I had thought I would do an end of the year book wrap-up of sorts, but then I started thinking – books make great holiday gifts? So I decided, instead, to try and make some book suggestion lists for those of you shopping for book lovers or for book lovers with the all wonderful present of a gift card.

First, some tips on shopping for your book loving friends.

1. Gift cards are terffic. But why not go an extra step and try to get a gift card/certificate for an independent bookseller online or an independent bookseller in the neighborhood where your friend/family member lives? The biggest online indie bookseller is Powell’s (they also have used and take paypal) and if you are looking for used I love Better World Books. You can find out about more sellers at Indie Bound.
2. Don’t be afraid to ask them to give you a list. Most book lovers will have a ton of authors or specific book titles they want so you can go on the hunt for a specific book for them.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask you booksellers for suggestions or look for “Also Bought” suggestions on Amazon and Goodreads. If you know that your book reading friend likes sci-fi get a tip on some specific books.
4. One more thing to say about Indie bookstores is that they are really out there to help you. They opened their own bookstore because they love books. Many of them will order specific books for you and will often help with getting those items shipped. It might be an extra step but you are supporting a small business owner so give it some thought.

Now on to some books. It was very difficult for me to go through my collection and to narrow down suggestions but I’m gonna do my best!

Poetry

Full Length Collections

• Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow (verse novel with werewolves, come on you’ll love it!)
• A Day in Boyland by Jessy Randall (grrrrrl poetry to the max!)
• Beyond the Bones by Neil Carpathios (really good example of how you can structure a fantastic poetry read)
• Mount Clutter by Sarah Lindsay (just a fantastic read)
• Pre-order Paternity by Scott Owens (it may not be out yet but when it ships you or your reader will have a terrific treat. His 2nd book Fractured Word is already available)

Chapbooks

• Bright Burning Fuse by Melanie Faith (This would be  a perfect stocking stuffer at only $5 each you can provide very accessible and well-written poetry!)
• Anything by Emma Bolden (seriously, all 3 of her chapbooks are great reads so I’m linking you to her very fun and informative blog)
• After the Fairy Tale by Maureen Sherbondy (fairy tales with a modern twist! Another great accessible read)
• The Serial Killer’s Daughter by Pat Rivere-Seel (if the title alone doesn’t tell you you should read then what else can I say?)
• Bride of Frankenstein by Carolina Morales

Books on Writing

• Poem Crazy by Susan G Wooldridge  (a fresh take on a writing “manual”)
• Steering the Craft by Ursula K Le Guin (mostly for fiction writers, I think, but could be used for all genres)
• Writing and Enjoying Haiku by Jane Reichhold (what got me back into writing)
• On Writing by Stephen King (seriously, he should write more non-fiction)
• Poet’s Companion by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux (a classic)

Misc related somewhat to poetry

• Best American Poetry 2009 Anthology
• Pushcart 2009 Anthology
• Subscription to Crazyhorse lit mag
• Subscription to Iodine Poetry Journal
• Subscribtion to SENTENCE

Non-fiction

• Invisible Sisters by Jessica Handler (this memoir just blew me away. If you have ever dealt with loss…)
• Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose (good for people from all religions to read)
• Universe in a Single Atom by the Dalai Lama (nice to see a non-science person explaining scientific theories)
• Know-It-All by AJ Jacobs (he read the entire enclyopedia in a year, follow his journey and get lots of useless trivia)
• Something to Declare by Julia Alvarez (just a terrific collection of essays about the writing life and life in general)

Fiction (multi-genre)

• Springtime on Mars by Susan Woodring (short story collection)
• Woman Up on Blocks by Mary Akers (another fantastic short story collection)
• Couch by Ben Parzybok  (novel with a bit of a fantasy flair)
• The Color of Earth by Dong Hwa Kim (graphic novel, female coming of age, beautifully written and drawn)
• Paper Towns by John Green (YA)

Have too much to do today and running out of time to finish this so I’ll try to come back to update more links but feel free to google! Or if you have a specific genre you want a suggestion on just email me or leave me a comment Ok so I came back to update links but still so many books and authors I could have suggested but ran out of space. Perhaps for each new comment I get I’ll suggest another book!

Poem a Day from 11/19/2009

[good bye poems!]