Products |
Mother’s Day 2012
By
Published: May 07, 2012
Category:
Beyond Classification
The Wall Street Journal just published a guide to Mother’s Day gifts.
You may imagine what it suggested.
Or you can just read one of the online comments:
A $625 nightgown! My mother would think she was a total failure as a parent if I dropped that dud off for her. How about recommending spending some actual time with one’s parent, the thing most often do too little of…
Exactly. My mother is a black belt bargain hunter. If I gave her a $625 nightgown, she’d know who was selling it — or a knockoff — for $125 and beat me upside the head. And now that she’s 95, we are starting to feel the pressure of time; my brother the doctor/scientist and I pretty much agree she’s only got 20 years left.
So let the proprietor of a site that makes its money on commerce and commerce alone endorse a radical, un-American thought: Give the gift of yourself.
Don’t buy a card. Make one.
Don’t break the bank on a gift. Create an experience.
Don’t take her to lunch at Outback. Whip up a meal.
And then, if you must, buy something. just make sure it’s appropriate. Chocolate? Flowers? A thousand times, no. Give her a book to make her think, music to stir her blood, a film that takes her on a trip. A life-enhancer. A small luxury. Something she can brag about, that makes you look loving and her look smart. Like….these:
BEAUTY
PRADA L’EAU AMBREE BODY POWDER. Because she’s old enough to remember powder puffs. Better reason: Because Amazon has marked this $62 item down to $16.25,
CLARINS BAUME BEAUTÉ ÉCLAIR. ”Like eight hours of sleep in a tube.”
CLARISONIC PRO SKIN CARE SYSTEM. Mom may never visit a dermatologist again. Endorsed by my wife — and many other Butler readers.
T3 BESPOKE LABS FEATHERWEIGHT PROFESSIONAL IONIC CERAMIC TOURMALINE HAIR DRYER. Fast, gentle, ionizing.
BOOKS
Anna Quindlen, LOTS OF CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKE. She’s 60, married, with three kids. This is her memoir. Think: Like Nora Ephron, but with fewer carbs. (To buy the book from Amazon, click here. For the Kindle edition, click here.)
Robert Caro: THE PASSAGE OF POWER (The Years of Lyndon Johnson). The fourth and most mesmerizing volume of his epic biography, starting with the Kennedy assassination and ending with the 1964 election and the escalation of the war in Vietnam. (To buy the book from Amazon, click here. For the Kindle edition, click here.)
M.C. Beaton: THE QUICHE OF DEATH. A charming, acid, witty mystery about a London public relations executive who retires to what she hoped would be the quiet of a Cotswold village.
Karen Karbo: HOW GEORGIA BECAME O’KEEFFE: LESSONS ON THE ART OF LIVING. The life of the artist, briefly told, and more. “The greatest aphrodisiac is vitality.”
Karen Karbo: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO COCO CHANEL: LIFE LESSONS FROM THE WORLD’S MOST ELEGANT WOMAN. The fashion is merely fascinating, a means to an end. The life lessons? For a woman trying to find a safe haven in America, this book delivers more wisdom — and wit — per page than Dr. Phil will dispense in a lifetime.
Walter Tevis: THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT. In which an orphan girl becomes a chess champion. If mom is like every other reader I’ve pushed this on, she won’t get up until she finishes.
Sharon Olds, STRIKE SPARKS. "I’m not an intellectual, I’m not an abstract thinker. And I’m interested in ordinary life." Translation: These poems read like stories.
John Green, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. A novel about two teenagers who fall in love. Oh yeah: they have cancer. Guess what: These kids are alright.
CANAL HOUSE COOKING, VOLUME 6: THE GROCERY STORE. My current favorite in this series. Or: Go to the Canal House web site, order any three books, get them gift-wrapped, pay just $40. (My mother would do this.)
MUSIC
BACH, THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS. As played by Glenn Gould. Need I say more?
Blake Mills, BREAK MIRRORS. Mom’s never heard of him. Nobody has. Yet. Roll the dice.
Joni Mitchell, BLUE. Sounds as if it were recorded yesterday.
Krishna Das, HEART AS WIDE AS THE WORLD. Hindu chants. Safe for non-Hindus. Comforting considered just as music.
DVDS
STATE OF PLAY. 6 great hours of English drama.
Susanne Bier, IN A BETTER WORLD. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film. No one saw it. Pity.
THREE THINGS
TIMEX EASY READER WATCH. The ultimate in simplicity.
BATTERY POWERED VOTIVE CANDLES. With remote control and timer.
LARGE PRINT COMPUTER KEYBOARD. “With Vivid Black Over-sized Letters on Yellow Background tested to deliver the best contrast for the Visually Challenged.”
FOOD
FENNEL POLLEN. The newest addition to the spice rack.
