Page turners for all ages
You can’t lose by giving books as holiday gifts. People who love to read are always thrilled to get them, and those who don’t may well discover a whole new world.
Everyone has interests, and there’s a book for every one: dogs, fantasy, gardening, cooking, space, celebrities, art. You name it.
The pre-holiday flurry of new publications includes several we’d recommend for the holidays:
- Thrill little ones — and their parents — with “Christmas Around the World: A Pop-Up Book,” by Chuck Fischer (Little, Brown and Co., $30). This gorgeous keeper includes lavish 3-D depictions of Christmas in America, France, Russia, Germany, Italy, Latin America, Scandinavia and Great Britain.
- She has become a cult figure, but lots of us still remember the real Marilyn Monroe. The new coffee-table-style book “Marilyn Monroe: Platinum Fox,” by Cindy De La Hoz (Running Press, $29.95), shows her in all her dazzling glory.
Its hundreds of photographs include some never before published and others considered classics. Most show her in her movie roles — “The Seven Year Itch,” “Some Like It Hot,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and many others.
There’s not a bad picture of her in the bunch and nothing that hints of her sad, premature death.
This tribute would make a good keepsake for baby boomers who remember Marilyn at her best.
- The truth is fishermen (and women) like to pick out their own rods and reels. But they may not think to buy a book about their hobby.
“Tight Lines: Ten Years of the Yale Anglers’ Journal,” illustrated by James Prosek (Yale University Press, $28), features 50 stories, essays, poems and recollections about fishing. James Prosek’s accompanying watercolors of fish and fishing are frame-worthy.
- Think beyond the page when buying for superbusy people who spend hours every day commuting. Audio books are the perfect way to make their trips go faster.
Many may not read a book about economics, no matter how well-written, but they’ll listen to one. “The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World,” by Alan Greenspan (Penguin Audio, $44.95), manages to make global economics, the history of the Federal Reserve and income inequality interesting. It’s near the top of The New York Times’ best-seller list.
- Plenty of kids — and adults, too — are fascinated by fantasies involving dragons, screaming skulls and wild-eyed demons.
They’ll all love “Fantasy Art Now: The Very Best in Contemporary Fantasy Art & Illustration,” edited by Martin McKenna (Collins Design, $29.95).
It’s filled with colorful artwork of all sorts of demons, monsters, sorcerers and other creepy creatures from the fantasy world.
- The best thing about giving someone you love a cookbook is that they may just reciprocate by cooking you a delicious meal with its recipes.
“Cook With Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook,” by Jamie Oliver (Hyperion Books, $37.50), is just out and filled with recipes for everything from chocolate tarts to slow-cooked duck pasta.
Oliver tells a little bit of the history behind each recipe and offers clear instructions and mouth-watering photos of every dish. Christmas roast turkey, garnished with orange, apricots, carrots, onions, garlic. … Hungry yet?
- Who is a Jew? Can DNA shed light on the shared legacy of the Israelites? Is intelligence innate? Is there evidence that Jews are smarter than other groups?
Jon Entine tackles these and other questions in “Abraham’s Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People” (Grand Central Publishing, $27.99).
Just out Nov. 1, this book is bound to attract lots of attention. Kirkus Reviews called it “engaging and informative reading for Jews and non-Jews alike.”
- Dog lovers will smile over “The Dangerous Book for Dogs,” by Rex & Sparky, with assistance from Joe Garden, Janet Ginsburg, Chris Pauls, Anita Serwacki and Scott Sherman (Villard Books, $15.95).
Pups Rex and Sparky address this silly playbook to other dogs, with such sage questions as why do people sit on dogs’ water bowls (what people refer to as toilets)? They also wonder why we humans go to work all day in small cubicles taking orders from our alpha bosses while our dogs lounge at home.
Good questions, both.
By Karen Haymon Long
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