The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 20

Exclusive to Vroman's -- the Pasadena t-shirt! How do I know it's exclusive? I designed it, that's how. Our shipment of girly t's is on its way; for now, we have the tagless men's style in deep hunter green, in sizes S-M-L-XL-2X. Show your civic pride and support local business!

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 19

It always gets down to sex, doesn't it? Naughty Needles, which hit the salesfloor this morning, is filled with fun, slightly sinful knitting projects, including schoolgirl knee socks, a cave girl ensemble, pasties, a straitjacket, and a restrictive mermaid's tail. The photos have a wonderfully retro feel about them.

Domiknitrix, bound in slippery black vinyl, looks awfully naughty at first glance, but it, too, is filled with playful projects that are more fun than wicked. You'll find instructions for a L'il Red Riding Hoodie (and its companion piece, the Big Bad Wolf Pullover), sweaters, hats, purses, coats, and more. The patterns are more goth than wanton, though you still might think twice before giving this book to Grandma.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 18

Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft is a fascinating look at the modern (i.e., World War II and later) world of art theft. Simon Houpt discusses the stolen pieces, the actual thefts, and the far-too-rare recoveries of these lost masterpieces, many of which may never be found and are lost to the public forever.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 17

This book is a year old but I didn't discover it until mid-2006... and I've been pushing it ever since. Safe Baby Handling Tips has got to be the funniest parenting book EVER, and it's one of the most amusing things I've ever seen, period. Simple line drawings show new parents the wrong way as well as the right way to test baby's bottle, feed baby, exercise baby, make baby smile, and more. (My favorite? Drying baby. Towel = good, clothes dryer = bad.) It's ridiculous fun, and something every new or prospective parent will get a kick out of.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 16

Szechuan Scarf Knitting Kits are proving to be one of our hits of the season. These cleverly-packaged kits contain soft acrylic yarn, wooden knitting needles, and instructions for knitting a "spicy scarf." One of our employees knitted one up as a display model and she said it was really easy, a great gift idea for a new knitter. Available in Lychee, Sweet & Sour, Green Pepper, and Black Bean.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 15

These little LED tealights flicker realistically with a soft orange glow. Why use an artificial candle flame, you ask? They're safe, for one thing, with no flame or melted wax that can harm small children. They also last a lot longer than a wax tealight, burning about 96 hours in contrast to the average 3 to 6 hours a tealight lasts. Great stocking stuffers!

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 14

THE perfect gift for your favorite commuter! David Rizzo offers tips on alternate routes to congested freeways, predicting road construction delays, dealing with road rage, and more, most of it geared right at us SoCal drivers. This book is published by a tiny local publisher -- give us a call or email us to make sure it's in stock.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 13

The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell has just been announced as Pasadena's 2007 pick for One City, One Story. It's a wonderful novel set in 1930s Shanghai and Southern California -- much of the action takes place in San Marino and Pasadena, with the main character even paying a visit to Vroman's Bookstore.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 12

Right about now almost everyone I know is ready to collapse, and this kit can help you relax in style. The Ultimate Nap Kit, which was developed to help hospital nurses maximize their brief breaks, contains a "music for napping" CD, a satin eye mask, aromatherapy sleep balm, and foam ear plugs.

If, like me, you can doze off just about anywhere, you'll appreciate Belle Hop's comfort neck pillow -- it's designed for travelers, but I've found it works just fine in the comfy old armchair at home. Currently available in green tea and azul.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 11

Today I must quote from a great article by Doug Dutton, owner of Dutton's Books, that appeared in yesterday's L.A. Times:

Next time you're browsing [for books to give as gifts], keep these principles in mind:

Giving books is also about sharing, so give something that you love and want others to appreciate.

Don't be swayed by bestseller lists or a single positive or negative review: Check out the books for yourself and decide.

Trust the store's clerks, who spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about titles, listening to opinions about them and being exposed to innumerable reviews.

Consider prizewinners (Pulitzer, Man Booker, Nobel, etc.) but also consider choosing runners-up to the actual winners; better yet, give a winner and an also-ran.

There is an abundance of riches awaiting you in the aisles of your neighborhood bookstore. Go explore.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 10

If you love to give food as holiday gifts, you'll want to treat yourself to Dede Wilson's Truffles. From classics like Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles and Chestnut Milk Chocolate Truffles to more exotic fare such as Roses & White Chocolate Truffles and Chai Milk Chocolate Truffles, you'll discover a treasure trove of recipes to add to your holiday baking repertoire. And the accompanying photographs are to die for.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 9

Edward Gorey has become even more popular, if that's possible, since his death in 2000. This book, the fourth in the Amphigorey series, anthologizes a number of his later works, including a couple that have never before been seen.

Gorey's characteristic drawings perfectly complement John Updike's droll prose in The Twelve Terrors of Christmas, a collection of warnings for the slightly cynical.

The Shrinking of Treehorn was one of my favorite books as a child, and it also provided my introduction to Gorey's artwork. This wonderfully chunky hardback collects all three of Treehorn's adventures into one volume; although the stories were originally published for children, you'll find this book in our humor section.

You can also find address books, calendars, boxed note cards, and, of course, many books written and illustrated by the wonderful Edward Gorey at Vroman's.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 8

When this movie was playing next door to us at the Laemmle Theatre, we could barely keep the book in stock. Now we're selling the DVD. As troubling as its message is, this movie is one of the most entertaining of the past year. Who knew Al Gore could be such a captivating speaker? An Inconvenient Truth is frightening, thought-provoking, and, ultimately, hopeful. Highly recommended!

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 7

If you regularly receive spam, you've probably gotten a few scam emails promising you millions of dollars in the future if you can spare a few bucks now for some desperate soul in Africa. In Cry for Help, artist Henning Wagenbreth has collected and illustrated 36 of these scam emails in vibrant colors and bold images. Is it art or humor? Our buyer, Marie du Vaure, thinks it's both and recommends this book highly.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 6

If you're a New Yorker fan, you know Roz Chast's work. She's been creating wonderfully loopy cartoons for nearly 30 years, and this "greatest hits" collection pulls together her best work. It's a terrific coffee table-sized volume guaranteed to generate laughs.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 5

There is not much I love better than passing a favorite book on to someone I care about. Mandy, by Julie Andrews Edwards, is one of those books, and this Christmas I am giving a copy to my 7-year-old niece. It's the touching story of a young orphan who wants so desperately to have a home that she "steals" a forgotten cottage and makes it her own. It's sort of a modern-day cross between A Little Princess and The Secret Garden, two other childhood favorites.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 4

Ugly Dolls: so ugly they're adorable. These soft and cuddly monsters have been a hit at Vroman's the last couple of years, and now we have them in both the original size and mini keychain versions. If you'd like to try your hand at creating your own version of an Ugly Doll, check out...


Fabric scraps, old neckties, buttons, yarn, fake fur, and felt are just some of the materials you can use to create 30 different odd but lovable creatures: Hexapus is an octopus missing two arms. The Gingerbread Men have bites taken out of them. Llorie the Bipolar Cloud is fluffy and white on one side, black and threatening on the other. This book is so easy to use (and its patterns so forgiving) that even a sewing novice like me would have no trouble whipping out a few of these guys in time for the holidays!

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 3

The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived is an amusing, sometimes surprising little book. Shylock, Ebenezer Scrooge, Hester Prynne, Sam Spade - all good, solid choices for the list. I was surprised by the person the authors ranked #1, but their reasons for doing so were convincing. (I might also argue that the Loch Ness Monster, King Kong, Godzilla, and Frankenstein's creature aren't really people, but their inclusion does make the list even more fun.)

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 2

A great gift for all wannabe Jeopardy! contestants, college sophomores ("sophomore" means "wise fool," remember?), and any other smartypants on your gift list. Arranged like an inspirational devotional, with a reading for each day, The Intellectual Devotional draws from a different field of knowledge - history, literature, visual arts, science, music, philosophy, and religion - each day of the week, providing a series of short lessons that add up to a a decent liberal arts education in just one year.

It's also great bathroom reading.

The 24 Days of Gift Suggestions: Day 1

Every day sees cool new merchandise, both books and gifts, arrive at Vroman's. As big as the store is, we can't possibly display all of the things we'd love you to see. So for the next month, every day I'll be highlighting an item or two that our buyers, managers, staff and I love and think you'll be happy knowing about.

First up, a couple of new items for the Elvis fan:

Not only will you learn tips for selecting your signature song and costuming yourself on a budget; this complete kit also includes sunglasses, a ring, a 4-song instrumental CD you can karaoke to, and the piece de resistance... authentic imitation Elvis sideburns. Only caveat: emphasis is on the later Elvis.

I'm not especially an Elvis fan, but even I think this book is pretty sweet. Produced in conjunction with the Presley estate to celebrate Graceland's 50th anniversary in 2007, Graceland is filled with superbly engineered pop-ups that illustrate everything from the Meditation Garden to the contents of the King's refrigerator (fried chicken and Pepsi... who would have guessed?).