20 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: BOOKS
Qsaltlake.com |
ISSUE 318 | DECEMBER, 2020
Nonfiction
QSaltLake’s 2020 book holiday gift guide BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER
The holidays
this year are going to be, well, unique. Some family members won’t be there. Others are coming, regardless of whatever’s going on in the country. Still, others are sending their regards and a box of presents, which is something you might do, too. And here’s the good news: books are an easy wrap, easy to box, and easily shipped. So try one of these great books for that person who can’t make it to your table this holiday season?
LGBTQ For the person who craves a thriller, THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS, by Micah Nemerever, is the gift to give. It’s a novel of two young men who meet at college and soon become obsessed with one another in different ways. But one is cruel, the other fearful, and you know that ain’t good. The person on your gift list who loves drag will enjoy THE COCKETTES: ACID DRAG & SEXUAL ANARCHY from the archives of Fayette Hauser. It’s a lavishly-illustrated 50-year anniversary look at drag and the counterculture. If your giftee is a die-hard, conference-attending, never-miss-an-appearance fan, then slip CONVENTIONALLY YOURS, by Annabeth Albert under the tree. It’s the story of a road trip, two fierce hate-fests, one romance, and two fanboys, but who’s the biggest? Pair it with DATE ME, Bryson Keller, by Kevin van Whye for double the love. Here’s something unique: THEY SAY SARAH, by Pauline Delabroy-Allard is a best-seller in France and a skinny book that your giftee won’t be able to stop reading. It’s the story of a single mother who’s living in Paris with her child. The woman has a boyfriend but one New Years’ Eve, she meets a woman who changes everything. Pair it with something nonfiction, like I’ve Been Wrong Before, by Evan James, a book of essays on life, coming out, relationships, and more.
The Fans of biographies will want to unwrap MAMA’S BOY, by Dustin Lance Black. Black, a screenwriter, and activist tells the story of his childhood, having been raised by a single mother who suffered a lifetime of almost-insurmountable issues, and how they came to terms with everything they’d endured together. Pair it with DADDY, by Michael Montlack, a book of essays on this and that and the other. Another great memoir, LATER: MY LIFE AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, by Paul Lisicky, is the story of finding a place to settle down, and watching an epidemic as it changes that newly-beloved place. The star watcher on your list will love Inside the HOLLYWOOD CLOSET: A BOOK OF QUOTES, by Boze Hadleigh. It’s a who’s-who and a whatwas-what that looks back at who said what about life as a gay star, and it’s fun! The reader who wants something unique will enjoy THE LAST ALIAS: TRUE STORIES AND A TALE THAT MIGHT BE, by Ste7en Foster (and no, that’s not a typo). As humans, we are many different things. This book will make you think: who are YOU?
Give your historian something a bit different this year with KENT STATE: FOUR DEAD IN OHIO, by Derf Backderf. Written entirely in graphic-novel style, it’s a look at the event that changed America more than 50 years ago. Pair it with THE HARDHAT RIOT, by David Paul Kuhn, a book about a little-remembered event that happened four days after the Kent State shootings. What do you get for the person who loves reading about boats and submarines? A recommendation is UNDER PRESSURE: LIVING LIFE AND AVOIDING DEATH ON A NUCLEAR SUBMARINE, by Richard Humphreys. When the author was eighteen, he joined the Royal Navy and served underwater. What more can an adventure-lover want to read about? Can’t go wrong when you pair it with WHATEVER IT TOOK, by Henry Langrehr and Jim DeFelice. It’s a story of an American paratrooper at the end of World War II. For the person who would love something a little unique this holiday, look for THE NEW WITCH, by Marie D. Jones. It’s a book about Wicca, spells and potions, magic, and all things that today’s spiritual practitioner needs to know. Wrap it up with EARTH MAGIC, by Marie D. Jones, a guide for the sorceress in you. Is there someone on your list who craves a good scare? Then look for DEMONIC FOES, by Richard Gallagher. He’s a psychiatrist who specializes in the paranormal, particularly in demonic possession. You will feel the shivers. For the parent of older kids, ribbon-tie WHAT GIRLS NEED, by Marisa Porges, Ph.D. The book is about raising strong, resilient future women; pair it with AND THEN THEY STOPPED TALKING TO ME, by Judith Warner; a book about surviving middle school amongst mean kids. It’s been an unusual year. So show your book lover that it’s possible to buck up and survive with WHY FISH DON’T EXIST, by Lulu Miller. It’s the story of an early 20th-century scientist and the day he watched his life’s work shatters. What he did was astounding, and a great lesson for 2020. And possibly include MONSTERS OF THE DEEP, by Nick Redfern. This book is more cryptozoology than a biography, but for fishing fans, that’s fine. Here’s a fun read: SEALAND, by Dylan Taylor-Lehman, the story of a micronation named Sealand, off the British coast, and on which the Royal Family rules it. With a little of everything in this book — history, pirates, battles, kings, and an attempted coup — your historian and
