Going under cover for a perfect gift

Randi Kreiss

Please don’t be giving me a ribbon-tied basket of assorted chocolates or a gift card for iTunes this season, not that there’s anything wrong with these products. But to me, the proof of caring is in the match you make, finding the just-right gift for the person on your list.

This year I’m giving books, and not just any old books. I’m taking the time to think about which new or classic novel or memoir or history will bring a laugh or some comfort or a spark of inspiration to the people I love.
Maybe my search can help inform your quest.

To begin, I’m giving books because reading and talking about books is an incomparably uplifting experience. You just can’t beat it. Read a great book, and talk about it with a friend over lunch or at your book group, and you’ve found a time-out from the dizzying chatter of everyday life.

This year, with so many people suffering financial setbacks, tens of thousands of our troops at war and a Congress that is proving to be increasingly ineffectual and infuriating, wouldn’t it be unseemly to go for the gold — the $25 million jeweled watch by Chopard or the comparatively reasonable $2.4 million diamond-studded iPhone? My kids might disagree, and certainly the grandchildren’s lust for toys knows no bounds, but books it is this year.

But what to buy for whom? Here’s just a sample:

For my oldest granddaughter, Sabrina, I’m sending President Obama’s new book, “Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.” A morale-boosting cheer from the head cheerleader to his own kids, the book reminds children that when they are creative and imaginative and smart and brave, they follow the bold path set by other Americans, like Georgia O’Keeffe and Albert Einstein and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

My son, Jason, will receive “The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean,” by Susan Casey. A fisherman and ocean-going boater, Jason will be scared silly by this “worst case” story of the monsters of the sea. He’ll love it.