The Vine: December 4, 2009
Keep those holiday-themed Ask The Reader requests coming, folks — ’tis the season to suffer giver’s block, so let your fellow TNeers help out.
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Dear Sars,
I have a dilemma and I’m hoping Vine readers might be able to help. My in-laws are IMPOSSIBLE to find Christmas gifts for. They are extremely wealthy and my MIL pretty much shops for a living.They have everything they could need.Quaint homemade stuff and gifts to charity don’t really fly with them (without saying so, they’ve pretty much made it clear that those things don’t count).
In the past I have given them gifts of gourmet treats to serve at parties, framed pictures of us (as well as the handmade and charity gifts too). After nine years I’m desperate for something. I do know that my MIL loves all the CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds type of shows. She also likes True Blood, and the Twilight books. And Desperate Housewives and House. As far as I know she’s seen/read all the standard mainstream stuff in these categories.
I don’t like either genre so I don’t know anything besides the mainstream either. I was wondering if anyone can recommend some more books or series in these veins that perhaps my MIL hasn’t heard of.Dexter came up in the conversation at Thanksgiving and my MIL hadn’t seen that, but I think my SIL is beating me to it. A little gore and sex would be okay…but nothing too weird and twisted.She read Twilight, but I don’t think Harry Potter would work.Any help?Any other gift ideas for rich in-laws would also be appreciated!
Reality TV watcher
Dear Reality,
If she can tolerate subtitles, you might try Epitafios, the Spanish-language serial-killer miniseries from HBO.It’s somewhat gory/twisted, but nothing she wouldn’t have seen on CSI.
If you want something in the true crime/criminalism genre in book form, you might try something by John Douglas, who launched the FBI’s profiling program; he tends towards the self-congratulatory, but The Cases That Haunt Us keeps that to a minimum, and covers a lot of famous cases in depth.
And if she’s into videogames at all, I believe that CSI and the Law & Order franchise both have branded scenario-type games for the Mac and PC.
For fictional crime, I’d recommend Richard Price’s Lush Life; I read it over the summer and it’s fantastic.
And if the rich in-laws drink: wine.com, baby. A Veuve gift package (the one with the quaint carrying case) and you’re all good in the hood.
Anyone else?
Sarah,
Here’s a holiday-appropriate “ask the readers” question.I have a beloved advent calendar from my childhood I’m trying to locate, but have had no Google success.It was a one-time-use type calendar with perforated tabs over the days, and a sort of cartoony-looking picture on it of a nighttime scene.
The calendar told the story of a little star that turned out to be the star that led the wise men to the manger.The calendar did not have chocolate or other goodies in it, just text behind the tabs telling this story.
If there are other recommendations for good advent calendars, I’d love to hear them, too.
Thanks, and happy holidays.
Mary
Dear Mary,
Well, it’s not the one on my wall.(Our mom still gets us each one every year.This year’s is coated in glitter, which is awesome.)
Readers?Anyone seen this calendar, or have a likely Google string?
Tags: Ask The Readers John Douglas rando retail Richard Price shut up Twilight Veuve Clicquot winter-holiday agita
following the beginning of someone elses suggestion of getting something British, i strongly suggest getting the video or DVDs of CRACKER. If you get video, be sure to get videos that will play on American sets.
It is about a psychologist/psychiatrist, analyzing crazy criminals, helping the police.
the actor does not play Cracker as being sweet, lovable, or even likable. but he IS a genius. Criminal Minds is my favorite tv show; I was glued to the screen watching Cracker.
Beware – there was an American remake. Some of the episodes used the exact dialogue, but somehow, the American version is just weaker than the British.
i saw the Dresden Files tv series, after hearing of the books, but before reading them.
Reading them is FAR more enjoyable. There is just something missing from the tv series. Maybe if they had made enough of them to really get into the character and the world he lives/works in.
So, i second the books, but caution you about the tv series.
If MIL likes to read the genre and has enjoyed the True Blood series, I’d suggest Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series. There are eight or nine of them; likewise if she preferred the YA-ness of Twilight, Armstrong has a YA book series set in the same world. (all of the otherworldness and none of the sex or language)
On the Crime genre… if she likes Criminal Minds, she might like to read the Chelsea Cain series about a female serial killer and the detective trying to bring her down. (Heartsick, is either the first or second book – I can’t remember)
Reality: I’ll second the Homicide: Life on the Streets DVDs and the Kathy Reichs books. Also, if she can handle something pretty dark, the Linda Farstein books are pretty awesome. She was the chief prosecutor for Manhattan sex crimes for years (possibly decades), and her Alexandra Cooper series is brilliant, though I can only read one or two a year (I’m not caught up yet) because I can’t handle too much about horrible sex crimes. Still, I wouldn’t say they’re materially worse than L&O: SVU, just a little more realism.
Mary, I feel a little bad that Reality is getting so much attention, but I couldn’t find your calendar. Amazon has a few that tell the Nativity story or have bible verses for each day, but I couldn’t find one about a star.
Reply Jen S.: John Kapelos (Schkanke) was/is the quintessential character actor! He’s good in almost everything! Forever Knight had everything, including the shots of Toronto’s beautiful skyline! (yeah, uh huh!)
My list of guilty pleasure TV in that era would be as long as Santa’s naughty/nice list! I could have graduated with honors if the subject was TV trivia!
I don’t know what your price range is, but for my parents, who also have the means to buy what they want, I usually try to do something experiential (gourmet cooking classes, wine tasting tour, golf lessons, etc.). Of course, this year, I’m completely drawing a blank…
Advent Calendars: Hallmark stores are usually LOUSY with them.
However, the one I use now is one I got last year that’s REUSABLE — instead of opening the little doors, you end up with a blank scene, and you get 24-25 little reusable stickers (think like “Colorforms” plasticky things) that you can pre-place on 24 little squares at the bottom, and then each day you move one of the stickers up to the scene, placing it whereever you like.
Even better — I found this in a random card shop somewhere, but the place I just found that sells it online benefits an animal rescue site:
https://shop.theanimalrescuesite.com/store/item.do?itemId=33726&siteId=310&origin=ARS_GOOGLEBASE_ADGROUP_11-23-09
I have the “At the North Pole” one, where you have stickers of elves and reindeer and such, and they also have the Christmas tree one where the stickers are ornaments you put on the tree.
I recommend Burn Notice (it’s about a spy that got left out in the cold and now uses his Special Ops skillz to help people while trying to get back into the spy world) and second the recommendation of Castle.
Reality–If it’d be fun to up the stakes a little, get her an inexpensive DVD player and crack it for multiregion play. Then get her something British that she can’t get here–I’d recommend “New Tricks” as sounding right up her alley.
I second the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon….lots of sex, and a great historical read as well!
Mary: Could your advent calendar have contained children’s book, The Littlest Star? It’s a cute short story by Diane Moore about a star that wished to shine as brightly as all the others, then one night finally did, over Bethlehem. The picture on the front of the book is a nighttime scene, though the one on our board book is a little different than the one in the Amazon picture…
http://www.amazon.com/Littlest-Star-Diane-Moore/dp/1425938086/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260065251&sr=8-6
good luck!
Dawn
@Reality:
Some suggestions (others may have the same ideas)
This site has ridiculously expensive delicious gourmet fruit – no “Think Globally Shop Locally” here!
http://meduriworlddelights.com/
And if SIL is getting the Dexter set, maybe you could get the “Six Feet Under” set…
http://www.amazon.com/Six-Feet-Under-Complete-Gift/dp/B000HEVZBW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1260066313&sr=8-1
All eight Sookie Stackhouse Books:
http://www.amazon.com/Sookie-Stackhouse-8-copy-Boxed-Blood/dp/0441018238/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260066380&sr=8-3-catcorr
MI – 5: (UK Spy Series)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/dvd/16363231/ref=pd_ts_d_nav
Seconding Cracker – it’s ridiculously good. However, be warned that it is extremely depressing. The quote from a friend on watching the first half of a second-season two-hour episode: “The entire second hour of this could be nothing but singing, dancing animated hippos, and it would -still- be the bleakest thing I’ve seen on television.”
That said, it really is very good. And I wouldn’t describe it as weird and/or twisted (no more so than CSI at its weirder points, anyway). But if the in-laws like their stories to have a happy ending, it may not be your best bet.
Murder One is also very good, if they haven’t seen it already. US show from the mid-nineties (on Fox, IIRC). It’s also readily available on DVD.
Mary: I lied. It’s not “The Littlest Star” I’ve read, it’s “The Tiny Star”, by Art Ginolfi. From the Amazon descriptions, either one may be your advent calendar story, though it looks like “The Tiny Star” was written ~15 years earlier, so may be more likely to have been an advent calendar…
http://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Star-Art-Ginolfi/dp/0849915104
Thanks,
Dawn
I second the recommendation of HBO’s “The Wire”…we’re into Season 2 and it’s brilliant. Smart television, great story telling and awesome character development, both from the point of view of the cops and the criminals. I’ve also heard great things about HBO’s “Rescue Me” starring Dennis Leary.
I second the Kelley Armstrong recommendation. Top notch characters and plotting, both in the Women of the Otherworld and the YA version.
Also, if she likes True Blood, she might be interested in the novels by Charlaine Harris, upon which the series is based (albeit with some shifts, additions and deletions and plain old artistic license to make it filmable).
Reality: I don’t know if your MIL is into historical fiction/crime, but the Cadfael chronicles is a very interesting set of books that has been made into a BBC TV show. Books were written by Edith Pargeter under the name “Ellis Peters.” It’s a series too, so this could be a gift theme that lasts for a few years.
I would also recommend “Six Feet Under.” The story lines surrounding the characters are a little soap-operaish, but she likes “Desperate Housewives,” so she’d probably like that. And if she likes forensics, the stuff about dead bodies might interest her.
I’d like to second the truly excellent Veronica Mars. Especially the first season. Spectacular dialogue, and the first season’s plot is a lot more tight and targeted than the meandering of subsequent seasons.
And also I’d recommend the show Life, the one with Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi. It’s a really good procedural that also has a really compelling overarching plotline (Damian Lewis’s cop character spent years in maximum security prison, for a crime he didn’t commit, only to reclaim a job as a homicide detective when he’s released and the show picks up).
Gifts for those who have everything – I’d go with Wolferman’s breakfast stuff (http://www.wolfermans.com/gifts/store/home__10355_10005) or Harry and David for fruit, sweets or plants (http://www.harryanddavid.com) – you can fit any budget. :)
Nice call on Six Feet Under to those who mentioned it! I didn’t think of that one at all and now I’m wishing I had requested those for myself. I am getting Torchwood Season 1 though so I’m super psyched about that :)
The Wire is fantastic and I can’t recommend anything more highly. I will say that it can be tough to keep up with because it’s complicated, they don’t dumb it down, and you have to remember what happened in earlier episodes to understand the later ones fully. It’s absolutely brilliant though, with season 4 being probably the best thing I’ve seen on TV, period.
Man, I would love to find a copy of my old advent calendar. It showed Santa’s workshop, was a pop-out, and had moveable parts (you know, you pull the strip of paper and the elves raise their hammers). There was nothing behind the doors; just little pictures. It wasn’t made to be reusable, but we were a frugal family and after every Christmas tiny pieces of masking tape would be used to shut the little doors till next year. I would play with that thing FOR HOURS. And somehow it lasted decades. It would have been purchased in the late 70s. I actually had the original till last year, when it was ruined during some construction. I lost a lot of crap during that renovation, but the advent calendar I considered tragic. Have had no luck replacing it, but will follow up on the hints here!
@Reality,
I’m not sure how it works in the U.S. or whether your MIL lives anywhere near the locations, but could you get her a tour of the set where they film one of her fave shows? Or tickets to see an appearance by the stars of one of them, etc… Just trying to think down the “things to do” route rather than “more stuff”…
Might I also suggest the “Wire in the Blood” series for her? (I’m also a huge CSI and true crime buff, and I loved it!)
http://www.bbcamericashop.com/search-results.html?kword=wire in the blood&cat_id=
Not to mention that Robson Green is *very* nice to look at. (The books by Val McDermid that the series is based on are quite good as well.)
For Reality:
As far as books go…try CHelsea Quinn Yarbro’s ” St Germain ” series..my favorite vampire series hands down and I am a collector.
Have you considered the DVD set of ” Witchblade “. It stared Yancy Butler and while only lasting 2 seasons , fans waiated 5 years for it to be released on DVD.
Good luck with the in-laws..my problem is quite the opposite..his family is devout Southern Baptist….sigh.
Not supernatural at all, but really excellent suspense and mystery writing – anything by Laurie R. King. (http://www.laurierking.com/)
The Mary Russell series is fantastic (1920’s, with Sherlock Holmes) the Kate Martinelli series is awesome (modern-day San Franciscan detective,) and the stand-alones are also just incredible. I read a lot of mysteries, good and bad, and I consider these real literature.
The Richard Jury novels by Martha Grimes are also very good, and there are over 20 of them, although there is some unevenness over the series, and a few instances where characters are killed off that really hurt, but not in a satisfying way. Still, they’re definitely worth a read, and I even re-read them every few years.
Finally, though these are probably off the path for the in-laws, Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody novels (iconoclastic turn-of-the-century Egyptologists) are a thing of beauty and a joy forever.
Aww, Forever Knight! One episode’s end tag led to a continuing trope with my college roommate: “If my boyfriend made his little vampire teeth face at me, I’d throw popcorn at him, too.”
Actually, if you’re feeling ambitious, hunt up John Creasy -as- JJ Maric’s Inspector Gideon books:
The Gideon series by J. J. Marric (1955-1976)
There was even a brief series, Gideon’s Way, made in the 60s and released on Region 2 DVD by Network Video. I found the books to be fast-paced and entertaining, as much for the Inspector’s home life and relationships as anything else.
Count me in as another vote for Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series. Super-natural, hot Scots in kilts, gore, and great writing. With several books in the series having a page count around 1000 (give or take), your MIL has the potential to stay absorbed for quite a while.
Haven’t read all the comments, but I second the “Outlander” suggestion.
I also suggest Sunshine, by Robin McKinley. It’s everything Twilight wanted to be and more.
I like Wire in the Blood (British detective tv series) but I like Prime Suspect even better. It’s also a British detective series, it stars Helen Mirren, and it’s fantastic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Suspect