Gift Guide 2014 - Books

I love books.

Funnily enough, I wasn't a massive reader until I was around eight and then it was like a switch flipped in my head. Progressively, I began to read more and more. And when I hit my teens and decided I no longer liked being sociable or exercise, I spent my summers reading indoors - I still blame this period of my life for the fact that I no longer tan very well.

During college, my desire to read dipped and spiked at different times. Studying Arts is called "reading" for a degree and it involves plenty of just that. On days I had power-read tens of books, I had no desire to look at any more writing when I got home. During the long holidays, I devoured literature once more.

Christmas, however is a consistent reading-heavy time in my life. I love getting a pile of new books and reading after dinner while the rest of my family snooze in front of the fire. I love loosing myself to new stories. I love the smell of books. I love finding them places on my shelf.

It's kind of an epic love story, really.

And, though perhaps everyone doesn't have quite the same intense relationship with books, I do think they make rather good gifts. So, here are my ten picks for books this Christmas. There's a range of sorts - art books, fiction, fashion books, novelty books, cook books, music books and non-fiction, And the real beauty here is that these would suit as gifts for a wide variety of people.

Beginning at the top left-hand corner, this book is a collection of interconnected short stories by multi-award winning Japanese writer, Yoko Ogawa. I randomly picked it up in a shop knowing nothing of her or her work but, though we're told not to, sometimes you can judge a book by it's cover. It was scary and disturbing at times yet eerily beautiful and often quite touching. At times, ideas or descriptions made me so uncomfortable or affected me so much, I thought I'd put the book down and never finish it. But I kept being drawn back to it and utterly devoured it in hours in the end. It's also a good intro to her work and short stories are lovely to read on commutes or if you're too busy and tired to take on a giant tome.

Next along the top is a collection of John Keats' letters and poems to Fanny Brawne. I kind of hate movie covers but this collection is dedicated to his writing related specifically to and for Brawne (which is quite hard to find) and that's what I wanted. I'm crazy about Keats at the moment and I'm obsessed with their love story. This would be quite a good gift for a poetry lover, aspiring writer or a partner who is particularly romantic. Maybe I'm a complete loser but the idea of sharing poetry with a love is majorly dreamy.

The envelope-shaped book is an activity book where you write letters to your future self and this is the kind of present the sentimentalist in your life would love. Maybe buy it and add a letter of your own to their future self?

For the music-lover, David Byrne's How Music Works. I've been meaning to get my hands on this for a while and only hear great things about it. Maybe a future present to myself? Plus, I'mma want anything that man is attached to.

Wild Irish Women is another book I'm sticking on this list purely because I want it but it's also another multi-tasking gift - it'd suit for history buffs, feminists and Irish-things enthusiasts.

On the bottom row, we begin with Men In This Town. I follow the tumblr blog this comes from and it's great. These sorts of books are great coffee-table books and the fact that it's menswear means it might interest fashion loving women in your life or your friend trying to grow up his style or your dad who's decided to try new things.

Cake is another of my great loves and who wouldn't appreciate the The Cake Cafe Bake Book? The recipes are made super-easy to follow, it looks gorgeous (like a piece of art in its own right), it's from an Irish brand and it allows you to enjoy The Cake Cafe's cakes no matter where in the world you are.

Know a massive Buffy fan who has yet to discover Season 8? Yes, there are new seasons of BtVS but not on tv. The show has been continued for several years now in comic-book form. As graphic novels can be pricey, this is better value than buying smaller bundles of issues and is a great way to get someone's teeth (heh) into the continuation of the Scooby Gang's adventures.

I wanted to have an art book in here and what could be better than one tied to an ongoing exhibition? Especially a really interesting one. Lines of Vision at the National Gallery of Ireland is a collaboration between Irish writers and the gallery wherein the writers have each chosen a work to respond to. The book gathers together reproductions of the works alongside the words. An idea might be to buy an art and literature-lover the book and arrange to bring it along to the gallery for the full experience. The combination of gift and outing makes for a really thoughtful present.

Lastly, we have a book I'm getting (and can't wait to read!) from my siblings. Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell's The Sleeper and The Spindle combines two great minds to produce something wonderfully beautiful. Great for Gaiman or art fans alike.

So, what do you make of my selections? Would you be happy to receive them as gifts?

Gift Guide 2014 - Beauty and Grooming

I think that there are few things as lovely a surprise and wonderfully decadent as beauty or grooming products as gifts. Especially when they are things you would never justify buying for yourself. High-end cosmetics and skincare are a nice gift idea for people already obsessed or even those not yet converted. Particularly skincare, taking care of your skin is important for everyone and the sooner you get started, the better. Christmas also means cute gift sets and special edition products.

Here's the stuff I picked out after a lengthy trawl all over the internet.

There's a mixture of types of products here. I didn't want to go down the route of "for him" or "for her", "for dad" or "for mam", etc. I personally think there's something a wee bit...condescending about that? Like, I don't know what your mother would like, if your sister wears makeup or if your brother likes to smell like fancy bath products. Obviously there is some traditional gendering present or insinuated but I didn't want to impose it on others. So, instead, I present things I thought were cool to do with as you please (or don't). The only thing I would say is that when it comes to skincare, men and women do have different needs and would suggest buying the prescribed sets for the indicated genders...even if your male friends are well jealous of your Eve Lom moisturiser.

Makeup suggestions come from a range of brands and price points. The Topshop Smokey Eye Kit has since sold out online but is available in stores at £22.00 and is not only sweet because it comes with an eye palette, mascara and kohl but also is sold in a box which makes it perfect to give as is or easier to wrap. The Nars lip pencils are not only dreamy colours but pretty damn good value at £32.00 for five high end lip products. And, while the Charlotte Tilbury palette may seem pricey at €50.00, it's the ultimate luxury palette in screen siren shades and uber-gorgeous packaging. More wallet-friendly options under twenty quid are the Etude House lipsticks, The Balm face palette and the super-sweet novelty lip glosses from Urban Outfitters in the shape of a mince pie and gingerbread man. Another inexpensive idea is the eye makeup keyring from H&M which makes for a really cool stocking filler and the nail polish cracker set from Urban Outfitters which I'd like as a pleasant change from ones with crappy plastic toys inside. My last pick here is the exceptionally gorgeous brush set from Bobbi Brown which is less affordable, more drool-worthy.

I've chosen two makeup bags/wash bags which really could be unisex - more so in the case of the Herschel wash bag and less so in the case of the ASOS makeup bag. I think both are simple but cute enough to also work for a range of different people and age groups in your life.

The remaining items are all grooming or skincare. The Eve Lom kit is a stunner, packed with awesome skincare, while the Clinique Good Skin for men is less aesthetically pleasing but equally effective. Speaking of stunning, the Baylis and Harding set is a steal with an amazing weekend bag and five products for under forty euro! This a seriously good deal and won't go remiss in anyone's life - whether it be a slightly out-of-touch dad in need of a little chic in his life or a boyfriend looking to make his wardrobe a little more grown up...or a Colette in love with the bag. The L'Occitane Shaving Tradition set is less good value but equally chic and adult - a serious touch of luxury for a dude in your life. More luxury is present in the form of the Laura Mercier Ambre Vanille bath set. It's one of my favourite scents for good reason and this set is pure decadence. Lastly, RJR John Rocha at Debenhams are offering these lovely little manicure sets and making the mundane seem wantable.

So, see anything you want...I mean any good ideas for gifts...heh...heh.