Read on Get great gifts for the (miniature) book lover UTE GIFT IN
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ow is the season for love and kindness, but it’s also the season for gift selection. Anyone who’s agonized over selecting that perfect gift knows what a challenge it can be. For those of us who love a reader, the task is simpler. Lovers of literature, of any age, can never have enough books. Here are some suggestions for the dedicated (miniature) reader in your life this holiday:
this takes second place to the true meaning of the season. This is a charmer for your own little loves who anxiously await their own part in the holiday season. Duck sets out to help Santa by gathering gift requests from the animals in the forest. But everything goes awry when his little brothers and sisters decide to help. Suddenly Frog’s request for a box of flies becomes a request for a planet, due to the exuberant suggestions of Santa’s newest helpers. Duck tries to get the gift suggestions under control by suggesting his brothers and sisters learn the real meaning of Christmas. Instead, Duck learns an important lesson about sharing patience and love with the smallest members of his family. Santa Duck and His Merry Helpers by David Milgrim will give you and your pre-schooler belly laughs and food for thought, in the best way possible. We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems deserves a place on your shopping list, with the caveat that I believe that ALL “Elephant and Piggie” books by Willems are equally deserving. Elephant is timid and Piggie is bold, but they are both blissfully animated about everything from party going to looking for a friend. Each book is enjoyable and hilarious for child and adult alike—no small accomplishment, I assure you. This is a must for any kid with a great sense of humor. Do you need a book that explores the age-old question: Who would win if a shark and a train got in a fight? The answer, of course, would depend on a number of factors. Are they in the water? Are they playing video games? Are they in a contest of wills, burping, or playing piano? Your preschooler will love comparing the merits of a shark and a train in Shark Vs. Train by Chris Barton. You’ll have to read it yourself to find out who comes out on top.
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for ages 0 to 5
The Boss Baby by Marla Frazee is the ultimate gift if you have a new parent (or a new baby) in your life. This picture book explores all the joys of having a new pint-size boss baby who keeps parents on the run and exploits all the perks of the office (drinks on demand 24/7)! Marla Frazee’s hilarious illustrations will make even the most exhausted new parent roll with laughter. If you haven’t been introduced to the Llama Llama books by Anna Dewdney, then Llama Llama Holiday Drama is your perfect excuse to try this tender-hearted series. Wee Llama Llama now must face the daunting task of patiently waiting for his own place in the exhausting Christmas season. Llama Llama shops, bakes, hustles, wraps, and decorates, but soon learns that all of
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BY MARGARET KENSINGERKLOPFER
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for ages 6 to 9
Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin: Ling and Ting are twins, but they are NOT exactly the same. Little stories in the everyday lives of identical twins show how different two identical sisters can be. This is a great book for a reader ready to step up into chapter books for the first time. Lego Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary: If you know a kid who loves Lego or loves Star Wars, then this book is a no brainer for gift-giving time. You know the kid who would love this book: the kid who can build Lego Death Stars in his or her sleep, who quotes Yoda at all occasions, or who yearns to be a “Lego Jedi Master.” OK, who are we
12 • Santa Maria Sun • December 16 - December 23, 2010 • www.santamariasun.com
kidding: Buy this for your husband. Has your child read every Wimpy Kid book, and now doesn’t know where to go next? Pick up a copy of Big Nate: In a Class By Himself by Lincoln Peirce. Big Nate’s life makes getting detention from every teacher in school look like a good day. The second in the Big Nate series, Big Nate Strikes Again, will be out by Christmas.
for ages 10 and older
Two parts magic, one part history, Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes will haunt you long after you put it down. This deceptively simple story unfolds over a few days in the life of 12-year-old Lanesha, who lives with her adopted grandmother in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Lanesha is gifted with seeing spirits, but struggles to understand their warnings as Hurricane Katrina bears down on her and her family. This beautiful story will resonate with older children and adults who thirst for well-drawnout characters in riveting tales. If your child sped through the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series last year, then Lost Hero by Rick Riordan is their ideal gift this year. The new “Heroes of Olympus” series begins when three children who think they are sent away to camp for being “bad” are actually being introduced to their extended Greek family— ancient Greek god family, that is. Now these demi-gods must battle to save the goddess Hera from prison. This is a must for any action-adventure lover. Don’t forget that the public library now offers free downloadable e-books! Check out the library website to find out which e-readers are compatible with the latest free downloads BEFORE you buy an e-reader for your loved one this holiday season. m Margaret Kensinger-Klopfer is head of youth services for San Luis Obispo Library. Send comments to the executive editor at rmiller@santa mariasun.com.
Tackle the big three
believe in no such thing. Moonlight Mile also finds Dennis Lehane in full possession of his considerable gifts: his effortless authenticity when it comes to reproducing his Boston milieu, his sharp skills IDE * SA at crafting character and plot, N GU horrifyingly lucid and his unexpectedly wicked prose, a deft skill sense of humor. with character, Moonlight Mile ends things and a nightmarish about as well as it could. How imagination, coupled good is it? When I started it I with a jaw-dropping thought I’d be pissed if it took plot twist a third of Lehane another 11 years to write the way through the another installment. Now I’ll be book, Cronin has started pissed if there ever is another one. what could be the defining The Thousand Autumns of Jacob genre series of the era. It’s a rousDe Zoet: Coming from David Mitchell, ing adventure story, a grim work of horror, heretofore best known for his twisty and a startling meditation on death in the Nabokovian cathedrals of structure and micro and macro, with a keen understandlanguage, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob ing of the human heart. De Zoet seems almost like a joke. Where is Moonlight Mile: the meticulous origami structure? Where With Moonlight are the interlocking puzzles and games hidMile, Dennis den in the text? Where is all the postmodLehane brings to ern high-falutin’ philosophizing? end the Kenzie Once one stops waiting for the other and Genarro saga, shoe to drop, The Thousand Autumns of arguably the greatJacob De Zoet becomes a wholly enjoyest detective series able experience. De Zoet is a Dutch clerk of the modern working in 17th century Japan in the one era. Coming 11 place foreigners were allowed on Japanese years after the soil: a small, manmade island in Nagasaki last installment, Harbor. Moonlight Mile It’s an intricate, heartfelt story filled finds the duo with meticulous period detail. And in the older, sadder, and with more to lose than process Mitchell proves that the best one of ever before—but not yet beyond the reach his tricks was that he never for a moment of redemption, even if they protest they needed a single one of them.
For the bibliophiles in your life Reasonable (less than $25)
The Passage: The best work of postapocalyptic fiction since The Stand, The Passage is a good ol’ fashioned epic that belongs on the bedside table of any genre fiction fan. The novel looks at our death throes as a species and finds a good deal of hope. Set a few years down the line, where everything is the same but worse, The Passage watches with slow-motion car-wreck clarity as a biological experiment decimates both our species and our world. With
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hether you’re George Bailey or Mr. Potter, shopping for Christmas can be tough. That’s why the Sun is offering a last-minute holiday gift guide sure to lead you to the perfect gift, whether your budget is on the level of Mr. Burns or the little Match Girl.
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BY BRYCE WILSON
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Books, movies, and music top wish lists for fans of everything cool in your life
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DC Comics Year By Year: It’s just what it sounds like: a meticulous, wide-ranging peek into the DC Archives. It may amount to little more than DC’s lovingly produced tribute to itself, but what a tribute. The book is just a blast to look at. Between the factoids and plot summaries of bygone eras, we see a 10,000-foottall robot towering over the skyscrapers he’s busy blasting with his death ray; Superman, Batman, and the rest in all their Golden Age glory; and the art of such singular artists as Darwyn Cooke, Neil Adams, Frank Miller, and Jim Lee.
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It’s perfect for both the casual fan and the fanatic. 40: A Doonesbury Retrospective: A massive book/retrospective that reexamines the unprecedented 40-year run of Gary Trudeau’s Doonesbury, which has managed to encapsulate virtually every political twist, turn, argument, and piece of dirty laundry, no matter how minute, all while crafting a strip that has been consistently moving and funny.
The Head of Thomas Pynchon: Thomas Pynchon is a genius postmodernist who has crafted some of the most daring works of 20th century literature. He’s also a little bit crazy. He conducts no interviews and hasn’t been photographed since he was 16. Odd, but we’re still in Salinger territory here. He straight up disappeared for 20 years, after publishing Gravity’s Rainbow. Stranger. And the only recording of his voice comes courtesy of his guest spot on The Simpsons. A guest spot where he was drawn with a paper bag and question mark for a face. Satisfy your bibliophile’s presumed curiosity by sponsoring a team of commandos to hunt down and kill Pynchon, bringing you his severed head to stick under the Christmas tree. True, this will preclude future work, but you’ll give the gift of getting to know just what the bastard looks like.
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Alamo Drafthouse Posters: Offered through Poster Cabaret, this series of movie posters, most produced for The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, don’t merely advertise the movie; they sum it up with a
The missing print of The Magnificent Ambersons: After Citizen Kane flopped, Orson Welles got busy making his second film for RKO, The Magnificent Ambersons. Sent to South America on a goodwill tour, Welles reportedly brought along a work print of the film. However, RKO—taking advantage of Welles being out of the country—recut the film, and then had the cut footage melted down for the silver nitrate in the print, presumably laughing “MWAHAHAAAAA” as they did. When Welles heard he was being outmaneuvered, he immediately flew back to America, but in the confusion, his work print—the only remaining completed print of the film—was lost. Your job is simple: Assemble a team of trackers to hunt down a case that’s 68 years cold. With a small army of very expensive detectives, we’re sure you could make some headway. After all, The Magnificent Ambersons has been a white whale/“God’s little taunt to cinephiles” for nearly 70 years. What greater gift could there be than bringing it to a close?
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Doonesbury isn’t just a comic strip, it’s a social document, and 40 stands as a fitting monument to it.
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BIG THREE
And while you’re at it, have those guys find London After Midnight, too. You might need your time machine for that one.
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For the audiophile Reasonable (less than $25)
Girl Talk: Here’s a gift from me to you. Girl Talk, the Pittsburgh-based DJ, has albums that are wildly popular and influential. His specialty, though, is taking music you’d have thought you never wanted to hear again and recontextualizing it so you feel as though you would never want to hear anything else. As his work is essentially nothing but samples (627 reported ones in “All Day”) he can’t very well sell it. Which means that you have an opportunity to give one of the biggest albums of the year as a Christmas
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their many speeds, from hard-stomping honky-tonk rock, to thoughtful, pensive folk songs. As always, it doesn’t hurt that The Truckers count among their number three of the best songwriters and lyricists working in rock today, and The Big To Do is as varied, funny, and haunted as their best work. Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs: A mixture of Wish You Were Here and Born to Run, Arcade Fire’s third album proved to be as great a work as their previous two, a haunting and complete work of art in an increasingly fractured singles-driven era. The Suburbs is made of equal parts dread and exhilaration and is my pick for the best album of the year. present at the cost of nothing. The Big To Do: The Drive By Truckers: The eighth album from the hardest-working band in show business serves as a perfect jumping on point for those not yet exposed to the magic of The Truckers. It cuts a neat cross section between
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be cause for celebration, but coupled with with bemuseThe Promise, the HBO-produced document upon mentary on the making of Darkness on relistening to the the Edge of Town, things get even sessions: “Oh yeah, better. It’s a candid look behind I forgot about that the Springsteen persona, and complete masterthe workings of one of the work I recorded. greatest bands in Huh. Ain’t that the rock’n’roll. damndest? Well, do IDE * SA But it gets even better. you want it?” U N G Packaged with Oh yes. Yes we do. these, along with an 80-page notebook from Mr. Burns (price Springsteen, are not range: infinity) one but three live albums, The murder of the a 2009 performance of Black Eyed Peas: Now, Darkness by Springsteen and as a Christian, I find the full E Street Band, a colmyself a little worried that lection of Bootleg Recordings calling for the murder of four from 1976-1978 called The Thrill human beings, on a day that Hill Vault and a full 1978 show. celebrates the birth of Christ who But the best part of the whole preached Absolute Forgiveness as well as package is The Promise: A two-disc coluniversal love and peace, might be a tad lection of recordings from The Darkness hypocritical. sessions that basically amounts to a clasThen I remember that these are the sic Springsteen album he recorded, then folks who rhymed “3008” with “2000 left in some jeans he didn’t wear again and late.” And suddenly I am very at and forgot about. It’s strangely easy to peace with my actions. imagine Springsteen shaking his head
from page 17
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Darkness on the Edge of Town box set: Darkness on the Edge of Town is, along with Nebraska and Born to Run, one of the true masterpieces that Bruce Springsteen produced. Its re-mastering alone would
Bryce Wilson writes the “Blast from the Past” column for New Times’ film section. Send comments to rmiller@santamariasun.com.
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ing along, everyone! Rum balls and fruitcake and spiced pumpkin lattes! Turkey and dressing and crisp, yummy latkes! Cookies and cider with cinnamon zings—these are a few of my favorite things! December is a busy month at my house, especially in the kitchen. I’m baking and fudge-making for Christmas, as well as boiling pots of chicken soup for Hanukkah for my Britisher-Yiddisher husband and our grandson, Mini-Brit, who just celebrated his ninth birthday. Yes, nothing says lovin’ like somethin’ from the oven, especially this time of year. People forego diets and slip into blissful days of holiday food and cheer, like a comfy sofa, which is exactly where you’ll find me after a long day of holiday preparations. I have eight days of Hanukkah, 12 days of Christmas, and aforementioned birthday for which to do shopping, cooking, and baking, and, boy, my tootsies are aching! But people still gotta eat around here and I’m not one to rely on junk food. So allow me to offer some cost-effective ideas for local eats before, during, or after shopping, plus some gift ideas with a little flair and care.
Start your shopping engines and get your jolly on with breakfast at Gilli’s Grill, on Broadway between Enos and Battles in Santa Maria. The service and coffee are terrific, and I love their chili verde omelet. Breakfast portions are plentiful, and Mini-Brit gives a syrupy thumbs up to their huge, fluffy pancakes. Fancy some sushi? Sake Sushi, in the Town Center mall, has gotten into the holiday spirit by offering a festive Christmas roll (rice, nori, shrimp, avocado, and tuna) that will knock your stockings off. And their sashimi Christmas tree packs low-cal, high protein, holiday punch, topped with sparkling flakes of real gold! Stick to your diet at Natural Cafe, located at McCoy and Broadway, with stick-to-your-ribs vegetarian fare, as well as yummy chicken enchiladas, soups, and sandwiches. They also have a location in San Luis Obispo on Higuera Street. Do you prefer traditional American fare? Check out Francisco’s Country Kitchen for everything from home-made liver and onions (my Brit’s favorite—ah, the English), scrumptious omelets, and a heckuva good cup of coffee. The service is great, and there’s rarely a wait!
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Good feast, ye merry gentlemen (and ladies)
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Let us eat!
(I should write jingles!) They have two duper coffee! locations, one in Santa Maria north of After a long day Donovan on Broadway, and in Arroyo of tree-trimming Grande on El Camino Real just east and hall decking, of Halcyon Road. head to Nipomo’s Still have a few gifts to Healing Touch Day ponder but too hungry Spa for some TLC for to take another step? your aching bod. Panera, off Betteravia (Their steam-shower and College in the Santa is amazing!) There are Maria Plaza, may be even last-minute gifts E * D S the answer to your available in their lobby, I A N GU holiday hunger ranging from scents to jewdilemma. Fresh elry to accessories, to cool soups and sandkeepsakes, girlfriend! The wiches will quiet staff is wonderful and will the grumbling yeti brew you up a terrific cup in your belly, and of gourmet coffee, tea, or their yummy cookies, even pour you a soothing breads, and muffins glass of wine while you wait make fabulous gifts. for your service. Hair stylist Nipomo has some terrific Bruce Lee Ent is the bomb! eats. Check out the pulled pork If you’re heading to the Five sandwiches at Rancho Nipomo Cities, especially for shopping at the Deli and BBQ off the 166 exit, west of Premium Outlets in Pismo Beach or in Highway 101. They pile succulent, tenthe charming Village of Arroyo Grande der, marinated pork high on a fresh roll, (where Santa holds court on Branch with homemade slaw that is slawesome! Street), there are some great ways to The Mayor’s Place on Tefft, just start, pause, and end your shopping day. east of Highway 101, serves up yummy CJ’s Cafe, on Grand Avenue in Arroyo breakfasts, superb coffee, delicious sand- Grande, has some of the friendliest staff wiches, cute atmosphere, and smiles. anywhere. Breakfasts are served up hot They’re closed on Mondays, though. and fast, and regulars and visitors alike Need something quick? On the west know how good the coffee is. My grandside of Tefft is Sunshine Donuts. In son rates their kids’ menu and burgers as the words of the immortal Homer, the best anywhere. CJs also offers daily “Mmmmmm, donuts!� These babies specials at great prices. Evening early are huge, fresh, and fantastic, especially FooD continued page 21 when washed down with their super,
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20 • Santa Maria Sun • December 16 - December 23, 2010 • www.santamariasun.com
FooD
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from page 20
bird specials are terrific blue plate dinners, including roasted turkey and all the fixings, plus soup or salad and dessert! The Quarterdeck, on Branch Street near Kmart, not only serves up some righteous seafood and fish and chips for lunch or dinner (I’m married to a Brit, remember?), but also has superb breakfasts. Their eggs Benedict, including a veggie version with huge Portobello mushrooms, or my favorite made with their delicious crab cakes, will make your sleigh bells jingle! Spice up a day of shopping at the outlets in Pismo Beach by dining at Maya Mexican Food Restaurant off of Oak Park and James Way. They serve a terrific breakfast, great coffee, yummy lunch and dinner specials, and the chips are fresh, hot, and come with super salsa. Their enchiladas suiza are my go-to, as is their chili verde, served with savory rice and creamy refried beans! Feliz Navidad! One of my favorite spots in Grover Beach has always been The Station Grill, on Grand Avenue, right by the train station (hence the name). This family-run establishment serves up great grub for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The burgers are excellent, the salads are fresh and huge, and they have some dynamic dinner specials at prices that won’t derail your budget. On a final note, gifts of food are always lovely ways to show your appreciation and that you care. We
enjoy bringing goodies to our doctors, veterinarian, friends, and neighbors. Whether you make it yourself, or make it to a local bakery or store, sharing gifts of food is a nurturing, caring gesture. For starters, a thoughtful and delightful treat is a gift certificate to a favorite dining establishment, especially when given to expectant mothers, elderly people, single parents, college students, or anyone who could use a night off from cooking or can’t cook for themselves. Such presents also present an outing for those who may not be able to afford one. Local grocery stores, bakeries, and specialty shops also offer gift certificates that can be most meaningful this time of year, especially in this economy. Finally, the greatest gift of caring is sharing with the less fortunate. Find the time to make a donation to a food bank, volunteer to help feed the homeless, or toss that spare change into one of those little red Salvation Army kettles. Don’t forget the local animal shelters, either. They also struggle to feed homeless pets, and you can aid them by donating, volunteering, or adopting. As Charles Dickens once said, “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else.” Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all, and God bless us, every one! m
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1065 Guadalupe Street, Guadalupe, CA 93434 805-343-2939 (appointments by request)
Ariel Waterman loves the Dickens out of a good Christmas goose. Send sauce for the gander via her editor, Ryan Miller, at rmiller@satamariasun.com.
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