Reading Local's 2009 Last-Minute Holiday Shopping Guide

Welcome to Reading Local’s 2009 Last-Minute Holiday Shopping Guide!  If you are anything like me (i.e. not a planner) Christmas shopping is often done at the last minute.  Or perhaps you are a planner, but are still in search of one last gift to give your friend or loved one.  So as this Holiday shopping season nears the finish line, I figured that I might make things a little less stressful for those of you with shopping left to do by providing some recommendations of books from local authors/publishers that will make you the toast of Christmas morning!

Disclaimers- The way the list is organized is not meant to pigeon hole these books into that age group only.  I had to organize them some way, and this felt to me as the clearest way to do so.  Obviously a majority of these books would work across the age groups within which I placed them.  I tried to spread the love around, but as you will see this list is biased towards how I would shop for my own family.  I will have to rely upon those of you who have families who love poetry, graphic novels, zines, and all of the other categories that aren’t equally represented, to leave recommendations in the comments below. All prices are list prices from the publisher, although you can find several of them for better prices at your local neighborhood bookstores.

Again, please feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments below!

0-8 Year Old:

Awake to Nap (Sasquatch Books-$9.95) by Nikki McClure- I came across this board book at Reading Frenzy and felt compelled to buy it after reading how McClure created the books distinct artwork while her newborn baby slept, a story which resonated with a stay-at-home daddy like myself.  We still read it two or three times a day.

The Secret Circus (Roaring Brook-$16.95) by Johanna Wright- I didn’t know about Ms. Wright until she was featured on an episode of OPB’s Art Beat.  The Secret Circus, of which Wright is both the author and illustrator, tells the story of “a circus in Paris, under a carousel near the Eiffel Tower, that is so secret, only the mice know how to find it.”

Other recommendations- Daddy’s Home! (Candy Cane Press) by Rosanne Parry w/ Illustrations by David Leonard

9-12 Year Old:

Heart of a Shepherd (Random House-$15.99) by Rosanne Parry- Kirkus Reviews named Heart of a Shepherd one of the Best Books of the Year for 2009.  The book tells the story of Brother, a young boy who is determined to maintain the family ranch following his fathers deployment to Iraq.

Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck (Random House-$16.99) by Dale E. Basye- The second book in Basye’s popular “Heck” series, Rapacia continues the saga of Marlo and her kid brother Milton as they seek a way to reunite following Marlo’s banishment to the second circle of Heck.

Other recommendations- Keep On! The Story of Matthew Henson (Peach Tree) by Deborah Hopkinson; Diego: Bigger Than Life (Marshall Cavendish) by Carmen Bernier-Grand

13-20 Year Old Female:

Lips Touch: Three Times (Arthur A. Levine Books- $17.99) by Laini Taylor- A Junior Library Guild selection and National Book Award Finalist, Lips Touch combines three short novellas each with an “out-of-place” female protagonist whose “tales of supernatural love all hinge on a life-changing kiss.”

Everything Was Fine Until Whatever (Future Tense- $17.99) by Chelsea Martin- This was one of my favorite books of the year.  A quirky bit of fun, with a serious undertone.  Everything is Fine is an often times hilarious “collection of stories, lists, flash fictions, and revealing factoids.”

Other recommendations- This Full House (Harper Teen) by Virginia Euwer Wolff; The Book of Knowledge (Cbay Books) by David Michael Slater

13-20 Year Old Male:

Destroy All Cars (Scholastic Press- $17.99) by Blake Nelson- Described as “a masterpiece from one of the best YA writers at work today,” Destroy All Cars is a story about James Hoff, an idealistic High School student that battles a love/hate relationship with America’s consumerist culture and the girlfriend he feels isn’t doing enough to change it.

Flash Burnout (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt- $16.00) by L.K. Madigan- Chosen for the Winter ’09 Indie Next Kids List, Flash Burnout is an intriguing tale about Blake, and the conflicts that ensue after he snaps a photograph of a street person that as it turns out is the long-lost meth addicted mother of his girlfriend.

Other recommendations- The Pocket Guide to Magic (Gibbs Smith Publishers) by Bart King; Independence Hall (Paw Prints) by Roland Smith

21-34 Year Old Female:

Hello Goodbye (Random House- $17.50) by Emily Chenoweth- Wonderfully profiled by Jeff Baker in The Oregonian, Hello Goodbye draws from Chenoweth’s real life experience to tell the story of “a family’s struggle with love and loss, as a summer vacation becomes an occasion for awakening rather than farewell, and life inevitably blossoms in the face of death.”

Magic Gardens: The Memoirs of Viva Las Vegas (Dame Rocket Press- $14.95) by Viva Las Vegas- Viva Las Vegas is woman of many talents, one of which just so happens to be stripping.  Magic Gardens tells the story of Viva’s life in this industry, while also serving as a no holds barred defense for following one’s dream.

Other recommendations- Evil at Heart (Minotaur Books) by Chelsea Cain; When She Flew (New American Library) by Jennie Shortridge; Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood (Seal Press) by Melissa Hart

21-34 Year Old Male:

I Grew Up In Amaltherey Hill (Patient, Folded Hands- $15.00) by Jaret Ferratusco- Never have I read a book that asked more of me as a reader.  Amaltherey Hill tells the story of a deeply depressed and lonely middle school aged boy.  The language is at once beautiful and stomach churning, and broaches a subject most of society would just as soon ignore.

Portland Noir (Akashic Books- $15.95) edited by Kevin Sampsell- Several of Portland’s top literary talents take turns redefining the Noir genre in Portland’s edition of Akashic’s highly acclaimed series.  Standouts include Floyd Skloot’s Alzheimer’s Noir, Bill Cameron’s Coffee, Black, and Gigi Little’s Shanghaied.

Other recommendations- Couch (Small Beer Press) by Ben Parzybok; Captain Freedom (Harper) by G. Xavier Robillard; Livability (Bloomsbury Publishing PLC) by Jon Raymond

35+ Years Old Female:

My Abandonment (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt- $22.00) by Peter Rock- Depending upon how you interpret My Abandonment, it’s either a story of abduction and deception or a beautiful display of love between a father and his daughter. In any case Rock has done a marvelous job crafting a story out of the unlikeliest of real world events.

The Crying Tree (Broadway Books- $22.95) by Naseem Rakha- A Book Expo America “Emerging Voice” selection and PNBA Awards Finalist, The Crying Tree is an emotional story rooted in the contentious issue of capital punishment, as well as the myriad of ways it disrupts the life’s of all parties involved.

Other recommendations- Paul Newman: A Life (Harmony) by Steve Levy; The Hearts of Horses (Mariner Books) by Molly Gloss; Live Through This (Mariner Books) by Debra Gwartney

35+ Years Old Male:

Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities (OSU Press- $19.95) by Jeff Mapes- In case you weren’t paying attention, or were too busy looking in your review mirror, bikes and the braves souls who power them are taking over.  Mapes, explores this “revolution” with the same journalistic edge he brings to the pages of The Oregonian‘s “Politics” section.

Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel (ABRAMS- $24.95) by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennet- Is he real or fake?  This is the question many ask themselves the first time they come across this fictional 19th Century robot.  Boilerplate is a wonderful work of imagination, and has been beautifully rendered by this husband and wife team.

Other recommendations- One Ring Circus (Schaffner Press) by Katherine Dunn; The Pocket Guide to Brilliance (Gibbs Smith Publishers) by Bart King; Lincoln’s Daughter (Ooligan Press) by Tony Wolk