Bookish Gift Recommendations From Fictional Characters
Back in June, we solicited summer reading recommendations from some literary peeps in the know. Now, a new slew of characters has come forward to offer their picks for the holiday gift-giving season. Here are the titles at the top of their lists:
Tess Durbeyfield recommends Orange is the New Black. Tess loves this memoir by Piper Kerman for its balance of humor and insight. As someone familiar with the long arm of the law, she also appreciates Kerman’s sociological examination of prison culture. Also, she can’t wait for season 2 of the Netflix series to start!
Ignatius J. Reilly recommends Miss Kay’s Duck Commander Kitchen: Family, Faith and Food-Bringing Our Home to Your Table. This cookbook penned by Kay Robertson, the matriarch of the hit TV show Duck Dynasty, brings two of Ignatius’ obsessions together: people from Louisiana and food. While he’s usually less than kind to his fellow Louisianans, these recipes so agreed with his pyloric valve that he had nothing to grumble about! Well…at least for about an hour.
Humbert Humbert recommends Tampa. Sociopaths: it takes one to know one, and Humbert Humbert was delighted to find a kindred spirit in Tampa author Alissa Nutting’s main character, Celeste Price. She’s a 26-year-old eighth-grade English teacher whose life is structured around her obsession: 14-year-old boys. Like her male counterpart, Celeste is aware of her own depravity, but it does nothing to curb her behavior. The book is chilling, and Humbert wholly approves.
Dick Diver recommends Andrew’s Brain. Dick Diver can’t wait for this new release from E.L. Doctorow to hit the shelves in December. It follows the titular character as he examines his life with all the precision of a surgeon with a scalpel, just the way Dick used to…err…tried to, until he married that patient of his.
Idgie Threadgoode recommends I Am Malala. Southern spitfire Idgie Threadgoode is a HUGE supporter of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager targeted and shot by the Taliban for her outspoken support of education equality. Malala’s memoir isn’t just a story of survival; it’s also a spotlight on the cost of gender inequalities in one of the most volatile regions in the world.
Victor Frankenstein recommends Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Dr. Frankenstein’s only hangup with this coffee table book is that writer/director/producer/creative extraordinaire Del Toro beat him to the punch. He enjoys this unique book nonetheless, especially the hand-drawn storyboards from movies like Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy.
Ebenezer Scrooge recommends The First Phone Call from Heaven. As a reformed miser and all around (formerly!) terrible person, Ebenezer has a penchant for books that are contemplative and uplifting, and this one by Mitch Albom is both. The novel takes place in a small Michigan town that’s been whipped into a frenzy by mysterious phone calls from “the other side.” The story behind the calls is touching enough to soften even the most hardened curmudgeon.
What book would your favorite character recommend?