Literary Holiday Gift Ideas
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Best Gift Books 2010: Art, Nature, Cute Canines
Here's a list of "big books" compiled by John McAlley, the editor of NPR.org's "Books We Like" series. "I'm talking about lush photography books, coffee-table extravaganzas, exotic and quirky art projects; these are the beasts on the endangered species list," says McAlley..
"Yet even in 2010 — a year notable for economic bust and an e-reader boom — art books, photographic retrospectives and other collectible gems continued to roam the earth. And for the person with a love of things substantial and beautiful, these books continue to make thrilling gifts."
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The 10 Best Books of 2010.
The New York Times Book Review recommends five works of fiction and five of nonfiction. The editors explain how and why they were chosen:
"Each of the 10 is singularly excellent. Some of the authors are familiar names; others, less so. Ann Beattie and William Trevor, both masters of elision and omission, are able to animate whole universes in a few deft scenes, while Jennifer Homans, Siddhartha Mukherjee and Isabel Wilkerson have created sumptuous histories of subjects so large as to defy the normal limits of narrative."
"Two other books, just as large in their way, deserve special mention here, though neither appears on this list or was included in our 100 Notable Books, published on the Web last week. They are Saul Bellow: Letters, edited by Benjamin Taylor, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letters of an American Visionary, edited by Steven R. Weisman. Each is a triumph less of intended authorship than of editorial ambition and scruple, though the words on their many pages are as illuminating as any published this year."
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Feature
Nina L. Diamond's Annual 2010 Holiday Parody
Santa Claus: The Always Discreet
Santa's WorkshopThe North Pole
Dear Followers, Friends & Fans,
As you can tell from how I addressed you, yes, even Santa Claus is now on Twitter and Facebook. I held off as long as I could, but my public relations elves eventually wore me down.
It was also their idea that I write you this open letter.
Although I'm quite busy year-'round here at Santa's Workshop, I do pay close attention to what's going on everywhere south of The North Pole, so I've been as fascinated as many of you have been by this WikiLeaks story.
As everyone knows, I do not take sides regarding political issues, and I won't be doing so in this one, either. My only purpose in writing you is to reassure you that although I have access to your homes...what happens around Santa, stays around Santa.
If you have a chimney, I slide down and land in your fireplace. And, if you don't, I have other ways to enter your home. Once inside, I deliver toys. That's it.
Well, sometimes I also eat cookies and drink milk. Nice people leave these and other yummy treats for me and I sure do appreciate that. I can work up quite an appetite delivering all those toys on Christmas Eve, and as you can probably tell from looking at me I do enjoy my cookies!
So, rest easy, my friends, and enjoy this holiday season. And, to all my Jewish friends who have just finished celebrating Hannukah, my dear friend, SNL's Hannukah Harry sends his regards. Which reminds me...could some of you make a few latkes for me on Christmas Eve? Applesauce, no sour cream. Thanks.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas,
Santa Claus, The Always Discreet
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See Nina’s past Holiday Parodies:
2009 Holiday Parody
2008 Holiday Parody
2007 Holiday Parody
2006 Holiday Parody
2005 Holiday Parody
2004 Holiday Parody
2003 Holiday Parody
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As a journalist, columnist, essayist, and media critic, Nina L. Diamond's work has appeared in many publications, including Omni magazine, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and The Miami Herald.
She was a regular contributor to a number of "late, great" national, regional, and newspaper Sunday magazines, including Omni; the award-winning South Florida magazine; and Sunshine, the Ft. Lauderdale (now South Florida) Sun-Sentinel's Sunday magazine.
She covers the arts and sciences; the media, publishing, and current affairs; and writes feature articles, interviews, commentary, humor/satire/parody, essays, and reviews.
Ms. Diamond is also the author of Voices of Truth: Conversations with Scientists, Thinkers & Healers (Lotus Press) and the unfortunately titled Purify Your Body (Three Rivers Press/Crown/Random House) , a book of natural health reporting which has been a selection of The Book-of-the-Month Club's One Spirit Book Club and the Quality Paperback Book Club.
For its entire run from 1984-1998, she was a writer and performer on Pandemonium, the National Public Radio (NPR) satirical humor program, which aired on WLRN-FM in Miami.
She has appeared on Oprah, discussing the publishing industry, but, in a case of very bad timing, that appearance was two years before her first book was published.
She has written her Much Ado About Publishing column for Independent Publisher since 2003.
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Follow Nina on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/@ninatypewriter
Become a "fan" on Nina's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/NinaL.DiamondFanPage