2023 Holiday Gift Guide

By: Danielle Coty-Fattal | Date: November 20, 2023 | Tags: Sale, Gift Guide
2023 Holiday Gift Guide

The holiday season is upon us, and books are one of the easiest gifts to wrap! While the University of Michigan Press publishes in a number of different subject areas, we’ve chosen to highlight some of our newest books for you to share with the readers in your life.

Our holiday sale is now live, so don’t forget to take advantage of the sale by using coupon code HOLIDAY23 at checkout! This year we’re excited to offer 40% off our entire list of titles, plus free shipping on purchases or four or more books until December 15th. Of course the holiday shipping is expected to be busy once again, so we encourage customers to place their orders as early as possible if books are needed for the holiday season!

 

Gifts for Michiganders

Cinema Ann Arbor: How Campus Rebels Forged a Singular Film Culture By Frank Uhle

This award-winning book melds interviews, deep archival research, and over four hundred images into a vivid history of film in one extraordinary town. Featuring interviews with filmmaker Ken Burns, Oscar-nominated editor Jay Cassidy, producer John Sloss, and more, this masterpiece provides insights into how a Midwestern college town developed a robust underground art film community that inspired those across the country. Cinema Ann Arbor is a must-have book for cinema and media aficionados, film archivists, and anyone interested in the cultural history of Ann Arbor!

Guardians of Michigan: Architectural Sculpture of the Pleasant Peninsulas by Jeff Morrison

This beautiful, award-winning book makes a perfect coffee table book or gift for fans of art and architecture! Guardians of Michigan features stories and over 1,200 full-color photos of the architectural sculpture found on Michigan's buildings. Author Jeff Morrison spent years exploring Michigan’s largest cities and smallest towns and using telephoto photography to capture the sculptural details hidden from the naked eye. Organized alphabetically by city, each section documents the history and design of an individual building, accompanied by beautiful photos of the building and its unique ornamentation.

Rouge River Revived: How People Are Bringing Their River Back to Life Edited by John H. Hartig & James L. Graham

Rouge River Revived is a great gift for anyone interested in environmental activism or Michigan history. After pollution from the Ford complex and neighboring factories literally caused the river to catch on fire in 1969, community groups launched a Herculean effort to restore and protect the watershed. Today the Rouge stands as one of the most successful examples of urban river revival in the country! Rouge River Revived describes the river’s history from pre-European times into the 21st century.

Cheers to Michigan: A Celebration of Cocktail Culture and Craft Distillers By Tammy Coxen & Lester Graham

Based on Cheers!, Lester Graham and Tammy Coxen’s popular cocktail segment on Michigan Radio (NPR), Cheers to Michigan gathers forty-five of the authors’ favorite cocktail recipes celebrating the Great Lakes State—its history, its people, its culture, even its weather!

 

Gifts for Writers and Poets

Millions of Suns: On Writing and Life By Sharon Fagan McDermott & M. C. Benner Dixon

Each chapter of Millions of Suns features a pair of essays-in-dialogue between two working artists, Sharon Fagan McDermott and M. C. Benner Dixon, which addresses a specific writing element such as metaphor, inspiration, place, surprise, or imagery. These hybrid essays reveal how two very different writers approach the building blocks of their craft. With decades of combined teaching experience, McDermott and Benner Dixon share practical craft-of-writing advice with the reader. Over fifty engaging writing prompts spark the creative process and help readers find their own authentic voice.

To Go Into Words by Norman Finkelstein

Pulling from Finkelstein’s experience of writing thirteen books of poetry and six books of literary criticism, To Go Into the Words consistently rewards the reader with insights as transformative as they are well-considered and deftly mapped out. This volume opens the world of poetry to poets, scholars, and readers by seeking the “gnosis” or insight of what each poem contains so that readers can understand and appreciate the works even more.

 

Gifts for University Students

Making Academic Presentations: What Every University Student Needs to Know by Robyn Brinks Lockwood

The ability to give a successful presentation in an academic setting is critical to success both on and off campus. Making Academic Presentations describes the five moves, or parts, of a typical presentation and provides examples of language that can be used to successfully accomplish these moves. Although language is vital to giving a good presentation, the book also addresses other factors that influence the success of a presentation, such as overcoming nervousness, nonverbal communication, and pronunciation and paralinguistics. The book includes a variety of tasks to help students practice developing and analyzing presentations.

Thriving as a Graduate Writer: Principles, Strategies, and Habits for Effective Academic Writing by Rachael Cayley

Thriving as a Graduate Writer offers a comprehensive guide to the challenges of writing in graduate school. It shows readers how to think about academic writing, how to manage an academic text, and how to establish an effective writing practice. Graduate students from all disciplines will find concrete strategies and essential writing support in quick, easily digestible chunks!

 

Gifts for the Political Activist

Democracy's News: A Primer on Journalism for Citizens Who Care about Democracy by G. Michael Killenberg & Rob Anderson

Democracy’s News discusses today’s problems of public communication in the context of history, law, and interpersonal life. News should not be something to dread, mistrust, or shun. Aided by reliable, factual journalism, citizens can develop a community-based knowledge to cope with social issues great and small. They can come to treat neighbors and strangers as more than stereotypes or opponents. Readers will learn how to help news, citizenship, and public discourse merge.

 

Gifts for the Fandom Fan

Sartorian Fandom: Fashion, Beauty Culture, and Identity Edited by Elizabeth Affuso & Suzanne Scott

Geeks have become chic! Sartorial Fandom shines a spotlight on the fashion and beauty cultures that undergird fandoms, considering the retailers, branded products, and fan-made objects that serve as forms of identity expression.

 

Find more great gifts from University of Michigan Press at press.umich.edu.