WG 25 – Book Geeks Gift Giving Guide!

It’s the gift giving season and Weekly Geeks is all about helping out with finding the perfect book to give this holiday.

  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.

So, here are a few suggestions from me, separated out by category (and I had to keep reminding myself this wasn’t a “what I would recommend” thread)…

For someone interested in Fantasy,  I would pick up a copy of Jayel Gibson’s Quondam.  It’s actually the fourth novel in Jayel Gibson’s Ancient Mirrors series, but it can easily be read as a stand alone as well.  Plus, if they like Quondam, then they might be inclined to go out and get the first three novels (I know I plan to).  After I finished reading this, Anne Bishop came to mind. Quondam isn’t as dark and twisted as the Black Jewels trilogy, but it has a lot of the same elements.  Which is another novel I would give.  The compilation of the first three Black Jewels novels by Anne Bishop.  Here’s my review of Quondam and my reviews of The Black Jewels series.

Another book I would suggest buying would be Maria Snyder’s Study series.  So far there are three novels out – Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study – and each of them are spectacular.  The world is so completely believable that it’s not hard to imagine at all and yet everything is there that makes this world fantastical.  You can read my reviews here.

Another good suggestion would be Wicked by Gregory Maguire.  Everyone knows the story of The Wizard of Oz, but not everyone has seen the point of view from Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.  Even if someone isn’t completely into the Fantasy genre, I seriously think they would try this novel, just based on the fact of it’s connection with The Wizard of Oz.  I mean, seriously, who hasn’t seen the Judy Garland movie?  Maguire does a really good take on twisting fairy tales and I would find it hard for anyone not to enjoy this novel, if not a little.

For the Urban Fantasy crowd, I think the novel I would recommend might not be considered UF today.  It’s more of a historical fiction, but it’s the first vampire novel out there.  I’m talking about The Vampyre by Dr. John Polidori.  Written during a Swiss retreat with Lord Bryon and the Shelley’s (the same weekend Frankenstein was development), it was the precursor for Bram Stoker’s Dracula.  How many times have you heard people say they’ve read Dracula, but have you ever heard of The Vampyre being discussed?  I think anyone who loves vampire fiction would be intrigued by this novel.

For the Paranormal Romance crowd, I would give a copy of The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance.  It can be hard picking out a novel for someone who loves paranormal romance.  There are so many different authors out there, with different styles and worlds, that it can be a little intimidating.  That’s what makes this novel just a brilliant idea.  It’s the best way to expose someone to a wide variety of authors without having to worry about whether they’ll like one author.  This collection has 30 different authors and anyone is bound to find someone they would like.

For a Science Fiction fan, I’m really not a good expert on this, since I don’t like a lot of science fiction; however, there is one author I have fallen for and that is Ann Aguirre.  So if I had to buy a Sci-Fi novel for someone, I would probably pick up Grimspace.  It has a touch of romance in it as well, but it’s a great story with characters that you can be involved with, a universe that isn’t so far-fetched that it’s unbelievable, and a plot that keeps the story moving without boring the reader or losing them in the complexities of a new universe.  Here’s my review of Grimspace.  Although, I don’t think I would get this for a Trekkie fan though.  Like I said, Sci-Fi isn’t my forte, but this one really stands out for me.

And the last category that I feel I could suggest would be Historical Fiction and hands down it would be a copy of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.  There is no other historical fiction novel out there that I would get someone.  It has the war action, the romance, the time travel and such vivid details of the actual historical events that it’s awesome.  I’m not a huge fan of a lot of historical fiction (I’ve had The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read for over a year now), but Gabaldon is such a fantastic story teller that I would find it hard to believe anyone not enjoying her novels.  Unless the person already has it, but then I honestly couldn’t come up with another historical fiction that I would be able to give without getting a suggestion from the person I’m giving the gift.

For some more book gift giving ideas, make sure you check out the other Weekly Geekers…

1. Sarah
2. Lynda
3. Sherrie
4. Becky (post #1)
5. phamie
6. gautami tripathy
8. Book Dads
9. Maree
10. Louise
11. softdrink
12. Icedream
13. Juliann
14. Ali (Worducopia)
15. Edgy
16. 3M (1morechapter)
17. Melanie (Indextrious)
18. Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness)
19. beastmomma
20. Becky (post #2)
21. jessi (Carl Hiaasen)
About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

6 Comments

  1. Heck, I want to read ALL the books you suggest except the romances. But I think I’ll start with the Anne Bishop series you mention. That sounds like something I’d really, really enjoy.

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