Literary Wish List!
Do you
have a literary wish list for the holidays? If you’re a writer, you
do. You might be dreaming of a stack of
new books, a beautiful new journal, a fancy pen, a literary map of Ireland
poster, or my current favorite from the British Library, "Ex
Libris: The Game of First Lines and Last Words." (This is a good
one for playing with bibliophile friends on a winter night in front of a
blazing fire.) Or maybe all you really want is a bar of "Lady Macbeth's
Guest Soap."
We surveyed MFA faculty and students about their lists (both to give and receive); read on and enjoy:
Moleskine notebooks and Varsity Pilot fountain pens (in
purple). Oriana Fallaci: The Journalist, the Agitator, the Legend, by Cristina
DeStefano and Marina Harss. And probably several more. I'm still
thinking. – Nicole Hamer
These days, my favorite gift to give is an annual subscription
to The Sun, a completely ad-free magazine
that publishes excellent fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. I support
everything The Sun stands for and I
feel especially happy to support a magazine that pays its writers decently. Of
course, any literary journal of your choice would make a good gift. And since
literary journals often take chances on unknown writers, they are very
inspiring for writers. For that writer friend who has everything she needs
and spends too much time on social media: an annual subscription to Freedom, an app that blocks the Internet
from your computer and other devices. - Shahnaz Habib
My family and I are devotees of the delicious Icelandic
tradition of jólabókaflóð—translated literally, the Christmas Book Flood. On Christmas Eve in
Iceland, it is customary for friends and family to exchange books and then to
spend the rest of the night together at home reading. Here's a story
about it if you are interested. If you'd like to partake, here are some
books worth giving or receiving: the detective novel Jar City by
Arnaldur Indridason. It's wonderfully creepy with many uniquely Icelandic
perspectives on the fine art of committing and solving murders. A less gruesome
option would be The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings by
Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski. If you love J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and
the rest of their Oxford cohort, this group biography will be your favorite
gift. If you can find it (you might need to hit used book stores or abebooks.com), check out The
Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber. It is not a new book but it is a
delightful read, one part parable, one part poem, one part fairy story,
decidedly Thurber. - Kara Noble
One of my favorite gift books is The
Collected Poems of Stanley Kunitz. The poems are so human and timeless, and
I read them often. For all the dog lovers, my favorite is My Dog Tulip by J.R.
Ackerley, poignant but unsentimental and just an all-around treat. (My dog is
named after it.) Unsurprisingly, (and Google be damned) I love atlases. Here
is a hefty one that's bound for armchair and serious travelers alike. Lastly,
and not a literary choice but I've bought this book for many people and it
makes everyone happy—Paper Blossoms, a book of pop-up bouquets. I first saw a
copy at the Gardner Museum gift shop and was completely charmed. - Susie Seligson
I highly recommend the great feeling of helping to change
some lives, by helping to purchase a permanent home for my neighbor, the draft
horse sanctuary Blue Star Equiculture in Bondsville, Mass. Since its founding
eight years ago, Blue Star has rented a farm down the street from me and now
needs to move. But any new home won't happen without the help of all who care
about horses and their ages-old human connection. The page has some great
shots of the hoped-for new farm home in New Salem, Mass., along with an easy
way to make a donation small or large by Dec. 18.
If anyone can spare even a buck for the herd by that deadline, I urge them to
please do so. Big thanks to anyone who can help Blue Star, which I wrote about
in Yankee
magazine last year. – Suzanne Strempek Shea
Subscription to The Sun
and the New Yorker, journals, Mary
Oliver’s Devotions, printer
cartridges/paper, French roast coffee beans, wool socks, flannel sheets (I
write in bed), Maker’s Mark (alters consciousness nicely), new laptop, votive
candles (always lit while writing). - Karol Jackowski
As for me, all my
writerly wants at the moment are intangible wishes -- more time, the ability to
get up earlier in the mornings (!), that every important literary influencer
will tout my upcoming book...that sort of thing. But that's not helpful, I
know. Here is a link
to a round up on the blog of the organization I teach with locally - some cool
things on there. Personally, I'd love the Wipebook, and the Nite Note Notebook
mentioned/linked in the post. – Lisa Romeo
During the holidays, I love to gift books I love—and I’m
especially pleased when I have books from my writer-friends to give away! This
year, I’m wrapping up Kay Campbell’s debut novel, A Caravan of Brides. It’s rich in history, and delivers a beautiful, timeless—add
also timely—message about women helping women—a perfect girlfriend gift! And if
you have a baseball lover on your list, I recommend Tommy Shea’s Dingers. That
was a huge hit last year with my local sports fan! Some of my favorite
book-related swag comes from Litographs. Through
a proprietary process, they print the actual text of books, poems, and stories
(including your own, if you want a custom order) to create a graphic image on
tees, scarfs, totes and posters. Yes, words—up to 90,000 of them—creating
a picture. It’s one of the coolest things ever, for a literary geek like
me. And on my list? Well, those nearest and dearest to me know better
than to buy me a book. Just hand over the gift card for my one of my
beloved indie bookstores. (Supporting an indie in person or online is so much
more soul-satisfying than shopping at that big-A-place. Plus, you’ll be upping
your writer-angel points.) This year, I’d like to shop for myself at the
recently opened Belmont Books,
please! – Kate Whouley
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