wg25: the gift

So. I'm a bit erratic in posting. I'd like to be a bit more consistent. I'd also like to connect a little more to the book blogosphere. So I've decided I'm going to start participating in Dewey's Weekly Geeks.

My objective is to post on Sundays, though we'll see how well that works. For example, you'll notice that today is Monday. But yesterday was spent editing a paper for a friend and then pushing the Boy through his remaining homework assignments.

Anyway, here's what's up this week:

1. Think about the books that you and people in your life love. It’s best to use more obscure books, because we’ve all heard plenty about the more popular ones.

2. Come up with categories, based on relationship, personality, or whatever else you like. I think this is easier to do once you have your books in mind; you can then just assign categories to those books.

3. Post your own gift giving guide! Add short blurbs about the books, just enough so that your readers can determine if it’d be a good gift for people on their list. Don’t forget to come back and sign Mr Linky.

4. Visit other Weekly Geeks, and if you like their guides, maybe add links to the bottom of your own.

I'm not sure of the categories I'd like to assign. Essentially, I look at this as an opportunity to peddle some of my favorite titles.

for English Major Types: The Eyre Affair
Okay. I know that not everyone digs this book. However, I love how it sets up an alternate history with time travel and book travel and all sorts of other fun stuffs. And through it all, books are Way Important. And people go to Shakespeare productions with the same manic furor reserved for athletic events and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I find the wit and voice to be charming. Sure, it takes me a little to get into each book, but it's always worth it in the end.

for Editor Types: The Well of Lost Plots
Because you will never look at the submissions pile the same way again.

for Greek Mythos Types: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Again, it's not everyone's cup o' tea, but I find it to be engaging. I like how Riordan has brought the Greek mythos to a contemporary American scene. Plus, I can never begrudge a series of books that has managed to convince the Boy that there are books out there worth reading that have nothing to do with dragons.

for More Mature Greek Mythos Types: Gods Behaving Badly
As I mentioned in my review, this book is Hi. Lar. I. Ous. Seriously. And I've even converted one soul already. Just remember that when I say more mature, I mean that the bawdiness will surely make some blush. But Hermes is worth it.

for Anglophiles: Larklight
I received this as a birthday gift, and I highly recommend everyone turn around and give it to others. Similar to Eyre Affair, this imagines an Anglocentric alternative history, this time with space travel and the Brits colonizing the entire galaxy. Art is funnier than snot, likely because he's a Victorian-era lad with a cheeky sense of humor. And there are illustrations.

for Potterphiles in Withdrawal: The Last Apprentice series
This series doesn't have the same type of magic as Harry Potter. However, the prose, story, and characterization is infinitesimally better. Tom is the seventh son of a seventh son and is therefore more attuned to the Dark than your average citizen. As such, he is apprenticed out to the local Spook, whose job it is to bind witches and bogarts and fight all sorts of evil. It's superbly done, and with five books out, I believe we're near the end of the series.

for Picture Book Aficionados: To Every Thing There Is a Season by Leo & Diane Dillon
This is only The Best Picture Book Ever. Seriously. The text is simply the verses from Ecclesiastes. But the illustrations are phenomenal. Each couplet is depicted in a different historical tradition. Oh! how it makes the art history major in me gush. But really. You should have this on your shelf. I mean it.