Top Ten Tuesday- Bring it, Santa!

Frankly, I'm over the whole materialistic aspect of this time of the year- it seems like everyone has "a case of the gimmies." So, when I saw this most recent post from the Broke and the Bookish I took pause, but decided that at least there's an educational, intellectual component to wanting new books. If the masses were running around Target and the mall trying to find the best deal on microscopes or history documentaries, rather than iPods and stupid plastic toys, I'd be a lot more cool with this whole season.

And now I'm stepping off the soapbox. Ho. Ho. Ho.

My top ten literary gimmies:

1. The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson: I just heard about this book (like an hour ago) from a blurb Ann Patchett did with Martha Stewart. It sounds hysterical- quirky artistic parents make their children into the subjects of their performance art.

2. The Barbarian Nurseries by Hector Tobar: About a Latina maid in Los Angeles who is left with her employer's children when their house is about to be foreclosed on. Nice.

3. Franny and Zoey by JD Salinger: I've talked some crap about Salinger before (sorry, husband, if you're reading), about how Catcher in the Rye is overrated. Sorry! Really. But I still mean it. Anyway, this is supposed to be a true gem- some even say better.

4. Where Children Sleep by James Mollison: I've mentioned this before- it's a peek into the bedrooms of children all over the world. It's fascinating to see how the world values certain things. Fantastic coffee table book.

5. Luminous Airplanes by Paul LaFarge: I think what interests me both about this book is that it combines the actual written text with an online portion. I'm obviously very anti-eReader, but I feel like this may be an interesting compromise.

6. The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta: Because I'm a groupie.

7. Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo: Ummm, because I'm a groupie.

8. Michael Mina: The Cookbook: I ate at his restaurant in Vegas over the summer and loved the menu.

9. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Allison Bechdel: This is the graphic novel I'm supposed to read this year according to my 2011 resolutions (I said I would read my first graphic novel). It's probably not going to happen, but next year. This novel is more up my alley; something to dispel my false notion that graphic novels are just longer versions of superhero comics.

10. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne: I'm smitten Visual Editions and own the other two books that they have published so far. The company is basically turning the medium of the traditional novel into art.