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Specifically for reference/nonfiction books and especially for gifts. I like to get fiction from the regular library and maybe purchase a copy if I really love it and want to loan it out. The huge crowded warehouse of a library book sale gets overwhelming so I stick to nonfiction and reference to make it easier on myself.
Making Comics by Scott McCloud (big recommendation if you love the comic arts and want to get into it critically/creatively in a more structured manner) for the graphic novel I’ll start and finish when I’m 80.
My Inventions by Nikola Tesla for my brother. Will be used in the meantime for me to hopefully practice my Serbo-Croation. Of course it’s in Croatian, despite being in collaboration with the Nikola Tesla museum in Belgrade, but that’s just the way of the Balkans and really just makes it easier for me as it is in the Latinic and not Cyrillic.
Turn of the Century Tile designs Lovely full color images of exactly what it says on the tin. To be used for embroidery inspiration and patterns for other 2D works and furniture printing. When I am 80, I will have a home and use some of these to make my own hand painted tiles in my bathroom and kitchen.
Byzantine Costume Paper Dolls Debating on whether to keep this or give it to my mother, keep it, or donate it to Sunday school. It is very funny and cute to see Empress Theodora serving so much with a full contour in the paper doll version instead of the austerity and grace of an icon, but the medium holds the message after all.
Golden Age of Posters for my mother to enjoy and maybe frame a couple. It includes a print of a poster that I saw being conserved with eraser crumbs being gently dragged across the surface. I got her a magnet of that poster and I know she will be excited as soon as she sees it in the book.
Oct 11, 2024
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Does anybody know any gift ideas similar to this? With the analog feeling to it.
I still think a renaissance in the collectibles is interesting, especially when it is vintage or antique, because it seems like beauty and nostalgia are being repurposed in the collectibles' space rather than it being for the sake of having an affinity to a certain subject. Instead it's for aesthetics. Fascinating.
Mar 25, 2025
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I love looking at artwork that may no longer be on display, reading about towns that are now wholly different.
Apr 9, 2024
Those picture frames you can hook to your google photos or whatever, putting on a constant slideshow of memories. Highly rec, great gift for a mom or grandma. I walked by ours and I just caught 19 year old hank looking deeply hungover at an anti war protest. You can see the headache in my eyes.
Sub recs: Bandulu (hand stitched paint splatters on upcycled vintage)
Eugene V. Debs
Mar 10, 2025
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