Last Minute Xmas Shopping

My go-to last minute holiday gifts are always books.  Partially because I'm a book nerd, and partially because books are an affordable present that you can put a lot of thought into and really get something that will resonate with whoever you're giving it to.  Here are some books that I'm really interested in (and may have asked for for Xmas) that will hit a lot of different bases.


Cleopatra: A Life, $15.74 at amazon.com, Geek Love, $10.20 at amazon.com: For all your history nerd friends, this new Cleopatra biography is supposed to be amazing.  Ancient Egypt is always fascinating, and the backstory behind this femme fatale empress looks just as fascinating as the myths.  Also the cover is pretty, and yes, that does sell me.  For your friend that loves all things quirky and offbeat, Geek Love is about a troupe of circus freaks who start a religious cult and go around manipulating their followers.  Definitely not the usual fare, but done in a strangely mesmerizing way.

100 Years of Solitude, $9.59 at amazon.com, A Vintage Affair, $16.33 at amazon.com: For your serious, intellectual friend, this beautifully illustrated novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a classic, but not in the boring, dusty sort of way.  His writing is impeccable, and this is the sort of book that you can proudly display on your bookshelf AND actually have interesting conversations about.  Lastly, for your fashion-forward, beach reading friend, A Vintage Affair centers around a girl running a vintage clothing store.  It combines her life with the lives of the clothes in a really touching way, and again, the cover is adorable.

Images from stacyschiff.com, pilliebeebooks.blogspot.com, signatureillustration.org, amazon.ca.