Manolo says, it is Christmas time, and you have already bought your man the tasteful, Manolo-approved tie, and the slippers, and the power drill, but you also wish to entertain and please him with the gift of reading.

Allow the Manolo to be your guide by suggesting for you three books your man would enjoy.

The Perfect Book for the Man Who Would Be Well Dressed

This book, Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion is the Bible of fashion for the man. If your husband, or boyfriend, or your man of other significance does not have this book on his dressing table, you must buy it for him. It gives clear, practical advice, from which any man who wishes to know about clothes will benefit.

The Funniest Historical Novels Ever Written

Politically incorrect, sexist, cavalier, ribald, but also historically accurate (sort of) and absolutely hilarious, these are The Flashman Papers. Start your man with the first book and he will buy the rest of the series himself, thanking you profusely for introducing him to this brilliant series.

The Rippingest of Yarns

Here is the challenge: grab the dog and the back pack, put on some tribal costumery, and hike across the length of war-torn, Taliban-ridden Afghanistan…in the middle of winter. Later produce the smart and beautifully written account of your unlikely survival. This is The Places In Between.

Manolo says, there are two very nice discussions underway at the Teeny Manolo regarding books for childrens, the topic which has elicted very strong, but politely stated opinions from our internet friends. Last week, it was Glinda’s list of books for the younger childrens, this week, it is her list of books for the older childrens.

As with the list of the best children’s movies, the Manolo thinks that Glinda has done the admirable job, but that there are omissions here in need of mention. For the example, the Manolo loved From The Mixed-up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Treasure Island, and anything by S.E. Hinton, especially The Outsiders. (Oh, how the young Manolo identified with Ponyboy!)

Go now, and add your voice to this important discussion.

Manolo says, here is the forthcoming book the Manolo can enthusiastically recommend, the Shoe-Fleur: A Footwear Fantasy by Michel Tcherevkoff. Here is the excerpt from the article about the book at the Apple.com site.

Although firmly rooted in make-believe, Tcherevkoff’s project was more than just a game. He applied the same exacting standards to “Shoe-Fleur” as he does to all his work, even electing to craft each invented shoe from a single variety of flower or plant.

“I decided early on that I wouldn’t mix different types,” he says. “Every shoe and handbag [most of the shoes in the book have matching purses] would be made from one particular plant or flower.” Tcherevkoff shot blossoms and stems, twisting and knotting and weaving and tying them to bring nature’s flora to heel as meticulously as a third-generation Italian cobbler.

And he listened. “Each plant spoke to me in a different voice. One was very light and delicate,” he says, “so the strap had to be thin. Another one said, ‘I am big and strong — I could walk for miles.’ From that I designed a more rugged shoe.”

“Shoe-Fleur” is organized into four collections, as is traditional for fashion shows: fall, spring, resort and bridal. “I used plants that were in season,” notes Tcherevkoff. “Now,” he says, “every time I look at a plant, I see a shoe.”

And the pictures are beautiful, are they not? The Manolo has already
pre-ordered his copy.

Manolo says, finally! The holiday the Manolo can celebrate with complete abandon!

Don’t Hassel the Hoff Week!

As with every holiday, there is a beginning, an end, and various traditions to abide by. DHH week will kick off this coming week, partially celebrating the release of David Hasselhoff’s autobiography “Don’t Hassel The Hoff”, and will be in effect for 7 days afterwards. You are urged to participate, mostly due to peer-pressure. If you have a website and will be celebrating this glorious holiday, we implore you to send us a link to a page on your site demonstrating your practice of the DHH week holiday traditions, so that we may proudly list you on our participants list. Participants are hereby known as Hoffsters, who will practice, to the best of their ability, the 10 Traditional Mandates.

Here is one of the Manolo’s personal favorites:

3. If you possess Hasselhoff merchandise, please wear it loud and wear it proud.

Like this?

Truly, it is the most wonderful time of the year!!!

Manolo says, here is another review of The Consolation of the Shoes, this one from the Manolo’s internet friend, the Shoesense writing at the ShoeBlog.

What follows is a tour de force like no other–for although it is solidly grounded in that best and most elegant of philosophical tradition of the Socratic inquiry, Manolo’s opus is at the same time breezy, funny, unpretentious, and eminently readable. The Manolo is trying to both grasp the meaning of Lady Fashion’s words and to find that elusive perfect pair of shoes. His quest is peppered with the occasional accounts of Manolo’s pitiable childhood, the description of the boisterous, mustachioed senor Mercurio, Manolo’s first employer, and others of the sort, but also the metaphysical musings on that very serious topic that we all love dearly, the Shoes. Revelations spring out of Manolo’s variegated and amusing prose like rare resplendent orchid flowers from the luxuriant tropical vegetation…

Ayyyyy! How can the Manolo express his gratitude for such the marvelous words?

Manolo says, here is the very first review of the Consolation of the Shoes, from the Utne Reader “From the Stacks” column.

The Consolation of The Shoes –the sixth and newest release from the New Pamphleteer press — is a personal account by the elusive “shoeblogger” Manolo of his philosophical journey to find the perfect pair of shoes. After a fleeting visit, “as in a dream,” by the Lady of Fashion, Manolo is left with only a glimpse of the world’s most beautiful shoes and her cryptic message: “We shall always have the shoes.” Riffing on Christian philosopher Boethius’ 6th-century work, the Consolation of Philosophy, Manolo’s writing integrates medieval-style text about longing for inner happiness with a fashionisto’s 21st century crisis of faith to create a social statement of footwear equality. Manolo’s erudition leads the reader on a humor-filled treasure hunt through oblique pop-culture references, quotes from Paradise Lost, the annals of European art history, and world culture. (For more on the New Pamphleteer press, check out “Attack of the Pamphleteers” by Utne Reader librarian Danielle Maestretti in our May/June issue.)– Eric Kelsey

Ayyyyy! This is very exciting!

Manolo says, the Manolo’s super fantastic librarian friend Kim has just alerted him to the impending arrival of perhaps the first great literary masterpiece of the 21st century!

Here, from the publisher, is the description of this magnum opus.

The Los Angeles Times called him a “counterculture icon,” and TV Guide dubbed him one of “TV’s Ten Most Powerful Stars,” but true aficionados simply call him “The Hoff.”

Don’t Hassel the Hoff follows David Hasselhoff’s phenomenal career, from his earliest childhood role in Peter Pan to his latest adventure, starring in Mel Brooks’s Tony award-winning musical, The Producers. There is no better time to celebrate Hasselhoff’s life and a career that continues to grow and thrive. As the star of the extremely popular classic television shows, “Baywatch” and “Knight Rider,” Hasselhoff is an international mega-star, with platinum album sales and starring roles on Broadway and London’s West End.

As this fascinating memoir reveals, there’s more to this handsome superstar than great hair, and legs that look good while running down a beach. “The Hoff” is also a smart, caring man with a huge heart.

“This book is my opportunity to print something from my heart, to tell the truth about what happened to me on the long and winding road from Baltimore to Baywatch to Broadway – and beyond. And the truth is not to be found in tabloid stories but in my actions: I am a good father and tried to be a good husband. I love people and the emotional rollercoaster that goes with human relationships. I love all the bewildering, crazy and wonderful things that life has to offer. This book is about my successes and my failures, my strengths and my weaknesses. And, above all, it is about the hope contained in the Knight Rider slogan: “One man can make a difference.” –David Hasselhoff

Full of behind-the-scenes looks at Hasselhoff’s television series, celebrations of his proudest moments, and the truths about his struggles with relationships and alcohol, Don’t Hassel the Hoff is both highly entertaining and deeply personal, making this an engrossing page-turner from start to finish.

Long live “The Hoff.”

The Manolo must now go order ten copies Don’t Hassel the Hoff: The Autobiography of Genius.

Manolo says, the Manolo gently reminds you that his new work, The Consolation of the Shoes will soon be sent, perhaps by the end of this week!

Now is the chance to pre-order this most amusing and edifying work.

Manolo says, one of the Manolo’s dear intenet friends has given the Manolo the reading suggestion.

Greetings dear Manolo,

Knowing that you are a voracious reader, I was wondering if you have ever happened upon the writings of Mary Janice Davidson. She writes a series about Betsy Taylor, a vampire with great taste in shoes. The first in the series Undead and Unwed provides the groundwork for Betsy’s story:

“Betsy Taylor–former model, newly unemployed secretary, 30, and still single–wakes up after being flattened by a small SUV in a tacky coffin wearing cheap knock-off shoes. Her mother is glad she is back, albeit as a vampire, but her stepmother is enraged that Betsy has reclaimed her designer-shoe collection.”

The thing that infuriates Betsy most is not that she is undead, but that her evil stepmother had the gall to put her evil feet in Betsy’s Manolo Blahniks.

Not serious literature by any means, but amusing and diverting for any footwear devotee.

Warmest Regards,

The Gemdiva

Perhaps the Manolo is behind the times, but the rise of the vampire chick lit has caught the Manolo completely by surpirse. Indeed, only the last week, over at the Manolo for the Brides, the Manolo accepted the ad for the Last of the Red Hot Vampires.

How did the entire literary trend sneak up on the Manolo unoticed? And, the second question, have the vampires now replaced the traditional romance novel heroes, you know, the long-haired dread pirates, the blonde knights with the busy hands, the bare-chested stable boys?

Now, the Manolo will have to read the vampire romance novel.