“Shop local” is a popular refrain during the holiday season, and buying books is no exception. If you’re struggling with what to get the bookworm in your life, consider skipping the BookTok recommendations this year. Pittsburgh has a thriving literary scene and a talented community of local authors, for sale both online and at stores like White Whale or Caliban Books.
These Books by Pittsburgh Authors Make Unique Holiday Gifts
For the Local History Buff…
Gen X Pittsburgh: The Beehive and the ‘90s Scene by Dave Rullo
Dave Rullo’s comprehensive history of Pittsburgh’s first coffeehouse, the Beehive, made a splash last fall when it came out and has continued to be one of the most popular local books. Rullo has the keen, sensitive eye of an insider and interviews people from all over the bohemian scene of the ‘90s and early aughts in Pittsburgh. Know a friend or relative who waxes poetic about the cheap drinks from back in the day? This is the book for them. (Also, rumor has it Rullo is working on a follow-up about the ‘90s club scene…)
For the Foodie…
Pittsburgh When I’m Hungry by Karen Lillis
Author and photographer Karen Lillis has spent a lot of time in restaurants over her years in the city’s literary scene, traversing Pittsburgh without a car or going to and from readings and bookstores. (You might recognize her from Caliban Books, where she runs Karen’s Book Row, a store-within-a-store focused on feminist fiction). Pittsburgh When I’m Hungry is a book of Lillis’s photography of Pittsburgh restaurants past and present, including the Beehive Coffeehouse, Lombardozzi’s, Lili Cafe, Sandwich Shop, Ritter’s Diner, and many more.
For Empowering the Girls…
Homing: Instincts of a Rustbelt Feminist by Sherrie Flick
Sherrie Flick’s Homing is a multi-faceted collection of essays that touches on both the personal and the political. Flick writes about the South Side Slopes (a welcome addition to the heavily East End-focused Pittsburgh canon), grief, gardening, her father, Andy Warhol, and the toughness and vulnerability she learned from growing up as a young woman in post-industrial Beaver, PA.
For the Late-Night Existential Breakdown…
Devil’s Contract by Ed Simon
No matter how you voted in 2024, an election year can feel like a Faustian bargain, having to consider ethical choices that weigh heavy on your soul. Pittsburgh author and theologian Ed Simon delves deep into the history of the myth of the “deal with the devil” in an accessible, engaging way.
For the Poetry Lover…
Gastromythology by Jessica Manack
Jessica Manack’s 2024 poetry release Gastromythology is about what we put into our bodies and consume. As the holidays come and go, this often becomes front and center when we come to January bloated and depressed. Manack explores in thoughtful, provocative verse how decadence and desire intersect. She lands on the idea that perhaps we can find a balance between nourishment and overconsumption.
For Finding Beauty in Everything…
Deep Color: The Shades That Shape Our Soul by Keith Recker
Our very own editor-in-chief Keith Recker’s Deep Color is on sale for the holidays from Schiffer Books. Recker has spent a lifetime learning how color affects both our inner and outer lives, and Deep Color unpacks each color’s history and influences. The book encourages looking at often taken for granted colors with a deeper, more meditative eye and finding beauty in even the blackest blacks and grayest grays. You’ll never see color the same way again. Special discounts are on offer until Nov 21, 2024.
Story by Emma Riva / Photo courtesy of Caliban Books
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