12.16.2011

Books that would make good Christmas gifts (for me)

There aren't a ton of books I am hoping to get for Christmas, mostly because my TBR is pretty well stocked at this point. But I do have just a few that would be fun to unwrap next weekend. 


11/22/63 by Stephen King

November 22nd, 1963 was a rapid-fire sequence of indelible moments: Shots ring out; a president slumped over; a race to the Dallas hospital; an announcement, blood still fresh on the First Lady's dress. But what if President John F. Kennedy didn't have to die; if somehow his assassin could have been thwarted? For Maine schoolteacher Jake Epping, those hypothetical what if's become real possibilities when he walks through a portal to the past. Without special skills and still unfamiliar with his new/old surroundings, he struggles to discover a way to change the history he left. Like its Under the Dome predecessor, Stephen King's 960-page novel shows that this master of suspense is back at the top of his game. (Goodreads)


Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson


 Adopted by a pair of diehard hippies, restless, marginal Jude Keffy-Horn spends much of his youth getting high with his best friend, Teddy, in their bucolic and deeply numbing Vermont town. But when Teddy dies of an overdose on the last day of 1987, Jude's relationship with drugs and with his parents devolves to new extremes. Sent to live with his pot-dealing father in New York City's East Village, Jude stumbles upon straight edge, an underground youth culture powered by the paradoxical aggression of hardcore punk and a righteous intolerance for drugs, meat, and sex. With Teddy's half brother, Johnny, and their new friend, Eliza, Jude tries to honor Teddy's memory through his militantly clean lifestyle. But his addiction to straight edge has its own dangerous consequences. While these teenagers battle to discover themselves, their parents struggle with this new generation's radical reinterpretation of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll and their grown-up awareness of nature and nurture, brotherhood and loss. Moving back and forth between Vermont and New York City, Ten Thousand Saints is an emphatically observed story of a frayed tangle of family members brought painfully together by a death, then carried along in anticipation of a new and unexpected life. With empathy and masterful skill, Eleanor Henderson has conjured a rich portrait of the modern age and the struggles that unite and divide generations. (Goodreads)


Q: A Novel by Evan Mandery


Shortly before his wedding, the unnamed hero of this uncommon romance is visited by a man who claims to be his future self and ominously admonishes him that he must not marry the love of his life, Q. At first the protagonist doubts this stranger, but in time he becomes convinced of the authenticity of the warning and leaves his fiancée. The resulting void in his life is impossible to fill. One after the other, future selves arrive urging him to marry someone else, divorce, attend law school, leave law school, travel, join a running club, stop running, study the guitar, the cello, Proust, Buddhism, and opera, and eliminate gluten from his diet. The only constants in this madcap quest for personal improvement are his love for his New York City home and for the irresistible Q. A unique literary talent, Evan Mandery turns the classic story of transcendent love on its head, with an ending that will melt even the darkest heart. (Goodreads)
That's it. Which books do you have on your Christmas list?

14 comments:

  1. I gave in to the hype and bought 11/22/63 right before Thanksgiving. Really good! Hope it makes it way to for Christmas. :-)

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  2. Heh. My elderly parents have me do all their Christmas shopping for them, so yes, I'm getting books, and no, knowing what they are doesn't diminish the pleasure. :-)

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  3. I'm really hoping for The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, among about a million others. This has got me thinking...might have to do a post on it.

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  4. Q sounds really intriguing, and I haven't read anything "new" by Stephen King in years. I really must pick up one of his newer works soon instead of trying to slowly make my way through his back list. Great picks. :)

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  5. I can't think if any books that I can't live without. I would like the 2011 non required reading anthology. I really enjoyed Q. I hope you get it!

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  6. I hope people who want to buy you Christmas presents are reading your blog! I have soooo many books on my Christmas list, which is baaad because I already have zillions... but oh well, it's Christmas! :)

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  7. Roger Ebert's memoir. Really, really want. I also want 11/22/63.

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  8. I was going to post something along the same lines: no more books! Ha. I think I'm getting them regardless. This is the first time I'm seeing Q and it really sounds interesting.

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  9. I'm reading 11/22/63 right now. I started it and put it down for a bit (it's a bit big to travel with, which is what I was doing), but just picked it back up and am on a roll. Will be curious to see what you think of The Art of Fielding... it's on my Maybe list.

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  10. These all look good but I really hope you get 11/22/63 because a) it's very good and b) I just finished it and want lots of people to talk to about it.

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  11. I've heard of the other two, but your comments about Q make it sound like the one that I would find most interesting. I will target it for purchase with one of the several B&N gift cards I will certainly be receiving. :-)

    Happy reading!

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  12. I agree with Red's comment about 11/22/63, except I am still only about 60% through it and so I have some reading to do to catch up.

    Also, I'd never heard of Q but that sounds FANTASTIC - I hope you get it, read it, and review it, so I can then purchase it and know that I will love it. But that's just me being selfish, of course.

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  13. Just to jump on the bandwagon, I've never heard of Q either, but it sounds great! So glad I discovered your blog. Also, I currently work in publishing in Boston, so if you've got any questions about the industry (sorry we only have open internship positions right now), let me know. Happy holidays!

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  14. You know, I've seen that Q book everywhere but this is the first time I've actually read a summary of what it is about. It sounds great!

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