Time to put your credit cards in the freezer again, because I have more reader-submitted and reader-approved gift ideas for all the lovely people on your list. Or for you. And you should really be on your own list, right? So go shove your wallet under the peas and I'll wait right here.
Ready? BE STRONG! WE CAN DO THIS!
Oh, the temptation.
Melone recommends: Artsyville
Melonie says, “I have a gift idea to throw at you – Miss Aimee of Artsyville has been a blogging acquaintance of mine for years – she is talented and quirky and her Etsy shop is full of delightful stuff. Like this print about reading books. There are many more I love, about devoting time to doing what you love, the frustration and joy of the creative process, etc….I have bought many teacher gifts from her shop, and quite a few things for yours truly.”
I am personally a little in love with the 'Never underestimate the importance of being properly caffeinated' print, myself.
And, hooray – Artsyville is having a sale: “Save 20% off your order through December 9 by using the code HAPPYHOLIDAYS2012 at checkout!”
Shanna recommends: her Etsy shop, Hide-a-Book
Shanna has an Etsy shop of fabric paperback book covers, and gosh, some of them are lovely to look at. The Heroes and Villains fabric is particularly awesome!
Susan recommends: Jezebel Charms on Etsy
Jezebel Charms has jewelry. Not just any jewelry, though. They have, as Susan tells me, “bracelets with great literary quotes. Not necessarily romances, but there are Austen quotes.”
Oh, no.
This one, with a Dickens quote about friendship and chocolate, is Susan's favorite. But I'm partial to the one with Newton's Laws of Motion. Math jewelry! How awesome.
Amanda recommends: Klever Case Kindle covers
Oh, this is just temptation: handmade Kindle covers made to look like vintage books by the Manor Bindery, LTD – “Makers of the finest false books since 1976.”
Is it me or should a romance be set in that factory? Because you know, depending on your budget, they also make secret doors. If you have a secret room to hide (if you do, can I visit?).
Amanda loves hers, and bought one as a gift for a friend, too.
Carrie S. recommends Zazzle's Jane Eyre Collection – and the Smart Bitches Zazzle Collection too
Carrie S. sent me a link to the Zazzle Jane Eyre collection, which is a mixup of adorable things. Carrie's favorite is the “I am no a bird… oh, wait” t-shirt, which is seriously cute.
Then Carrie said, “Don't forget to include your smart bitches stuff in the shopping links!” To which I said, “Oh. Oh, yeah.”
So, um, yeah. Did you know there's have a Smart Bitches Zazzle store? It has mugs, aprons (I wear the “Smart Bitchin In Your Kitchen” one when I cook), tote bags, posters, magnets, t-shirts with random phrases that sprung out of the comment threads, bumper stickers and mousepads.
Plus there's the ever-popular 'I'm the fucking librarian, motherfucker' shirt, inspired by Censored Genius. The proceeds from sales of that shirt are donated to the American Library Association.
Thanks, Carrie. I would have completely blanked on posting about it.
And Now… More Fun Gifts I've Found!
For those who loved Downton Abbey, there are several books that might appeal:
According to my Signals catalog (and if you can't trust “Signals” who CAN you trust, honestly?), this “was the book Julian Fellowes was reading when approached” about writing Downton Abbey.
Cover copy: From the Gilded Age until 1914, more than 100 American heiresses invaded Britannia and swapped dollars for titles–just like Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, the first of the Downton Abbey characters Julian Fellowes was inspired to create after reading To Marry An English Lord. Filled with vivid personalities, gossipy anecdotes, grand houses, and a wealth of period details–plus photographs, illustrations, quotes, and the finer points of Victorian and Edwardian etiquette–To Marry An English Lord is social history at its liveliest and most accessible.
Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | iBooks
According to Signals (better than Wikipedia, I'm telling you), Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon was the inspiration for Lady Cora Crawley.
Cover copy: Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle, the real-life inspiration for the hit PBS show Downton Abbey, and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants, Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon and the basis of the fictional character Lady Cora Crawley. Drawing on a rich store of materials from the archives of Highclere Castle, including diaries, letters, and photographs, the current Lady Carnarvon has written a transporting story of this fabled home on the brink of war.
Much like her Masterpiece Classic counterpart, Lady Almina was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Alfred de Rothschild, who married his daughter off at a young age, her dowry serving as the crucial link in the effort to preserve the Earl of Carnarvon's ancestral home. Throwing open the doors of Highclere Castle to tend to the wounded of World War I, Lady Almina distinguished herself as a brave and remarkable woman. This rich tale contrasts the splendor of Edwardian life in a great house against the backdrop of the First World War and offers an inspiring and revealing picture of the woman at the center of the history of Highclere Castle.
Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | iBooks
One last thing that might be a gift for yourself – or something for you to wish and hint for, via Trey Graham from the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast: Acorn TV. Acorn has many British dramas and comedies we don't often receive in the US or elsewhere, and they've launched a streaming service for $2.99 per month, or $29.99 for the year. With membership, you get unlimited streaming of their programming, which is organized in a monthly schedule.
Coming in future gift guides: more stuff you will want to buy! Got suggestions? Email them to me with “gift guide” in the subject line, so I can hide my wallet before I open my email.
Wowee! Thank you so much for featuring my Artsyville shop—and thank you Melonie for recommending it. Fabulous way to kick off my Monday morning! xo
Yay! My credit card has already paid a few visits to artsyville this holiday season…I had to buy myself this awesome motivational poster: http://www.etsy.com/listing/11…
“Time to befriend the blank the page and make it my stage!”
And I’ll have to add a SBTB bag to my wish list.
I’m always intensely skeptical of literary “quotes.” Unless there’s a legit citation somewhere, I just don’t trust the internet to get it right. For example, I saw a particularly egregious example attributed to Shakespeare a while back. I tracked it back to its source, which was some sub-lebrity’s blog. Yes, she took took a schmaltzy quote from a nineteenth-century opera, turned it into a cutesy little picture, slapped Shakespeare’s name on it, and single-handedly contributed a major new source of misinformation in the maelstrom of ignorance that is the internet. (Wow, that’s some intense alliteration!)
Anyway, I distrust the Dickens chocolate quote. It somehow doesn’t seem very… Dickensian? Though I would be delighted if he actually said that. I hate Dickens, and if he truly said that, I would feel much more sympathetic to him.
As a a Kindle keyboard owner I don’t get the make your Kindle keyboard look like a book covers. Adding bulk and weight seems to defeat one of the advantages of this model.
Dread Pirate Rachel: According to cl4.org (scroll down until you hit the entry for 2012-03-05), you’re right to question it…
Holy cow, I didn’t even question it, but upon reading that entry, it’s totally right. HA!
I love this part: “So how did the mistake arise, and who is Linda Grayson? She isn’t a character in The Pickwick Papers; she is a real live person who runs The Printwick Papers, a merchandise Web site selling “stationery, magnets, keychains and more!”, and presumably the throwaway line can be purchased in one of those immortal forms.”
Oh, gosh, I’m so completely shuddering with amusement.