It’s getting closer to Christmas, and these are some more items I’d recommend for you and yours. I’m afraid I didn’t have time to go through and write-up thoughts on each, but I find them all exciting.
1. Postertext Wall Art
This team of bibliophiles have created dozens of pieces of wall art out of text — that is, the full text of the novel or short story that inspired the art. This year I finally was able to check them out first hand. I have the striking 2014 calendar:
The calendar suited me perfectly because it’s made up of classic short stories.
It is HUGE at 15″x28″, and they’re designed so that when the calendar year is used up, you can remove the calendar portion and keep the text art as a poster.
If you’re not interested in the calendar, they have a bunch of text art posters that use the full text of novels to create the art, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and a very cleverly designed Around the World in 80 Days.
You can find their website here.
2. Children’s Books:
A. New York Review Children’s Collection: Earlier this year I had my children guest review a few children’s books, all so far from the New York Review Children’s Collection’s great series (you can see their list here). These hardcover, fantastically produced books are heirloom quality — and not just because of the physical product.
Some I recommend:
Hickory, by Palmer Brown.
And, though I haven’t read it, but it fits the bill, Something for Christmas, by Palmer Brown.
The Thirteen Clocks, by James Thurber.
The Wonderful O, by James Thurber.
The Midnight Folk, by John Masefield.
And another that I haven’t read but that fits the bill, The Box of Delights, by John Masefield.
Uncle, by J.P. Martin.
B. Peter Sis “Children’s Books”: While I love looking at these books with my children, I think most of what they say goes over their head. But they’re simply beautiful pieces of art.
Some I recommend:
The Tree of Life
Starry Messenger
Tibet: Through the Red Box
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain
3. Big Beautiful Books or Series
The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig (Pushkin Press)
A True Novel, by Minae Mizumura
Dalkey Archive’s Library of Korean Literature
Well, that’s all I have this year (not really — my wife and I actually have a lot of things we’d love to put on here). Everyone, I wish you a wonderful holiday season.
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