Holiday Gift Guide, Part 5: For You (Yes, You)

Maybe you already have a reading nut in your family. If you do, I salute you. And I'm certainly not saying you should go out and buy a delicious book for yourself on Christmas Eve. (I am actually physically prevented from doing so because we are totally snowed in and my father is actively refusing to shovel until it stops snowing. Which it won't. Ever.) But... maybe if you get out after the holidays and need something to read, might I steer you to these?

Nick Hornby, SHAKESPEARE WROTE FOR MONEY. I mentioned this book a few months ago, and bought it for myself while I was placing a gift order at McSweeney's online. I think that's what I'll read tonight while I wait for Santa to get here (or between my turns on Guitar Hero).

Peter Matthiessen, SHADOW COUNTRY/ Annette Gordon-Reed, THE HEMINGSES OF MONTICELLO. These two books together would make a great package for you local highbrow, since they just won National Book Awards. 

Margo Hammond and Ellen Heltzel, BETWEEN THE COVERS: THE BOOK BABES' GUIDE TO A WOMAN'S READING PLEASURES. Granted, I haven't given this anthology a test run as to the fitness of its choices, but I liked the way the books were arranged into categories -- for example in the "Love and Relationships" section you have fiction and nonfiction about marriage, starting over, dating, etc. I got the sense that it wasn't exclusively for women, either, despite the title. 

Or how about... A little notebook to record what you're reading in, for 2009. It's never too late to get into the habit. (I have one, although I'm rushing to get it up to speed before the end of the year. Procrastination...)