One last gift idea:


I totally covet this vintage-style wooden "Library" sign from Three Potato Four. The sign was inspired by public library signage from the 1950s, and costs a (relatively) reasonable $38. If I hadn't already given my nearest and dearest an insanely detailed Christmas wish list, I'd ask for this... although my birthday is in January, and we may be revisiting the issue.

Labels: Gifts, Holiday

It's December, and that means it's time for Wordcandy to release our annual Holiday Gift Guide! We've chosen a variety of deeply awesome potential gifts for the bibliophiles on your shopping list, any (or all) of which we would be delighted to receive ourselves.

1. Chatty Nora posters (approximately $20)


These pen-drawn posters feature quotes from authors ranging from Mark Twain (above) to Dr. Seuss.

2. Coralie Bickford-Smith's F. Scott Fitzgerald "Hardcover Classics" editions ($25, but seemingly difficult to find)


Bickford-Smith is the designer responsible for Penguin's gorgeous line of Hardcover Classics, but these Art Deco-inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald editions might be her best work yet.

3. Caroline Hadilaksono's Harry Potter prints ($50)


We've geeked out over these prints before, so we were straight-up thrilled when Ms. Hadilaksono released a third image (above).

4. Book Rest Lamp (between $80 and $50, if you can catch it on sale)


Pretty snazzy, huh? It's unclear if this book lamp provides enough light to actually, y'know, read by, but it looks great.

5. Scout Books' "Good Inks" editions ($4)


The fine people at Scout Books have released a limited collection of short stories, each written by a classic American author and illustrated by a contemporary artist. They're eye-catching, and you can't beat that price.

6. White's Books "Fine Editions" (approximately $17)


How have I missed these? This UK publisher hasn't released many books in this line, but I need to own this edition of of Pride and Prejudice. Like, yesterday.

7. Library Candles ($25)


Of course, we're hoping these scents are inspired by the authors' work, rather than the authors themselves... because we suspect Edgar Allan Poe didn't actually smell that great.

8. Penguin's "Classics Deluxe" editions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach ($15)



Yes, I need to own these, too. And it's a good thing I'm stopping here, because the "buy one gift for someone else; buy one gift for myself" formula is sounding more and more attractive right now...

Labels: Gifts, Holiday, lists

It's that time of year again, dear readers—time for our annual list of Wordcandy-friendly gift suggestions! Behold ten of our favorite book-related goods ranging in price from $10 to $100:

1.Jonathan Adler Bookends for Barnes and Noble, $39.99 We usually find Mr. Adler's mod-art sculptures adorable but overpriced, so we were delighted when he teamed up with Barnes and Noble to produce several items in the forty dollar range. We're particularly coveting these Dachshund bookends. Cute, huh?


*Please note that between now and December 2nd, B&N is running a buy one, get one 50% off promotion for all their "Home and Gift" items. See? We are all about saving you money.

2.Penguin Classic Editions for Anthropologie, $16.99 These beautifully embossed editions of five classic children's books will be widely available next spring, but for now you can only buy them at Anthropologie stores (which means, sadly, there's almost no chance of them going on sale):


3.The Little Prince: The Deluxe Pop-Up Edition, $35.00 Don't waste this gorgeous pop-up book on any little kids on your list (they'll just ruin it), but it would make a lovely gift for any grown-up art fans:


4.Book Safes by Pommes Frites, $20.00 to $40.00 As longtime readers of the site know, we usually disapprove of destroying books (even books we dislike). However, the proprietor of the Pommes Frites Etsy Shop states that all of their book safes are made from "ethically sourced" books—neither new nor rare, but books at the end of their life spans:


5. Hallmark Dr. Seuss ornaments Hallmark produced a line of Dr. Suess-inspired ornaments between 1999 and 2006. Hunting these suckers down can be a challenge (search online, and be sure to compare prices!), but the end product is colorful and sturdy, making it a great kid gift:


6. It's a Book by Lane Smith, $12.99 Okay, we think this book is utterly awesome, but if you're giving it to a small child, warn their parents that they might want to substitute the word "donkey" for "jackass" when they read it aloud. We don't want to be even indirectly responsible for some kid getting kicked out of preschool for quoting the soon-to-be-classic line "It's a book, jackass!":


7.Sense and Sensibility: the Graphic Novel, $19.99 Sadly, the text for this Marvel adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel was contributed by Nancy Butler (who also penned their mediocre-at-best Pride and Prejudice series), but the artwork is by Wordcandy favorite Sonny Liew, making it a must-buy for any Austen/comic book fan.


8.Ode to Julia Child in towel form, $10 Elloh's Etsy Shop offers several literature-friendly towels, and while we lean towards this Julia Child-inspired option, you could be drying your dishes with a Mr. Darcy-themed towel as well.


9.The Thomas Keller Boxed Gift Set: French Laundry Cookbook + Ad Hoc at Home, $100.00 Normally we would scoff at paying this much for a cookbook (and even online, this sucker is expensive), but Mr. Keller's chocolate chip cookie recipe—which we found on Baking Bites, much to our eternal gratitude—has made us believers. Those cookies are practically worth a hundred dollars by themselves.


10.Lynd Ward: Six Novels in Woodcuts, $70.00 With a forward by Art Spiegelman, this box set offers all six of the gorgeous, wordless novels of wood engraver and illustrator Lynd Ward (1905-85), one of America's first and finest graphic novelists.

Good luck, happy shopping, and we hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

Labels: Gifts, Holiday, lists, Shopping

Aw... in a particularly cool move, Powell's Books is celebrating Earth Day by giving away a free reusable Powell's tote bag with the purchase of any three used books.

This offer is good through April 22nd, so if you're in the market for some used books now might be the time to pick 'em up.

Labels: Gifts, Giveaways, Powell's Books

In a truly classy gesture*, Jean Schulz (wife of the late Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts) has donated one million dollars towards renovating Sullivant Hall, the future home of the Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University. She also promises another $2.5 million in matching funds, should the university raise that amount.

*And for once, we're not even being sarcastic!

Labels: Comic news, Gifts

Sadly, some of us don't have $50 to spend on our mothers (even if said mothers are worth every penny). If you're shopping for Mom on a limited budget, we suggest hitting up your local Goodwill or Salvation Army for some delicious genre fiction. (Tip: Try to find paperbacks that don't smell like 1,000-year-old cigarettes.) You can usually find a solid stack of mystery or romance titles--you want at least five--for under $10. Tie the books up with some pretty ribbon* and give your mother the gift of a few afternoons' worth of mindless entertainment.

*This present works as-is, but if you're aiming for the coveted "She's the good child" position, we recommend combining it with a batch of cupcakes.

Labels: Gifts, Mother's Day

Many of us woke up this morning, glanced at our calendars, and realized: Sweet Georgia peaches, Mother's Day is this weekend. (Seriously, how did it sneak up on us like this?) So if you're in the market for a last-minute present, we're here to help.

For mothers who live far away, may we suggest a short-term membership to a Netflix-style book rental website? Sites like Booksfree.com offer 3-month memberships for under $50. And while that isn't the world's cheapest Mother's Day option, it has one great advantage: it's an online purchase, so you don't have to ship it, which means your mother will never know that you bought it for her at the last minute!

Labels: Gifts, Mother's Day

Labels: Gifts, Strunk and White

Well, the holiday season is upon us. On the one hand, that means we're broke. But on the other, it also means that we get to compile our annual list of elegant, affordable, Wordcandy-worthy gift items! (It's just like fantasy football, only with shopping.)

Any one of these would make a lovely gift for the bibliophiles on your list:

For anybody (kid version):
Tove Jansson's $20 collected Moomin strips are cool, colorful, and totally insane.



For anybody (adult version):
Penguin's $25 Transit Maps of the World would beautify any coffee table.



For the lady of fashion:
FredFlare is currently featuring several items based on Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. You can pick up a gorgeous copy of the book PLUS this funky "Miss Golightly" necklace for under $30.



For the child with discriminating musical and literary tastes:
Sunny, Robin Mitchell and Judith Steedman's wonderful (and only $16!) kids' book comes with an accompanying 10-song CD that's overflowing with hipster goodness.



For the guys:
Check out this awesome interactive Sherlock Holmes story, The Crimes of Dr. Watson. This $25 book includes letters, newspaper clippings, and more, allowing the reader to test their detective skills.



For the foodie:
Laura Werlin recently appeared on NPR's The Splendid Table to discuss her new book, Laura Werlin's Cheese Essentials ($25). Click here to listen to the podcast.



For the manga reader:

Yotsuba&! calendars follow the Japanese school year (running from April to March), but I would totally love to get one for Christmas. These adorable $26 calendars feature a mixture of Kiyohiko Azuma's artwork and Miho Katuka's photographs.




For the crafty:
If you're artistically inclined, a handmade set of literature-inspired paper dolls (maybe accompanied by a Dover Thrift edition?) would make a wonderful gift. The rest of us should check this site out. They offer $10 paper doll sets for characters ranging from Mansfield Park's Fanny Price to Jane Eyre.



For the Janeite:
Man, who doesn't need a set of $9 "Jane Austen Evil Eye" charm earrings?



For the reader with unadorned walls:
There are several great poster/print shops online, all of which are full of amazing artwork based on vintage book covers. We particularly liked this $50 print of a French edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles (hey, nothing says Christmas like a severed head) and this $25 Brave New World print.



Click here for the 2006 list, and here for the 2005 list.

Labels: Gifts, Holiday, Shopping

My idea of the perfect afternoon is curling up on my couch with a huge mug of tea and a paperback romance novel. Recently, though, I've become obsessed with audiobooks, and while I'm not tossing the tree-derived contents of my overstuffed bookshelves in favor of mp3s, I am acquiring a healthy audiofile collection. Here's a little info on audiobook players, for all you tech-savvy bibliophiles out there:

Apple iPod family: $79 - $249
Love 'em or hate 'em, Apple and the iPod are the biggest players in the game when it comes to mp3 players and audio downloads. Ranging from the $79 1G Shuffle to the 160G iPod, Apple offers a large variety of options. The biggest benefit to purchasing one of these is Apple's customer service. (Users that don’t live near an Apple store can still contact their phone support.) On the downside Amazon and Barnes & Noble have restrictions (DRM) on the files you download that will not allow you to play them in iTunes.

SanDisk Sansa Clip: $59-$72
Of all the options in this price range, the SanDisk Sansa Clip is the only player with a display screen. (They also include an FM radio and a voice recorder.) This is a great pick for any gym rats that you know - there's nothing like needing to hear the last few pages of a story to keep you on the treadmill.

Creative Zen Stone: $39
This would be an ideal choice for the mp3-player shopper on a budget. The 1G Creative Zen is a great, no-frills basic player, with more than its fair share of style. It boasts solid sound (particularly for the price), and a battery life of 10 hours. Throw in a gift certificate to audible.com and you'd have a great holiday gift.

Sparkling Sony E-Series
The Sparkling Sony E-Series is still limited to Japan, and (as far as I can tell) it doesn't seem to boast any technological innovations. This sequin-encrusted little puppy is all about style. If you're as tempted by those sparkles as I am, try checking out Sony Japan’s online store.

Labels: Audio, Electronics, Gifts