CD)
Many believe “Tattoo You,” which turned 40 this year, was the Rolling Stones' last great album, bookended by “Start Me Up” and “Waiting on a Friend.” The band has marked the occasion with a reissue that includes a bonus disc with nine songs, including a cover of Dobie Gray's “Drift Away” and an alternate version of “Start Me Up.” A deluxe box set version ($149.99 CD, $197.98 vinyl) adds a 1992 concert recording plus a book with photos from recording sessions for “Tattoo You” and an interview with that album's producer.
BOB DYLAN, ‘SPRINGTIME IN NEW YORK: THE BOOTLEG SERIES VOL. 16 (1980-1985)’ (Columbia Records, $45 vinyl, $22 CD)
The early '80s aren't anyone's idea of one of Bob Dylan's classic periods. The albums he released in the five-year span covered by this compilation are “Shot of Love,” “Infidels” and “Empire Burlesque.” But because he's Bob Dylan, there are a bunch of good songs here, and a few great ones, including “Blind Willie Mctell,” which surfaced in 1991 on the first of Dylan's “Bootleg Series” collections, and “New Danville Girl,” a version of the “Empire Burlesque” song “Brownsville Girl” in which the singer raves about Gregory Peck and sleeps near the Alamo.
ARETHA FRANKLIN, ‘ARETHA’ (Rhino, $59.98)
At last there's a compilation fit for the Queen of Soul, covering her work over six decades for multiple record labels. It stretches from her first single in 1956 to her 2014 cover of Adele's “Rolling in the Deep.” Along the way there are timeless hits such as “Respect” and “Chain of Fools,” lesser known gems like “Day Dreaming,” later hits such as “Freeway of Love” and “Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves” as well as iconic moments like “Think” from the “Blues Brothers” soundtrack and the version of “(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman” that she sang at the Kennedy Honors.
DAVID BOWIE, ‘BRILLIANT ADVENTURE’ (1992-2001) (Rhino, $399.98 vinyl, $159.98 CD)
This box set compiles albums Bowie released around the turn of the century, including “Black Tie White Noise,” “Outside,” “Earthling,” the soundtrack to “Buddha of Suburbia” and a live album. The prize, though, is the lost album “Toy,” a collection of old and new songs Bowie recorded with his touring band, including guitarist Earl Slick and bass player Gail Ann Dorsey, and then shelved. “Toy” will be released on its own in January.