KEY POINTS:
Books are a great option for last minute gifts. Nicky Pellegrino makes some suggestions.
For him
Men can be extraordinarily tricky to buy for, which is why dreary old socks and handkerchiefs have become the accepted fallback for the harassed gift buyer. But, as luck would have it, this year all three members of TV's Top Gear team have released books.
The one that immediately took pride of place on the reading pile in my bathroom was Jeremy Clarkson's Don't Stop Me Now (Michael Joseph, $39.95). A collection of his columns from the UK's Sunday Times newspaper, the book is ostensibly about motoring, but is, in fact, the curmudgeonly rantings of a very funny and clever man who holds forth on everything from country life to blokes who wear product in their hair, and who manages to somehow work in a few cars along the way.
Yes, Clarkson is non-PC, often infuriating and always opinionated, but the man can write, and he's not afraid to laugh at himself.
Here he is poking fun at the white middle-class invasion of the British countryside: "I even found myself the other day asking the local farmer if he could grow linseed in the field that backs on to my garden because the colour goes with my poolhouse. How Islington is that?"
Can't stand Clarkson? Surely it's impossible to dislike his co-star, the diminutive Richard Hammond, affectionately dubbed "the Hamster" in Top Gear. Last year, Hammond had a wipeout while filming for the show. He was attempting to do speeds up to 480km/h in a jet-powered dragster at the time.
Not surprisingly, he suffered severe head injuries. Now recovered enough to work again, Hammond (with his wife Mindy) has tackled his life story in On The Edge: My Story (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, $39.99). Mindy writes the bits that cover the period after the accident when her husband was in a coma and details the difficulties of his recovery. It's an open and honest account of his life, written in a chatty style and funny - despite a big chunk of it being about such a traumatic event. Women will enjoy it almost as much as men.
James May is the slightly shambolic, nerdy member of the Top Gear trio, and his contribution to bookdom is something a little bit different. James May's 20th Century (Hodder Stoughton, $49.99) is dedicated "To men in sheds, everywhere", and as a book, it is a little bit shed-like with interesting but possibly useless stuff stuck away in nooks and crannies.
May looks at the things that impacted on our lives last century, from aviation to television, space travel, computers, teenagers, war, skyscrapers and electronic espionage. Lavishly illustrated, it's awash with facts and answers vital questions, such as how much should you pay for a return trip to the moon (US$200,000, apparently) and who invented teenagers. There's even a special section at the back for "anoraks" that's full of extra bits of even more trivial trivia. It's a great book to dip in and out of (although there's a danger it might create some serious know-it-alls) and will appeal to teenage boys and grandads alike.
If he's more into his kids than his cars then what about The Book of Dad by Paul Barker (HarperCollins, $39.99). It's a sort of scrapbook filled with odds and sods of parenting tips, humorous cartoons and offbeat sagacity. Lots of it isn't intended to be taken seriously at all, and yet it's one of those books where you find truths in the most unexpected places.
There's a quiz to help you know your dad, comic definitions of dad types and a chapter for new dads. There are even recipes for (allegedly) delicious things dads can make using bags of ready-salted chips and tinned salmon.
For her
This is the time of year when, briefly unshackled from home and work chores, a woman's thoughts can turn to escape. Indulge the fantasy with one of a slew of recent releases about women creating new lives.
See Naples and Die (Hachette, $39.99) by Penelope Green is the story of a young Australian journalist's bid to live and find love in Italy's most dangerous place. It's a fascinating account of a city in the shadow of a volcano, held ransom by the Camorra and plagued by filth and poverty and yet filled with colourful and generous people.
This is as much Naples' story as it is Green's as she made it her business to meet and interview Neopolitans affected by the violence and others who are doing what they can to help contain it.
Equally adventurous, although it remains on home turf, is Christine Ferneyhough's story of swapping her life as a Remuera doyenne and becoming a high-country farmer.
Beautifully produced, with wonderful photography of some of our southern landscapes, The Road To Castle Hill: A High Country Love Story (Random House, $39.99) is an inspiring story about a bold woman who followed her dream, even though it certainly would have been a lot easier to stay in Remmers and do a lot of lunch and a bit of golfing.
Ferneyhough lost her father and her husband in the same week and was left at a loss as to how to use her time. Although her friends thought she was mad, she bought Castle Hill Station and moved to a tough life of crutching sheep, feeding out in the snow, mustering cattle and learning to whistle the right way at a working dog. At the back of the book are hearty high country recipes for things such as meatloaf and braised sausages, plus a glossary of farm speak and slang. High on guts and low on knowledge, Ferneyhough's story of how she survived and ultimately found love again is compelling.
If adventure seems too, well adventurous, and likely to ruin a perfectly good manicure then Vogue Make-up by Juliet Cohen (Carlton Books, $39.99) might be a more appropriate choice. With expert beauty tips culled from the pages of Vogue magazine there's advice on everything from choosing the right lipstick to giving skin a dewy supermodel finish. While some of it is annoyingly British (the directory at the back for instance), the beauty advice from experts including Kevin Aucoin, Bobbi Brown and Francois Nars is universal. The book is handbag-size, so beauty addicts can tote it around with them. Perfect for young women thirsty for advice on skincare and cosmetics.
There are even books for people who don't much like reading. One of the loveliest is Audrey Hepburn: A Life in Pictures (HarperCollins, $69.99). There's a short foreword by her close friend, the designer Hubert de Givenchy, and a few pages of biography, but mostly this giant book contains photographs of one of the most beautiful women of her generation. It includes images from her childhood to pictures of her towards the end of her life, painfully thin but still a beauty.
Along the way are images of her from all those famous films - Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, Sabrina and Funny Face - as well as pithy quotes from the actress, such as: "Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you're exactly the same". Granny will love this.
For food lovers
People who are addicted to recipe books can never have enough of them. Serve them the latest Jamie Oliver or Nigella and you are bound to make them happy. But there's a growing trend for books about food that are as much for reading as recipe-drooling.
Soffrito (Allen & Unwin, $59.99) is about Sydney restaurateur Lucio Galleto and his return to his birthplace Lunigiana, in northwest Italy on a mission to understand the family, the food and the culture that helped make him a success.
In Italy, life revolves around the family restaurant Ciccio's, once just a shack on the beach where his father served fish soup to holidaymakers. Like a long Italian lunch, the book ambles along introducing the reader to Galleto's family, the food of the region and the people who produce it.
And yes, there are recipes with a selection of Ciccio seafood specialties, such as fish soup, as well as interesting regional dishes, such as lettuce parcels in chicken broth and onion cake.
Equally fascinating, yet entirely different, is A Taste of History: The Stories Behind Our Favourite Foods by Bryan Bruce (Penguin, $34.99). As the title promises, this book reveals all about the stuff in our pantries.
Bruce tells us that when we eat potatoes we are enjoying the same food as the ancient Incas, and, when we season food with pepper, we are using the same spice Julius Caesar enjoyed 2000 years ago.
Part travelogue, part history with a tasty twist, it is littered with information on how foods are made and dotted with recipes.
For art lovers
There have been loads of gorgeous art books released over the past few weeks, so if you're shopping for an art lover then you're spoiled for choice. Particularly worthwhile is David Eggleton's Towards Aotearoa (Raupo Publishing, $100), a history of 20th-century New Zealand art told through 101 artworks arranged in chronological order.
Each painting is showcased on a full page, and the author tells us a bit about the artist's life and work, also giving a short analysis of the painting. It's written in a straightforward style, but what's most seductive about this book is the way it's so lavishly illustrated.
For culture lovers
Another visual feast is Real Gold: Treasures of the Auckland City Libraries by Iain Sharp (Auckland University Press, $39.99). A manuscripts librarian in the Special Collections Department of the Auckland Central Library, Sharp is in the perfect position to ferret out the rare, wonderful and valuable things housed there. The book features 100 treasures, from old manuscripts, maps and sketches to private letters and photographs.
For gardeners
When it rains the garden isn't such a great place to be, but most gardeners are just as happy indoors poring over the latest publications. Maggie's Garden Diary 2008 by Maggie Barry takes readers through a year in the garden. Even seasoned gardeners will appreciate some of the tips and no one could fail to be wowed by Sally Tagg's photography. The close-ups of flowers and plants are practically garden porn!
- Detours, HoS
