What We’re Reading: The Liter-nerdy Holiday Gift Guide
Last minute shoppers, rest easy. We’ve got you covered for every wordy nerd on your list here at Hazel & Wren with these recent releases packaged up for your easy purusing pleasure. Behold, the Hazel & Wren Liter-nerdy Holiday Gift Guide!
For the outdoorsy, environmental reader: My Green Manifesto by David Gessner (Milkweed Editions)
Environmentalism is fun AND meaningful with David Gessner in his most recent book of nonfiction, chronicling his journey down Boston’s Charles River, to find a new kind of environmentalism. (Throw another book or two in your cart, and Milkweed will send you a FREE limited-edition, letterpress chapbook called Winter Fiction. Totally worth it for this letterpress nut. I got mine in the mail today, and boy-oh-boy, I almost started believing in Santa again.)
For the true fiction reader: Round House by Louise Erdrich (Harper)
The 2012 National Book Award winner from well-known author Louise Erdrich is an easy choice for any true fiction lover. The main character, a teenage boy, grapples with the violence of his North Dakota reservation, including an attack on his mother.
For the graphic novel-devouring reader: Building Stories by Chris Ware (Pantheon)
From the guy who penned Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (which Timothy reviewed here), we get a box (yes, a box, not a book) of 14 different comics in different formats: magazine, newspaper, different sized strips, pamphlets, etc. Dig in with all you’ve got with this one, folks.
For the classic-with-a-twist reader: Dante Alighieri: Inferno, translation and introduction by Mary Jo Bang, illustrations by Henrik Drescher (Graywolf Press).
By far the heaviest book of its size on my shelf, this book is a piece of art. Printed on art-quality paper, poet Mary Jo Bang puts her stamp on the classic epic for our age. Publishers Weekly says “This will be the Dante for the next generation.” In her introduction, Bang describes how she lovingly broke down the original text and brought it into a contemporary space, with our vernacular language and idioms. Henrik Drescher’s quirky drawings on almost every page bring another element of beautiful irreverence to this translation.
For the bookstore-browsing reader: Read This! Handpicked Favorites From America’s Indie Bookstores (Coffee House Press)
I reviewed this book when it came out, and still can’t help flipping through the pages now and again. Initiated by Hans Weyandt, co-owner of Micawbers Books in St. Paul, MN, this is a collection of favorite books from bookstore owners, managers, and employees from independent bookstores around the nation. Take it with you as a tour guide on your next visit to one of the cities, or use it to figure out which book you’re going to pick up next. A gem among gems.
For the lit-mag drooling reader: Revolver
Eegads, there are just so many options with this. For smart, solid, new literary magazine, Revolver just came out with their first print issue, Oblivions, JUST IN TIME for the holidays. With the tagline of “rowdy reading,” the issue includes the fantastic likes of Alex Lemon (a personal favorite), Lightsey Darst, Laird Hunt, Bao Phi, and more.
For the Minnesota-loving reader: Thirty Two Magazine
I just reviewed this beauty last week here. It’s the perfect blend of proud-to-be-Minnesotan culture, arts, literary, current affairs, and more. Smartly designed and written, it also features a variety of formats, including longer, investigative pieces alongside shorter blurbs, or page-long creative essays.
Do you see any books that are plainly missing? What books are on your holiday wish list?
Psst. Need something for a letterpress-lover? Check out our Hazel & Wren 30% off sale on all sassy limited-edition letterpress wordy prints!
This week’s “What We’re Reading” is more of a “What We Should Be Reading.” Have you ever started a book, and then either gotten really busy, misplaced it, or started another one? I have three of those lying on my desk, begging for some attention. Well, this weekend, they’re getting finished. And since they’re all so wonderful in their own way, here they are, for your reading pleasure.
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins (the quirky one). You either love him or ya hate him. Tom Robbins, that is. He spins a fantastical, stinky, sexy tale about immortality, beets, and perfume. Following four different story lines, this novel is busting at the seams. Don’t miss the underlying themes of religion (Christianity versus the Greek goat-god Pan, hence the stench), the powers of scent, Transcendentalism – oh, and lots of sex, which seems to be a trend with Robbins’ books. Sometimes Robbins is so quirky that his writing gets lost, but overall, it’s been an enjoyable read.
The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni (the most lovable). I started this one for Books & Bars last month, and I still haven’t had time to finish it. The main character, an extremely sheltered teenager who has grown up with his slightly kooky grandmother in a geodesic dome in Iowa, won my heart. His quirky speech patterns, his curious innocence, and his confusing journey and relationships outside of the dome, along with his fateful introduction to punk music, definitely resonated with the Books & Bars crowd – myself included.
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich (the true literary one). Everyone should read Louise Erdrich. Or at least that’s what I was told. So when I happened upon this book at a used book sale, I snapped it up. It’s definitely not the same easy read as The House of Tomorrow, but it’s masterfully woven and earns every bit of praise. The complex relationships of the two main Native American families are written with great dialogue, mysticism, and an unflinching eye for life’s complications. The characters are impulsive, intuitive, and at the same time, no-nonsense. This is a novel that will shape up your literary spine.
What books have you neglected lately? Any great ones worth finishing?
