Give a Book for the Holidays: Our OFP Favorites

The holiday spirit in this office is infectious. As I walked over to discuss this blog post with our graphic designer, I was almost blinded by the blinking Christmas light necklace that our Publisher had given her. Very serious evidence here:

Now that the decorations are up and the festive sweaters are out, it's now time for rampant consumerism. If your holiday buying season has been anything like mine so far, you spent Black Friday trying to avoid the claustrophobic mess of people at the mall, participated in Small Business Saturday by strolling around your local downtown, and woke up at 6am on Cyber Monday buying several very large gift orders and a case of red wine (that you swear you're going to give away as gifts). At this point in the season, you're starting to get a little worn out, and you need direction, guidance, advice, and/or a divine message to help you find the right gift for that one family member or friend that is impossible to shop for.

Well, we have the perfect solution: an OFP book.

And we're going to go one better and give you our favorite picks for OFP gifts. So here is what we will be giving this year:

Brittany (Designer): Mine would be Amy’s Table by Amy Tobin. I am giving it as a Christmas gift to my grandma. She loves to cook, and make cooking fun.  This is the perfect book for that. Also, she is a breast cancer survivor and part of the proceeds of Amy’s Table benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer awareness. 

JB (Editor): I'm giving 1968: The Year That Saved Ohio State Football by David Hyde. It goes to my jock associates at the gym, who caught me reading an Anita Brookner novel. The book's cover featured a sad lady staring at a clock. So this gift might help restore my locker-room cred, and it's also one of the best sports books ever written. I know this not because I edited David's book but because of having taught a class in sports lit. Not a prejudiced editorial bone in my body, of course.

Janice (Office Manager): Mine would be Cash, Cars, & Kisses by John Fulker. I am giving it as a Christmas present to my father-in-law and my husband’s grandmother. They both like true stories with suspense and this book definitely has that. Once you start reading it you don’t want to put it down. Plus the book cover is so awesome (Great job Brittany!).

Marcy (Publisher): My favorite book is Never Not A Lovely Moon by Caroline McHugh. And I've given it as a gift for teenagers, young women, postmenopausal women, and even older gentlemen. Its wisdom transcends all ages and demographics.

Sarah (Production Lead): My book is The Legends: Cincinnati Bengals by Chick Ludwig, because A) the Bengals are on a hot streak right now, winning four games in a row B) even if you aren’t a football fan, the book is full of interesting profiles on men who could probably bench press a small automobile and C) if you don’t like to read, there are 54 pictures to look at. If I say who I’m giving it to, well that would just ruin the surprise!

Kelsey (Business Development, and, you guessed it, Social Media): This year I'm giving my grandmother(s) Out of Step by Jane Murray Heimlich. I know that she came  from an era that they both love to remember and read about, and that they will love the dancing, the intrigue, and the real-life story of family relationships. They are two of the strongest women in my life, and the story of a similarly strong and engaging woman will be perfect for them.

So go ahead and keep on shopping, because a story, beautifully told, is one of the greatest gifts you can give.