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Season of Thanks and Giving
In this hyper retail age, it seems we are rushed from ‘back-to-school’ to Halloween to Christmas without a breath. November is the calm; it is the season of thanks and giving in between all the craziness. I usually use this respite for enjoying time by the woodstove, selecting a charity for our family’s annual Thanksgiving Day donation, and, alas, holiday shopping. I go about my shopping leisurely throughout the month, which leaves me all of December for holiday cheer. No midnight sales, no long lines at the register, no countdown of shopping days.
Whether or not you’re as disciplined about gift giving, you’ll find two helpful articles in this issue. Our 2010 Gift Guide for Book Lovers is bigger and better than ever. I’ve been writing the Guide for several years now, and, as a freelance writer, it was one of my favorite assignments. As the new editor of Fine Books, I’m proud to offer a sampling in the November issue. If you want to see the full Guide, check out our recently published print compendium, which, by the way, also makes a great gift for the bibliophile in your life. If you’re searching for a stand-out book, look no further than Nicholas Basbanes’ round-up of the year’s best coffee table books. From French painting to national parks to an illustrated history of comics, his column has something for every reader on your list.
Also in this issue is a piece about the unique gift one archivist gave to a World War II veteran, who was then inspired to return two sixteenth-century volumes he pocketed as war souvenirs more than 60 years ago.
We have our usual superb auction report by Ian McKay, an interview with the Ph.D. student who won this year’s Rose Book-Collecting Prize at Cambridge, and a story about author/librarian/book historian Robert Darnton. There is much to give thanks for in this issue. Here’s hoping you can steal a few moments of pre-holiday tranquility to enjoy it all.