Products |
Mother’s Day, 2017
By
Published: May 04, 2017
Category:
Beyond Classification
My mother is 100. For her epic birthday, we gave her the Amazon Echo. Now she has a new best friend: “Alexa,” who’s like a virtual Library of Alexandria.
Sure, we made speeches and gave toasts. But my brother and I were quite clear: Parental events now require tangible gifts. And highly personalized gifts at that. Because age makes things resonate. (As Springsteen says, “The older you get, the more it means.”) So… for Mother’s Day…things.
BOOKS
Today Will Be Different
A mother makes resolutions. Then life happens.
My Name Is Lucy Barton
In Elizabeth Strout’s short novel, a writer must spend a few weeks in the hospital. Her mother shows up. Stories are shared.
Georgia: A novel of Georgia O’Keeffe
The art you know. The life you don’t.
A Piece of the World
Christina Baker Kline does more than “imagine” the life of “Christina,” the woman in the Andrew Wyeth painting.
Strike Sparks
Sharon Olds says, “I’m not an intellectual, I’m not an abstract thinker. And I’m interested in ordinary life.” Translation: These poems read like stories.
Colette
“Break of Day” is many things, but above all, it’s a love letter from Colette to her mother, in which she asks a remarkable question: Who obsesses a woman most — her mother or her man?
Beautiful Ruins
Liz Taylor, Richard Burton, the Amalfi coast, a small hotel, Hollywood and more — like: a great plot.
PRETTY THINGS
Palomino Pencils
Among the fans: Sondheim, Steinbeck.
Perfetto Pencils
If you lived in Italy in the 1930s….
Timex Easy Reader Watch
For $25, it’s more attractive than a Rolex.
Diptyque Candles
Once it fills a room with scent, you can blow it out and the room will continue to be gently perfumed for hours.
Shirley Hartman
Because you can’t buy her a real Matisse.
HEALTH
V Is for Vegetables: Inspired Recipes & Techniques for Home Cooks
Michael Anthony: “I am a cheerleader saying, ‘Hey, you can do this. Give it a try.’ I tell readers, ‘Set yourself up like this in the kitchen and you’ll be able to cook this quicker.’”
Mental Clarity
Is it a panacea? Or does it work? All I know: I still take it.
Mind Over Meds
Because you want her to have a shot at 100.
Healthy Aging
Ditto.
USEFUL THINGS
Capresso Burr Coffee Grinder
A burr grinder may give you the choice of as many as 16 speeds, but because it runs at a slower speed, it generates less heat. The burrs create uniform grounds. This is all good.
Clarins Beauty Flash Balm
“It’s like eight hours of sleep in a tube.”
Clarisonic Facial Sonic Cleansing System
Mom may never visit a dermatologist again. My wife has used this for 5 years — last week, at a club, she got carded.
Egyptian Magic
It’s just olive oil, bee’s wax, honey, bee pollen, royal jelly and bee propolis. And the combination is indeed magic. Burns, scrapes, skin irritations, diaper rash, sunburns, eczema, psoriasis — it’s the go-to cream.
T3 Professional Hair Dryer
No more bad hair days — ever.
Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug
Hot stays hot. Cold stays cold. Taste never changes.
Moleskine Notebooks
It doesn’t get more old-fashioned than this. Moleskines have a leather-like cover, an elastic band to keep the notebook closed, an inner pocket to hold business cards, acid-free paper.
MUSIC
Joni Mitchell
“Blue” sounds as if it were recorded yesterday. For Boomer moms, this is what a Sinatra CD would be to my mother.
The Opera Album
37 of opera’s greatest hits, performed by singers you know. 148 artfully remastered minutes of music, on two discs, for about the price of a single opera CD.
THE GIFT OF ME
Married Sex
A dirty book? More like a love story. With dirty parts.
Head Butler Writing Services
For decades, writers and would-be writers alike have asked me to read their work before they send it out. Now I’ve turned pro.
