Gift list

This list is up to date for 2023 christmas, although arguably it no longer fits my lifestyle.

I don't expect to receive any gifts just because it's a traditional occasion for giving them. However, I know that some of my relatives delight in giving gifts, so I'm providing this list as a public service. If you're giving me presents off of this list for my birthday or Christmas, then you should coordinate with Crystal. (If you don't know who that is, then don't get anything off of this list for my birthday or Christmas.) See also the charities below.

There are occasional links to the home page of an author or product, (but that doesn't mean that you should buy from Amazon.com —for example— just because the linked page is an Amazon partner). The charity websites seem to be particularly poorly designed.

Besides what is on this list, if you want to give me a gift from an author or artist whose work you know that I like, then that's fine; if you're worried about redundancy, then you can check the list of stuff that I already have.

Charities

I don't need anything for Christmas, but some people do —and for the rest of the year. Through charity gifts, your present to me (and your other friends and relatives) can be a gift for those who really need it. So when I say that I want world peace for Christmas, you can make a start!

Literature

Books

I have included parenthetical estimates of the sections of the bookstore where you are most likely to find these books.

Berkeley Breathed (children's, picture books, comics):
- any children's book other than:
  - Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big
  - Flawed Dogs: the Shocking Raid on Westminster
- See also under Comic strips
Ted Chiang (science fiction): anything other than:
- Exhalation
- Stories of Your Life and Others
Greg Egan (science fiction): anything other than:
- The Arrows of Time (book 3 of Orthogonal)
- Axiomatic
- The Best of Greg Egan
- The Clockwork Rocket (book 1 of Orthogonal)
- Crystal Nights
- Diaspora
- Dichronauts
- Distress
- The Eternal Flame (book 2 of Orthogonal)
- The Four Thousand, the Eight Hundred
- Incandescence
- Instantiation
- Luminous
- Oceanic
- Orthogonal
- Perihelion Summer
- Permutation City
- Quarantine
- Schild's Ladder
- Teranesia
- Zendegi
Neil Gaiman (fantasy, horror, graphic novels, children's):
- any book other than:
  - American Gods
  - Anansi Boys
  - Art Matters
  - Chu's Day
  - Cinnamon
  - Coraline
  - Fortunately, the Milk
  - Fragile Things
  - Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett)
  - The Graveyard Book
  - Instructions
  - Norse Mythology
  - Neverwhere
  - The Ocean at the End of the Lane
  - Odd and the Frost Giants
  - Pirate Stew
  - The Sandman: Book of Dreams (editor)
  - The Sleeper and the Spindle
  - Smoke and Mirrors
  - Stardust
  - Trigger Warning
  - The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains
  - Unnatural Creatures (editor)
  - The View from the Cheap Seats
- See also under Comic books
Ursula K. Le Guin (science fiction, fantasy):
- Hainish Novels & Stories: volume 2
- anything else other than:
  - Always Coming Home
  - The Books of Earthsea
  - Catwings
  - Changing Planes
  - City of Illusions
  - The Dispossessed
  - The Earthsea Trilogy
  - The Farthest Shore
  - Hainish Novels & Stories: volume 1
  - The Lathe of Heaven
  - Lavinia
  - The Left Hand of Darkness
  - No Time to Spare
  - Orsinian Tales
  - The Other Wind
  - Planet of Exile
  - Rocannon's World
  - So Far So Good
  - Tales from Earthsea
  - Tao Te Ching (translation from Lao Tzu)
  - Tehanu
  - The Telling
  - The Tombs of Atuan
  - The Unreal and the Real
  - The Wave in the Mind
  - The Wind's Twelve Quarters
  - A Wizard of Earthsea
  - The Word for World is Forest
Schmidt, Stanley: Life of Fred: any math book (preferably in order) other than Apples
Bill Watterson: The Mysteries

Comic books

It's better to get large collections than individual issues. Nowadays, you can often find these in ordinary bookstores, but it's also nice if you support your local independent comic book shops.

Sergio Aragonés & Mark Evanier: any Groo collection other than:
- The Groo Houndbook (volume ‘H’)
- The Groo Library (volume ‘L’)
- Hell on Earth
- The Hogs of Horder
Neil Gaiman:
- Death: any volume other than The High Cost of Living (volume 1)
- The Neil Gaiman Library: any volume other than volume 2
- [The] Sandman:
  - Overture
  - any other volume other than:
    - Book of Dreams
    - Brief Lives (volume 7)
    - The Doll's House (volume 2)
    - The Dream Hunters
    - Dream Country (volume 3)
    - Endless Nights
    - Fables and Reflections (volume 6)
    - A Game of You (volume 5)
    - The Kindly Ones (volume 9)
    - Preludes and Nocturnes (volume 1)
    - Season of Mists (volume 4)
    - The Wake (volume 10)
    - Worlds' End (volume 8)
- any other comic book collection other than:
  - 1602
  - The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch
  - Harlequin Valentine
  - How to Talk to Girls at Parties
  - Instructions
  - Likely Stories
  - Marvel 1602
  - Snow, Glass, Apples
  - A Study in Emerald
  - Troll Bridge
- See also under Books
Los Bros Hernandez: the Love & Rockets Library: any book other than:
- Beyond Palomar
- The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S.
- Perla la Loca
Leslie Klinger:
- The Annotated Sandman (with Neil Gaiman et al)
- Watchmen: The Annotated Edition (with Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons)
Alan Moore: anything (preferably older stuff) other than:
- the DC Universe stories
- The Killing Joke
- Tomorrow Stories: Book 1
- V for Vendetta
- Watchmen
R. Sikoryak: Masterpiece Comics
Dave Sim & Gerhard: Cerebus: any collection (preferably in order) other than:
- Cerebus (volume 1)
- Cerebus Zero (volume 0)
- Church and State I (volume 3)
- Church and State II (volume 4)
- Flight (volume 7)
- Guys (volume 11)
- High Society (volume 2)
- Jaka's Story (volume 5)
- Melmoth (volume 6)
- Reads (volume 9)
- Women (volume 8)
Gene Luen Yang: Superman Smashes the Klan

Comic strips

These days, you can buy individual prints of comic strips, but it's still best to go for the collections.

Christopher Baldwin:
- Bruno: Gina (Book Ten)
- Little Dee: any volume
Berkeley Breathed:
- Bloom County: The Complete Library (but maybe wait for paperback): any volume other than:
  - volume 1 (1980–1982)
  - volume 2 (1982–1984)
  - volume 3 (1984–1986)
  - volume 4 (1986–1987)
- See also under Books
Rich Burlew: The Order of the Stick: any comic collection (scratch and dent is fine)
Walt Kelly: Pogo:
- The Complete Pogo: any volume other than:
  - Bona Fide Balderdash (volume 2)
  - Clean as a Weasel (volume 6)
  - Evidence to the Contrary (volume 3)
  - Out of this World at Home (volume 5)
  - Pockets Full of Pie (volume 7)
  - Through the Wild Blue Wonder (volume 1)
  - Under the Bamboozle Bush (volume 4)
- The Complete Dell Comics: any volume other than volume 3

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This web page was written by Toby Bartels, last edited on 2023 November 12. Toby reserves no legal rights to it.

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