Gift Guide 2011 Parts 3 and 4: Presents Perfect for a Professional and a Sportsman's Special Something

This week's gift guide zeroes in on all the focused and determine folk in our lives. Whether they are putting their energy into work or into play, these are the people we remember when we see a new book about an athlete or business strategist. Here are the token titles and items I think would be a great addition to their repertoire! 

First, we recommend some of our new business titles: The End of Business as Usual by Brian Solis, provides the point of view of running a business by letting consumers help define your brand, while You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself  would be great help for the aspiring creative entrepreneur. One of the year's best sellers, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is definitely one of our recommendations, especially for those who want to build their own empire. 

If you'd rather give them fun tokens they can use in the office or anywhere at work, we have a sleek, red Moleskine planner, a notepad of things to accomplish by the fun folk at Knock Knock, and a large, black Moleskine planner for those with a lot on their minds! A lot more versions of the Moleskine planners are also available in the stores.
 

1.  Everything I Know about Business I Learned from the Grateful Dead: The Ten MostInnovative Lessons from a Long, Strange Trip by Barry Barnes, PhD, P999; 2. Moleskine Red Weekly Notebook Diary/Planner 2012, P1290; 3. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, P1275; 4. Accomplish: Knock Knock Tables More Than Just a Pad, P450; 5. The End of Business As Usual: Rewire the Way Your Work to Succeed in the Consumer Revolution by Brian Solis, P1123; 6. Moleskine Large Weekly Diary/Planner 2012, P1999; 7. You ,Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself by Harry Beckwith and Christine K. Clifford, P599. 

 Another of the year's best sellers is Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom. We also have a new, illustrated edition of The Art of War for the determined businessman who returns to this title year after year. The Zappos Experience is a new title, and one that is a must-read for anyone looking to follow in the footsteps of the online shopping powerhouse. 

Fun office items are also always a treat: a set of labelled stickies to organize files, a Pro/Con stickies list when one makes business decisions, a sleek brown Moleskine mini-planner, and a desk calendar based on the best seller Don't Sweat the Small Stuff  for anyone dealing with work stress. A pretty calendar with Edward Hopper's art can also brighten up and relax any workspace! 

1.  Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom, P760; 2. The Art of War: The New Illustrated Edition by Sun Tzu, P940; 3. The Zappos Experience: 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage and Wow, P1199; 4. Moleskine Large Weekly Diary/Planner 2012, P1999; 5. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff 2012 Day to Day Calendar, P588; 6. Do, Note, File, Read, Send, Burn: Actions Stickies Set by Knock Knock, P650; 7. Pro/Con Stickies by Knock Knock, P150; 8. Sticky Flags by Knock Knock, P299; 9. Moleskine Brown Weekly Diary/Planner 2012, P450; 10, Edward Hopper 2012 small calendar, P648. 

For more physically active friends, we have an inspired autobiography by one of the most popular athletes today: Rafa: My Story by tennis sensation Rafael Nadal. The Men's Health Big Book of Exercises (as well as other titles in this series) isn't new, but it's one that is slowly becoming a staple in our best seller list! We also have The WWE Championship book, and a book about water and its importance to our health.  How to Watch the Olympics is also available for the sports buff that is excited for the 2012 London event. 

We also have desk and wall calendars for fans, some dedicated to a specific sport, while others about athletics in general! 

1.  Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life, P599; 2. Golf Quips, Quotes (and of course), Jokes 2012 Page-a-Day Calendar, P585; 3. Rafa: My Story, P1135; 4. The Men’s Health Big Book of Exercises, P999; 5. The WWE Championship, P640; 6. 365 Sports Facts-A-Year 2012, P585; 7. Hoops 2012 Calendar, P720; 8. How to Watch the Olympics, P699; 9. 501 Must Drive Cars, P699.

Gift Guide 2011 Part 1: Book Tower Edition

It's no secret that I spend endless hours in my week walking around Fully Booked. For the first edition of my holiday gift guide this year, I decided to focus on something that everyone would be able to easily find in our store: book towers. 

Ever since I started hanging around here, I always noticed how creative the staff is in presenting the books. I think they have a lot of fun when we get a lot of stock of a particular title, making different patterns with the spine side and page side.  I, for one, love noticing how the book towers evolve as the stock lessens each week. 

So here, as the first part of many, I present the most easily found titles and for whom I think they would make appropriate gifts. Let the holiday shopping hoopla begin!

The atrium of the Fort branch is always the perfect place to find a book tower -- whether very tall from the floor, or very simple from just a table. Here, we see the different tables dedicated to the Childrens section, with The Graveyard Book, Envy, Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Beastly, Torment, and Zombies vs. Unicorns in plain sight!

For the Collector: I always find myself staring at special editions of titles, wanting to add them to my shelf, but never willing to spend as much as they cost to actually own them.  After all, they're like a nice bonus: a story you already know, but you would also love to browse through the pages of illustrations and symbols and maps that are related to it.  This special illustrated edition of The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown would be the perfect holiday gift for a loved one who you know loves mystery and adventure fiction and would enjoy the story and images this particular printing of the book offers.

 

For the Fantastical Feel: A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin has been a best seller for almost the entire year, mainly because of the release of its television counterpart. We always try to have a lot of stock of the book (and always run out, still!), and now, we also have multiple copies of the UK edition box set. Take a friend into the world of dragons and direwolves and have them experience a real winter this Christmas!

For the Fiction Fanatic: I remember when this book tower was as tall as me! Hahahaha! :-) Now, a few inches are all that is left of the mass market edition of Jonathan Franzen's Freedom. Only a few more copies left for the book-loving friend you have! 

For the Fiction Fanatic: A Moment in the Sun by John Sayles was also another book that had an intricate display before now consolidated into a mini-tower. Take a friend through the turn of the century, from World War and from different points of view of Americans, Europeans and fellow Filipinos. Were you able to catch Amigo, John Sayles' film, this year?

Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 is another of this year's hot topics in literature. For any Murakami fan that you know (if they hadn't already grabbed a copy of this), this double-cover hardbound printing of the book would be a great gift.

For the Motion Picture Maven:  Two book titles with movie adaptations and a lot of stock in our stores: World War Z by Max Brooks is a fun first person narration of a zombie apocalypse (whose movie version will star Brad Pitt), while Drive by James Sallis is a sullen story of a stunt driver turned dark knight, whose film counterpart is played with so much charm by Ryan Gosling. Both short, easy reads for the film fanatic getting ready to watch the cinema release! Drive is actually in theaters now!

 

For the Business-Minded Buddy: The 4-Hour Workweek sounds like a dream to anyone who works (at least) nine hours a day. But thankfully, here is a way to achieve that stability in one's career. For the business-minded buddy who always knew there is so much in life to work towards, this would be the perfect present to plan his future!

For the Business-Minded Buddy: Robert Kiyosaki has been a large player in the business book market since Rich Dad, Poor Dad.  In Unfair Advantage, he talks about getting on top in the financial world, and being able to reach the same success as those with experience and education in banking have.

For the Curious Cat:  Freakonomics has been around for maybe five or so years now, and it is always a mainstay in our list of top 20 business books! This pile was one of those that was as tall as me as well, and here, it now lies beside one of the shelves in our third floor. Perfect for the curious cat in all of us!

For the Music and Media Lover: Steven Tyler's all-access pass to his mind, misadventures and musings would be a great holiday addition to one's bookshelf, especially for rock fans and Aerosmith fans. Parked right beside the hilarious My Book Wook 2 by Russell Brand, these two would make a great pairing for holiday gifts!
 

For the Music and Media Lover: Two of music's most mysterious figures, Lady Gaga and Keith Richards, and their books! Give your Lady Gaga loving friend a dose of the inner-workings of her mind, or let the rock and roll fan have his share of the Rolling Stones' debauchery in Life by Keith Richards. The legendary guitarist pens his own story, and even wins a GQ Writer of the Year recognition for his effort.

Stay tuned for more of holiday gift items available at Fully Booked fullybookedonline.com!

The titles and book towers featured in this entry are all available as of Sunday, November 13, 2011. Please call 8587000 or e-mail me at lucy@fullybookedonline.com to reserve or request a transfer to your branch of choice.