Tying yourself in knots over gifts this Christmas? Running out of ideas as to what to get your mum, your brother, or your uncle’s new girlfriend who you’ve never met but who will be at lunch and you should really get her something so she’s not left out? Well, fear not: Scribe has a great book idea for all of your loved ones and tenuous relations.
For burgeoning activists:
Blueprint for Revolution by Srdja Popovic
From Occupy Wall Street to Tahrir Square, and from Nelson Mandela to Harvey Milk, the tales Popovic tells are hilarious, accessible, inspiring, at times outrageous, and always about ordinary people achieving extraordinary things.
For aspiring flanuers:
Walking in Berlin by Franz Hessel
Franz Hessel was an observer par excellence of the increasingly hectic metropolis that was Berlin in the late 1920s. In Walking in Berlin, originally published in Germany in 1929, he captures the rhythm of Weimar-era Berlin, recording evidence of the seismic shifts shaking German culture at the time.
For your brother-in-law who is propping up the bar:
Shakespeare, Not Stirred by Caroline Bicks & Michelle Ephraim
From ‘Get Thee to a Winery: girls’ night out’ to ‘Exit, Pursued by a Beer: drowning your sorrows’, this stage-sensitive, merrily blended book brings a Shakespearean swirl to life’s everyday highs and lows. Readers who downed Tequila Mockingbird and felt the force of William Shakespeare’s Star Wars will thrill to its intoxicating mix of literary nerdery and cheeky wordplay.
For creative kids:
There’s Not One by Jennifer Higgie
This joyous debut from Jennifer Higgie celebrates the details and diversity of the world around us. In kaleidoscopic colour, Higgie takes young readers on a journey from some of life’s most important things (baked beans!) to some of life’s biggest wonders (stars!).
For your Sopranos-loving boyfriend:
Gandolfini by Dan Bischoff
Bischoff shows us how a boy from a typical Italian-American family became one of the world’s biggest stars, and examines not only Gandolfini’s struggles with fame and relationships, but also the cultural significance of his career.
For your best friend who’s had a bad year:
So Sad Today by Melissa Broder
By its fearless exploration of the author's romantic relationships (romantic is an expanded term in her hands); and with its inventive imagery and deadpan humour, So Sad Today is radical. It is an unapologetic, unblinkingly intimate book that splays out a soul and a prose of unusual beauty.
For music lovers:
The Music that Maton Made by Andrew McUtchen, Jeff Jenkins & Barry Divola
This is not only a book for guitar lovers — it's an intimate family history and an essential part of Australian music history. Compiling over ten years of research, and over two years in production, this book is as well-crafted and family-owned as Maton guitars themselves.
For dog people:
How Dogs Love Us by Gregory Berns
With the help of his dog Callie, Berns discovers profound and heart-warming new evidence that has unlocked the science behind the canine–human bond. How Dogs Love Us demonstrates why dogs should be treated with love, respect, and appreciation for their social and emotional intelligence.
For feminist historians:
Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart
Through Amy Stewart’s exuberant storytelling, Constance Kopp catapults from a forgotten historical anecdote to an unforgettable historical-fiction heroine — an outsized woman not only ahead of her time, but sometimes even ahead of ours.
For knackered parents:
The Happy Sleeper by Heather Turgeon, MFT and Julie Wright, MFT
Child-sleep experts Heather Turgeon and Julie Wright show parents how to avoid and undo cumbersome sleep habits. They provide guidance on how to be sensitive and nurturing, but also structured, so that your baby or young child can develop the skills they need in order to sleep through the night.
For your niece who wants to change the world:
Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton
When Margaret Cavendish addressed the Royal Society in 1667, Samuel Pepys recorded that her dress was ‘so antic and her deportment so unordinary, that I do not like her at all’. And indeed, here vividly brought to life by Danielle Dutton, the shy, gifted, and wildly unconventional duchess is wholly ‘unordinary’, and all the better for it.
For your uncle going in for a third helping of Christmas pudding:
Heart by Johannes Hinrich von Borstel
In this lively and informative exploration of all aspects of the heart, Johannes Hinrich von Borstel offers a perfect mix of medical fact and amusing anecdote.
From all of us at Scribe UK, have a wonderful festive season!
