Gift Ideas for the Reader of Very Little

We all have those friends, you know, the ones who read very little.  Once in awhile, they’ll pick up a trendy bestseller, but, normally, go days or even weeks without picking up a book (I know!).  We know them to be very smart (one  friend is a brilliant software designer but doesn’t read much because he is dyslexic) and respect them, but secretly, we can’t understand how they can wait until the airport to buy a paperback — because (wait for it…) they haven’t brought anything to read.  Often these friends enjoy more visual media — films, art, television, video games – they are often very creative and, as I mentioned before, off the charts in smarts.   But, what to get for these friends?  Yes, yes you could resort to a sweater or theater tickets, but here in on the planet of Book Barmy   —    they must have books.   So here are a few suggestions.

 

The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt

by Caroline Preston

 

This is an entirely different reading experience, more pictorial than novel.  It’s a story told through memorabilia and cultural artifacts from the 1920s to 1930’s. A visual journey through the coming of age of Frankie Pratt, a girl who grows up in New Hampshire and earns a scholarship to Vassar College. She meets fascinating people of the jazz age, and follows in their footsteps to New York City and to Paris after graduation. Along the way, she writes stories and edits magazines from the low of True Confessions in New York City to the high of a well-respected  literary journal, where she is able to work with James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway (in Paris, no less!). 

There are childhood adventures, broken hearts, life-long friendships, ailing parents and finally true love…a simple, familar story that comes alive through ticket stubs, newspaper clippings, photographs, pressed flowers, fabric swatches, candy wrappers – well, you get it — it’s a scrapbook.

The author pulled from her own massive collection of vintage ephemera to create this unique book which holds a special place in my reading room.  A gift from my sister several years ago, I devoured the book in one sitting, caught up in the vibrant pages and the story told with very few words.  It remains close to my reading chair, because I’ve picked it up again and again noticing details that I missed the first couple of reads.

Here’s a peek inside (forgive my lousy photos – click twice to make bigger)

 This is a visual delight of a book, one to savor over and over again.

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Right next to this book on my shelves are these beautiful  books.

Griffin & Sabine                               Sabine’s Notebook

by Nick Bantock

These were hugely popular back in the 90’s and according to many critics,  somewhat of a gimmick – but I adored them and have hung onto them all these years later.  Every so often, I’ll take them down and fall into what is the equivalent of adult pop-up books.

Griffin and Sabine are located on opposite ends of the earth — Griffin is a lonely artist in damp England, while Sabine is a native living on the sun-drenched island of Sicmon in the South Pacific.  We meet them as they have just become pen pals and it is their correspondence back and forth which comprises the Griffin and Sabine books.  Soul mates, they decide to meet, face to face. Their quest (and failures) to meet one another forms the backbone of these books.  Their lives become more and more mysterious in the second book as they get tangled up in a smoke and mirrors adventure.

There are letters to open, postcards to read, handwriting to decipher, maps to study, all, for this reader — pure delight.  You’re given the sensation of having stumbled upon a romantic mystery to which only you are privy – a private secret kept locked between the covers.  The story is nothing much, but the discovery of it is exquisite.

The art of these books is in their meticulous printing. There are actual envelopes glued into the text which you open to unfold an actual letter, postcards and beautiful illustrations– a true work of love on the part of Mr. Bantock and the publisher.  Just look here (click to see larger):

There have been further books in the series which you can seek out, but these first two are my favorite.

 

In the age of e-readers, electronic and audio books here are three books that must be read in their paper format – you have to hold them in your hands and physically turn the pages to enjoy them.

There you go, some books recommendations for those we love — despite their lack of voracious reading habits.