Last minute gifts
You can’t do better than a good bookstore for your last-minute gift buying. Our local Barnes and Noble downtown has popular as well as quirky selections, or try Willow Books in Acton if you’re down that way. My favorite, slightly off-the-beaten-path, books for gift-giving:
Half Magic by Edgar Eager – an old fashioned magical tale, good for 8 -10 year olds who like Roald Dahl. Quaint and charming, not too cute, with the marvelous premise of a magic coin that only gives you half of what you wish for.
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander – for those 12 year olds who have read all of Rowling, all of Tolkien and don’t know what to read next. This is the first book of an engaging trilogy. Highly recommended!
The Beacon Street Girls - for those girls (11 and 12) who like The Clique but are really too young for The Gossip Girls.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by the late, great Douglas Adams – absurd, philosophical, funny. Perfect for your nihilistic 15-year old and everyone else who thinks.
Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder. For your cerebral teen, a history of philosophy wrapped in a mystery. It’s a page-turner. Or, try the wonderful Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.
For the mystery lover on your list, try the dark, yet humane detective tales from Sweden by Henning Mankell featuring Kurt Wallander. They’re highly addictive. For the inquiring mind, try The Best Science Writing series. In poetry, I treasure Given by Wendell Berry. The irascible, conservative poet-farmer has been cautioning for decades about our excesses and our treatment of the earth; prescient, backward looking, yet never preachy, his voice seems right for these times.
So, yes, there are only two more days to finish your gift-buying, but one trip to your favorite bookstore should tie up the loose ends. Happy reading to all, and to all a good night!