Friday’s Find – Gifts for Guys

I am a lucky duck this holiday season because the perfect book just came out for both my Father and Brother all about the Cincinnati Reds baseball team in 1975 their heyday year.  We were big fans of the Reds when I was a kid, having lived in Cincinnati and I even remember going to a game.  So now I get to revive those memories for them and have the perfect gift for two people on my holiday list!  My Dad will get nuts and salty snacks in his Book Bouquet and my brother will get healthy nuts and snacks in his!

So if you are stuck on what to get the men in your life here are some great ideas:

Men's Gift Chest

1.  For sports fans get the Nuts About You Gift Box with either The Machine by Joe Polanski about the Cincinnati Reds or Shooting Stars by Lebron James his basketball memoir.

2.  For the brainy type get the Bestseller Book Bouquet with either Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt a funny look at the world economy or Ford Country by John Grisham a collection of seven new short stories.

Snack Attack Gift Box

3.  For the political junkie go with The Reader’s Gift Chest for Men with Culture of Corruption by Michele Malkin, Speechless Tales of a Whitehouse Survivor by Matthew Latimer or True Compass by Edward Kennedy.

4.  For the couch potato go with the Snack Attack Gift Box with a thriller or detective novel like Robin Cook’s Intervention, Evidence by Jonathan Kellerman, or Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly.

5.  For the workaholic get him a vacation.  But if you don’t have two thousand dollars to spend on a getaway give him a mental vacation with The Guilt Free Gift Basket full of healthy snacks and a good book like Fearless by Max Lucado or Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom.

Tuesday’s Title – HOPE For the Forlorn Gift Giver!

You went for it and checked out the mall on Black Friday, but now you’ve got those hard to shop for individuals left on your list and you don’t want to send another cheese log this year.

Do not despair.  Here is Book Bouquet’s guide to great reading and great gifting:

Pursuit of Honor

Did they see Patriot Games, Angels and Demons, any James Bond movie and liked them?  If yes, they will lovethe spy and suspense thrillers that are out this year.  Try Vince Flynn’s Pursuit of Honor, Spartan Gold by Clive Cussler or Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.  You can get any of those books in Frosty’s Bestseller Book Box.

Do they watch CSI, Law and Order or other crime dramas?  Give them True Blue by David Baldaci, Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly, Evidence by Jonathan Kellerman, or Intervention by Robin Cook.  You can get these great books in the Deluxe Book Chest.

Official Book Club Selection

Do they watch the Barbara Walter’s Specials and enjoy them?  If yes, they’ll love these start studded books.  Go for The Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze, True Compass: A Memoir by Edward Kennedy, or Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin.  Give the inside scoop in our Love to Read Gift Box.

Are they a fan of political talk shows?  Give Culture of Corruption by Michelle Malkin, Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer or Speechless Tales of a White House Survivor by Matthew Latimer.  They’ll have something to talk about with our Nuts About You Gift Box.

Speechless Tales of a White House Survivor

Do they love romantic movies?  Then give The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber or The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.  It will be true love when you give them our Rosy Reader Gift Basket.

Is sports their thing?  We’ve got baseball covered with The Machine the 1975 Story of the Cincinnati Reds (going to my Dad and brother this year).  We’ve got basketball too with Shooting Stars by Lebron James.  It’s a homerun in our Snack Attack Gift Box.

Are they into literature books that require some thought?  Go for The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder, Superfreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt or Ford Country by John Grisham.  You won’t go wrong with one of these books in our Bestseller Gift Basket.

Instead of looking for inspiration on what to give, send some inspiration with these great books.  Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado and Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom.  Have faith they will like our Guilt Free Gourmet Gift Basket with one of these terrific books.

I know your Aunt Mabel is only into knitting and she never watches tv or movies.  Guess what, you can special order her a custom Book Bouquet with knitting books!  But do it now, special orders take extra time and you don’t want to make Aunt Mabel mad on Christmas!  Get started on your own custom gift creation now!

Friday’s Find – Gifts for the Sick

As I am sitting nursing a flu like bug it got me thinking about get well gifts.  In fact I started Book Bouquet because I wanted to send a book to a sick friend and got fed up waiting in line at the bookstore!

Boredom Buster Box

My frustration is your gain, because you’ll never have to go through that again.  One of our great get well gifts is the Boredom Buster.  It was the first “Book Bouquet” product and is our most popular gift year after year.  What’s great about it is you can send it to men, women, good friends, co-workers, basically anyone who you know that might be stuck in bed for a period of time.  The Boredom Buster includes puzzle books of all kinds along with a pen and pencil, funny fortune cookies and a get well balloon.  And, because we know not everyone who is sick can eat fortune cookies, even the funny ones, we decided to add a “NO FOOD” version of the Boredom Buster gift this year.  Instead of the fortune cookies you get to choose a paperback book to include with the puzzle books and balloon.

Kids Get Well Activities Box

For kids, we created get well gifts with activity books and games that could be done in their bed.  Our Kids Get Well Activities Box has four puzzle books selected according to the child’s age, crayons or colored pencils, a small game, like cards or checkers, a box of get well cookies, a teddy bear friend and a get well balloon.  It provides things to do when they feel up to it and that are easily put away when they don’t.  The teddy bear is a comforting friend to hold while sleeping and resting.

Tuesday’s Title – Kathy Griffin

Looking for something to laugh over, I decided to pick up Kathy Griffin’s memoir Official Book Club Selection. I’ve been a fan of her television series “My Life on the D List” since season one so I was looking forward to finding out more about some of the things she’s mentioned on the show.

There are lots of chances for laughs. Her ten year climb up the Hollywood ladder to D-List status includes lots of funny stories. I appreciate how hard she has worked to get to where she is today and respect her more than I did before reading the book. She has some great stories and lines in the book that had me laughing out loud, but it’s the not so funny stuff in her life that makes for the most interesting reading.

First, the big divorce with her husband. She tells all and it’s worth the price of admission just to get the details. Needless to say this part is not funny, but Kathy is very open and honest about what happened, and it is not a mean spirited take on it either. A surprising twist considering her brand of comedy.

Also she talks about her family life. Anyone who has watched the show has seen her wonderfully funny parents. She talks about them, the death of her father, her siblings and growing up. There are sad things and funny things and she shares them all throughout the book.

For fans of Kathy Griffin this is a great book that will give you the inside scoop on Suddenly Susan, being banned from every talk show out there, her friendship with Joan Rivers and all the good dirt she dishes on her show. It’s the right blend of Irish Family Tragedy, the American dream, and memoir to make good reading.

Birthday Wishes Gift Box

You can send this book for a November birthday in Book Bouquet’s Birthday Wishes Gift Box $99.99 http://www.bookbouquet.com/addbook1.html or the Bestseller Gift Basket $54.99 http://www.bookbouquet.com/besselbouq.html.

Do you have a great book you’d like to share? Tell us about it and we’ll be sure to tweet, Facebook and stumble about it too!

Where Men Win Glory

In observance of Veteran’s Day let’s take a closer look at Where Men Win Glory the Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer. First I love Jon Krakauer’s books, I think his descriptions and writing really take you to the place he’s at. Second, I think the story of Pat Tillman, while heartbreaking, reminds me that many good people in America believe what we have in this country is special and that it’s worth protecting.

That said, this is a book about a man and includes a lot of his background. His childhood and upbringing that played a role in the person he was, and why he joined the army leaving the NFL and his big salary that came with it. He was deeply affected by 9/11 and believed he needed to do something, but he didn’t blindly join the army either. He was conflicted about his need to help and his beliefs about the war.

Krakauer paints an interesting picture when he compares the upbringing of Pat Tillman to that of an Afghan child brought up in a Taliban school system. (For more about that topic read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson) Krakauer also uses Tillman’s journals and letters while he served in the army to describe his motivations, his army life and what his life as a soldier was like while serving.

This is not a “yeah America” book, but is the story of the life of one soldier who choose to serve his country. For people with an interest in the Iraq and Afghan Wars, modern politics and biographies this will be a book they will enjoy.

You can send this book for a November birthday in Book Bouquet’s Birthday Wishes Gift Box $99.99 or the Bestseller Gift Basket $54.99.

Bestseller Book Basket

Do you have a great book you’d like to share? Tell us about it and we’ll be sure to tweet, Facebook and stumble about it too!

Ten Ways to Thank a Veteran

With the events at Fort Hood yesterday taking time to thank on Veteran’s on November 11th is more important than ever.

Serving our country is sometimes a calling, sometimes a necessity due to economics, sometimes a family tradition, but whatever the reason the servicemen and women of the United States are the best volunteer force bar none. So reach out this Veteran’s Day and say thank you, we appreciate your sacrifice.

1. If you see a service person in uniform at lunch you can buy their lunch. This is always a nice gesture and the waiter or waitress ends up with a great tip from the service member so it extends your generosity!

2. Send a Thank You note to a soldier through http://www.amillionthanks.org/

3. Send a care package to troops serving overseas at http://www.anysoldier.com/

4. Adopt a soldier and provide support through http://www.soldiersangels.org/

5. Send the Hero Gift Box to your favorite soldier.

Hero Gift Box

6. Send a Veteran’s Day Ecard at: http://www.123greetings.com/events/veterans_day/veterans28.html

7. Donate to a wounded veteran at http://www.veteranlove.com/

8. Just say “Thank You”. Walk up to a service person in uniform and hold out your hand and say “Thank you for your service to our country.”

9. You can donate $5 to Wounded Warrior Project by texting ‘WWP’ to 90999 from your cell phone.
Standard text message fees apply. Visit mgive.com for more information.

10. If you have a VA Hospital near you team up with the local school, your neighbors or your church and bring “thank you” cards to the patients. Call the VA hospital administrator first to find out how many cards would be needed and what their procedures are for delivering the cards.

Do you have a great idea for thanking a veteran? Please Share! We’ll be sure to Facebook, tweet and pass along your idea.

Has politics always been a dirty word?

Today is Election Day so lets look at some of the political books that are flying off the shelves right now.

Culture of Corruption by Michelle Malkin who I always find interesting when I see her on TV. Not enough to read her book, but enough to watch. My husband would read this book though, so for those of you with political junkies in the family we recommend this one.

Speech-less Tales of a White House Survivor by Matthew Latimer who was a speech writer with the Bush administration is a humorous look at the world of Washington, DC, which we all know is like no other place on Earth.

Speech-less Tales of a White House Survivor

 

True Compass: A Memoir by Edward Kennedy is his story of his life as a Kennedy, need we say more.

Do you have a burning passion for politics. Share your favorite books here and we’ll be sure to tweet, Facebook and stumble all about them.

You can give your favorite political junkie one of these fine books in a variety of gifts from Book Bouquet.

Top 5 Gifts for the Hard to Shop For

A Book Each Month Makes a Great Gift for Readers!

Scary Good Gift Giving

So you put it off, because you can never figure out what to get your Mom (Dad, brother, sister, insert hard to shop for person’s name here_______________) for her birthday and now you are late. This woman gave birth to you and you are a week late with her birthday gift. Oh the shame.

Fear not you ungrateful child she is your Mom, so of course she will forgive you. But, you can make her job of forgiving you easier with a really good gift.

Here’s our 5 Gifts for the Hard to Shop For:

1. Bestseller Gift Basket which includes a book that you pick. It’s a bestseller so 10,000 other people liked the book and chances are good your hard to shop for person will too!

2. A custom gift , because your Mom loves to knit and you want to get her a knitting book. Build your own custom basket and add any book you want. Don’t know the title, just put “Knitting Book” and we’ll do the rest. That’s not so bad is it.

3. Guilt Free Gourmet Gift Basket also with a book you choose, and healthy snacks so you don’t have to worry about her tossing all the treats, she can actually eat these if she’s dieting.

4. The budget friendly Curl Up & Read Gift Box because you’re going to ship overnight and that’s going to cost you more than your gift, but hey next time you’ll shop Book Bouquet first and won’t have to ship overnight anymore…right!

5. A Book Each Month the gift that keeps giving all year long, or half the year or for three months you get to choose how long and what kinds of books are sent.

Ten Books to Keep You Up At Night

Blood Game by Iris Johansen

Creepy, no-sleepy books in Celebration of Mystery Book Month.

It’s that time of year again, when book publishers use Halloween to promote their mystery authors. Lucky for us there are some really good books just out if you like to be scared.

Here’s our top ten mystery books to keep you awake at night, so all you night guardsmen take note!

1. Under the Dome by Stephen King, it’s Stephen King we don’t need to say more except the release date is November 10th.

2. Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb another Lt. Eve Dallas book about a crazy killer who’s always one step ahead, until the end of course. Release date is November 3rd.

3. The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell is another book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series a coroner who solves gruesome crimes.

4. Evidence: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman pits psychologist Delaware against a twisted killer.

5. Rough Country by John Sandford is his third Virgil Flowers detective book and people seem to love the character and the writing, in fact I’m going to read this one tonight.

6. Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly is a Harry Bosch detective novel set in LA’s Chinatown it’s fast paced and a page turner.

7. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger is for you literary lovers, it’s not scary gory, but is scary good reading!

8. Blood Game by Iris Johansen like you need a description with a title like that!

9. Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn taking on terrorism at home, if you like Clancy you’ll like this.

10. Lost Symbol by Dan Brown he’s the guy that wrote DaVinci Code what else do you need to know.

These books are all great, and make great gifts too! Check out our new Mystery Books section at www.BookBouquet.com where you’ll find these books and more. Gift giving is never scary at Book Bouquet!

Save 3 Hours on Holiday Shopping

Step One: Don’t drive to the mall – saves 1 hour or more when you take into account the trip to the mall and the hunt for a parking space!

Step Two: Don’t aimlessly wander the stores hoping inspiration will strike for that hard to shop for person on your list – saves at least an hour, because we all know hard to shop for people are hard to shop for for a reason!

Step Three: Don’t wait in line – I spent twenty minutes in line at a retail store the other day, and it’s not even the busy holiday season yet! (Should have taken my own advice)

Step Four: Don’t mail your gift yourself – saves atleast an hour because you won’t have the right size shipping box, box tape, packing paper or peanuts and then you’ll still have to drive somewhere to ship it and wait in line there.

So how do you get the gift for the hard to shop for person while keeping sane, on budget and without wasting a lot of time?

You shop at Book Bouquet gift baskets, the basket that lasts! Books make great gifts because they are personal and they are a lasting reminder of you. Plus, there is a book on every topic out there so as long as you know a little something about a person you can find a book they would be sure to enjoy.

With over ten years in business the experts at Book Bouquet can build you a custom basket saving you the time and stress of having to run around looking for everything yourself. Or, you can choose from over a hundered different gift basket designs for kids, babies, men and women!

It’s easy to shop their website with shopping by price, by occasion or by type of book. There’s even a custom gift basket shop where you can build your own basket so shopping at midnight’s just as easy as shopping during the middle of the day.

Be sure to check out www.BookBouquet.com to save yourself time and stress this holiday season, it really is that easy!