By
Published: 2008
Category: Beyond Classification [3]
I loathe this day. It's always seemed to me a holiday ginned up by merchants to get Americans to spend any discretionary dollars they haven't blown at Christmas. And as for the “romance” of the night --- is there a human landscape more depressing than a restaurant filled with couples cementing their relationships with forced love chat, jacked-up champagne and heart-shaped desserts?
My mantra: Love is a 24/7, 365-day proposition. If you get it right as you go along, you don't have to show up big on Valentine's Day. Take it from me. I'm on wife #3. I know.
But, okay, I'm here to help --- even if “help” and “enabling” look a lot alike to me. So in the spirit of personal gifts, personally selected, let me try and steer you away from chocolates, perfume, jewels and bubbly and toward Kulture --- good stuff that doesn't go stale, presents that impress and delight without breaking the bank.
BOOKS
Fiction
Endless Love [4]- Teen love becomes obsession, with all that teen energy.
Bel-Ami [5]- He's so handsome he can sleep his way to the top.
Last Night [6] - Elegant encounters, consenting adults.
Matrimony [7]- When college lovers grow up....
Mildred Pierce [8]- She loved her children, but on the side....
The Alchemist [9]- He sought a treasure, found his love.
Sky Burial [10] - Right after their marriage, her husband dies...but not her love.
The House of Mirth [11]- What can a poor girl do?
The Quality of Life Report [12] - New York career woman meets a man in the Midwest.
Memoir
Everybody Was So Young [13] - F. Scott Fitzgerald's glamorous friends.
The Wilder Shores of Love [14] - Women who left Europe for the desert.
C'est La Vie [15] - Her husband dies. She moves to Paris.
Dreaming in Libro: How A Good Dog Tamed A Bad Woman [16] - Exactly as advertised.
Food
Bistro Cooking [17] - French without fuss.
Trattoria [18] - Italian without fuss.
In Defense of Food [19] - Lovers don't let lovers eat poison.
Real Food [20] - The food that lovers let lovers eat.
Polemic
Endangered Pleasures: In Defense of Naps, Bacon, Martinis, Profanity, and Other Indulgences [21] - Yeah! Yeah!
Deep Thoughts
Pema Chodron [22] - She sees crisis as opportunity.
Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar [23] - Dazzle any crowd.
Travel
Wallpaper City Guides [24] - Best if accompanied by a ticket
Quiet Corners of Paris [25] - Euro crazy? Make this your armchair travel.
Kids
Taro Gomi [26] - Drawing = silence.
Advice
Improv Wisdom [27] - He/she is good enough right now.
The Creative Habit [28] - The secret is actually revealed here.
Poetry
Sharon Olds [29]- Real love, sweat and all.
MUSIC
Down and Dirty
Etta James [30] - The case for the one-track mind.
Les Negresses Vertes [31] - Bring the club home.
Toots & the Maytals [32]- That beat! That voice!
Dreamy
Jim White [33] - Southern roads, late nights, foggy encounters
Nick Drake [34] - Songs made of crystal, from the master of delicate,
Van Morrison [35] - The song cycle only the cultists know.
Yusuf Islam [36] (Cat Stevens) - Only the name's been changed.
100% American
Levon Helm [37]- He'll do this until Ford stops making trucks.
Wild Card
Al Green [38]- His first gospel CD is surprisingly...hot.
Catch a Fire [39] - The Wailers, before it was all about Bob Marley.
Sandy Bull [40]- Guitars of all nations, ahead of its time.
Saloon Standards
Chris Gillespie [41]- It's quarter to three....
MOVIES
Funny and Smart
It Should Happen to You [42] - She'll take Manhattan.
Local Hero [43]- He'll take Scotland.
Love Me Tonight [44] - He'll take love.
THINGS
Altec Lansing iM9 inMotion Portable Speaker System for iPods [45]- Sleek, small, powerful.
Shure E3c Sound Isolating Earphone Stereo Headphones [46] - Like being in a recording studio.
SIGG Water Bottles [47]- A gift so hip the planet will also thank you.
ART
Discovery Editions [48]- the closest you can come to giving great original art.