Gift giving is never easy, but hopefully with this little list you’ll at least get some ideas for what to get people!
A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World
There is something beautiful and wild in the impossible architecture of lighthouses. They have been the homes and workplaces of men and women whose romantic guardianship has saved countless lives from cruel seas. Yet while that way of life fades away, as the lights go out and the buildings crumble, we still have their stories.
From a blind lighthouse keeper tending a light in the Arctic Circle, to an intrepid young girl saving ships from wreck at the foot of her father’s lighthouse, and the plight of the lighthouse crew cut off from society for forty days, this is a glorious book full of illuminating stories that will transport the reader to the world’s most isolated and inspiring lighthouses.
With over thirty tales that explore the depths to which we can sink and the heights to which we can soar as human beings, and accompanied by beautiful illustrations, nautical charts, maps, architectural plans and curious facts, A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World is as full of wonder as the far flung lighthouses themselves.
Why would this be a good gift?
This book is full of gorgeous illustrations and hidden histories of Lighthouses from around the world, it’s a perfect coffee table book that everyone will want to flick through!
The Orange – Wendy Cope
The Orange provides the perfect introduction to Wendy Cope, one of Britain’s wittiest, best-selling and best-loved poets.
In poems that can turn from laugh-out-loud funny to deeply moving, Wendy Cope offers reflections on love and life. From the joy of falling – and being – in love to ways to help you deal with a painful break-up or the memories of people loved and lost, this is a book you will want to savour and share with all your friends.
Why would this be a good gift?
We’re not natural poetry lovers but Wendy Cope manages to capture the beauty of everyday.
Accidentally Wes Anderson Puzzle
Piece together a gallery wall featuring thirty of the world’s most aesthetic locations, travelling from continent to continent in search of picture-perfect places – all from the comfort of your sofa, kitchen counter, or nearest ferry boat terminal
Discover iconic shots in often unexpected locations in this 1000-piece jigsaw, from the London Aquatics Centre and the Singapore Changi Airport to the Post Office at the End of the World in Argentina. With a fold-out poster full of fascinating facts about each photograph, this is the perfect puzzle for fans of Wes Anderson and the New York Times bestselling book Accidentally Wes Anderson.
Why would this be a good gift?
First of all the perfect symmetry of a Wes Anderson film will never not be pleasing to the eye, and this is just another way to appreciate it! Imagine the dead of winter, curled up with a cup of tea while watching The Grand Budapest hotel, and a puzzle to complete, sounds like a good day to me.
White Holes – Carlo Rovelli
Let us journey, with beloved physicist Carlo Rovelli, into the heart of a black hole. Let us slip beyond its boundary, the horizon, and tumble – on and on – down this crack in the universe. As we plunge, we’ll see geometry fold, we’ll feel the equations draw tight around us. Eventually, we’ll pass it: the remains of a star, deep and dense and falling further far. And then – the bottom. Where time and space end, and the white hole is born.
With lightness and magic, here Rovelli traces the ongoing adventure of his own cutting-edge research, of the uncertainty and joy of going where we’ve not yet been. Guiding us to the edge of theory and experiment, he invites us to go beyond, to experience the fever and the disquiet of science. Here is the extraordinary life of a white hole.
Why would this be a good gift?
A miniature masterpiece by one of the most entertaining scientists on the planet!
Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being A Witch – Terry Pratchett
An illustrated and practical guide to being a witch in Discworld, covering everything you’ve ever wanted to know from telling the bees to magical cheese, from working with other witches to dealing with elves, from tending flocks to fending off forces from other worlds. This beautiful and practical guide has been compiled by Tiffany Aching herself, including snippets of remembered wisdom from Granny Aching alongside notes from Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Miss Tick, and Rob Anybody who offer their own unique perspectives on all things witchcraft. Whether you’re a herbologist or a headologist, this book will inspire and empower new witches and seasoned practitioners alike.
Why would this be a good gift?
With colourful illustrations from Paul Kidby throughout, this brilliant in-world guide is the perfect addition to any Discworld collection.
Weird Walk
In this book is a radical idea. By walking the ancient landscape of Britain and following the wheel of the year, we can reconnect to our shared folklore, to the seasons and to nature. Let this hauntological gazetteer guide you through our enchanted places and strange seasonal rituals:
SPRING: Watch the equinox sunrise light up the floating capstone of Pentre Ifan and connect with the Cailleach at the shrine of Tigh nam Bodach in the remote Highlands
SUMMER: Feel the resonance of ancient raves and rituals in the stone circles of southwest England’s Stanton Drew, Avebury and the Hurlers
AUTUMN: Bring in the harvest with the old gods at Coldrum Long Barrow, and brave the ghosts on misty Blakeney Point
WINTER: Make merry at the Chepstow wassail, and listen out for the sunken church bells of the lost medieval city of Dunwich
Why would this be a good gift?
We all have someone in our lives who enjoys walking around unknown and magical places, from stone circles to local traditions this is sure to be a talking point!
An Apothecary of Art : To Soothe Your Soul
An Apothecary of Art is a soothing blend of 80 beautiful paintings and inspiring, comforting and uplifting quotes to lift the spirit, calm the mind and heal the soul. The contents page is artfully divided into 24 emotional journeys that suggest routes in which to navigate the book to explore different feelings along the way, and to provide comfort and solace in difficult times. Within these pages you will find both the works of world-renowned masters and the paintings of lesser-known talents paired with uplifting thoughts from great poets, writers and thinkers.
A biographical section on the featured artists will provide context on your new favourite finds. This inspiring debut collection from Ravenous Butterflies features 80 exquisite works of art from the likes of Modigliani, Hasui Kawase, and Thomas Cooper Gotch with accompanying quotes from inspirational voices including Sappho, Pablo Neruda and Harriet Tubman. This illumination of the power of art as a source of wellbeing is modern yet timelessly beautiful – the perfect book to dip into to lift your spirits.
Why would this be a good gift?
Some books exist just happen to be stunningly beautiful and this is no exception. A lovely book to slowly work through looking at beautiful artwork and ruminating over quotes and themes.
Zennor: Spirit of Place – Bob Osborne
Zennor Spirit of Place explores the personal and political dramas which followed the arrival of the disreputable writer D.H. Lawrence and his German wife Frieda von Richthofen in the ancient village of Zennor during the First World War. The wild landscape and remote cottages around Zennor became host to scores of infamous artists, poets, eccentrics and occultists who lived, loved and wreaked havoc in this mystical place. Throughout the 20th century sublime art was created amid a backdrop of witchcraft, scandalous sexual intrigue, black magic rituals and Nazi spy rings.
Why would this be a good gift?
A little bit of local history which will be of interest to anyone who enjoys the area!
So Late in the Day – Claire Keegan
After an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal faces into the long weekend and takes the bus home. There, his mind agitates over a woman named Sabine with whom he could have spent his life, had he acted differently.
All evening, with only the television and a bottle of champagne for company, thoughts of this woman and others intrude – and the true significance of this particular date is revealed. From one of the finest writers working today, Keegan’s new story asks if a lack of generosity might ruin what could be between men and women. ‘Every word is the right word in the right place, and the effect is resonant and deeply moving.’ Hilary Mantel
Why would this be a good gift?
Another glorious little gem from Keegan which is perfect for a stocking, a gift for a friend or yourself!
Terrible Maps – Michael Howe
The joys of the world, one terrible map at a time – this is the ultimate gift book for the budding geographer or anyone who wants to have a laugh.
Ever wondered about the average jean colour across the United States? Or what ‘pedestrians’ look like in Denmark? What unites Brokenwind, Upton Snodsbury and Crackpot? And have you ever tried to take a train in Antarctica? Well Terrible Maps is the book for you!
Put together by the creator behind the tremendously popular social media feed, this is the ultimate humour book for the budding geographer in your life. From countries that eat their national animals to nations that have declared war on birds (and lost), Terrible Maps celebrates pointless cartography in all its glory. Don’t leave home without it!
Why would this be a good gift?
A book to buy if someone needs a giggle
Simple Suppers – Rick Stein
SIGNED COPIES
These are my simple suppers. Recipes that are straightforward and informal – yet effortlessly delicious. The idea of supper appealed to me because it suggests an ordinary meal. When one is not trying too hard; maybe something you’re going to cook in your jeans and Polo shirt, a glass of vinho verde on the worktop.
‘Rick Stein’s Simple Suppers’ is your new go-to cookbook. Here are a collection of stylish, easy recipes for midweek, weekends and every eventuality in between. Chapters include: ‘Suppers for One’, ‘Suppers for Two’, Suppers with Friends’, ‘Fast Suppers’, ‘One-Pot Suppers’, ‘Veggie Suppers’, and more.
Why would this be a good gift?
We all want more time eating and less time cooking and with Rick Stein’s Simple Suppers hopefully that can be achieved!
Hokusai’s Fuji
Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji and the three volumes of his subsequent One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji show his fascination with a single motif: Mount Fuji. Hokusai’s near-obsession with Fuji was part of his hankering after artistic immortality – in Buddhist and Daoist tradition, Fuji was thought to hold the secret to eternal life, as one popular interpretation of its name suggests: ‘Fu-shi’ (‘not death’). Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji was produced from c. 1830 to 1832 when Hokusai was in his seventies and at the height of his career. Among the prints are three of the artist’s most famous: The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Fine Wind, Clear Morning and Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit. By the time he created his second great tribute to Mount Fuji, three volumes comprising One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, he was using the artist names Gakyo rojin (‘Old Man Crazy to Paint’), and Manji (‘Ten Thousand Things’, or ‘Everything’). Contrasting the mountain’s steadfastness and solidity with the ravages of the surrounding elements, Hokusai depicts Fuji through different seasons, weather conditions and settings, and in so doing communicates an important message: while life changes, Fuji stands still.
Including all the illustrations from these two masterpieces, this book also features many of Hokusai’s earlier renditions of the mountain, as well as later paintings. In this way, through Mount Fuji, this volume traces a history of Hokusai’s oeuvre overall.
Why would this be a good gift?
Honestly this book is just gorgeous and I couldn’t not include it! Mesmerising illustrations, beautifully rendered.
