Gene Shalit picks top books for gifts

For 35 years, the “Today” show’s Gene Shalit has shared his favorite selection of distinctive books for great gift-giving. This year, Gene's at it again. Here's the list he discussed on “Today.”

Gene Shalit's list of distinctive books for gift-giving

"Botanica"
Photographs by Howard Schatz
Publisher: Bulfinch Press
156 pages
$60
www.bulfinchpress.com

"Christmas in New York: A Pop-Up Book"
Author: Chuck Fischer
Publisher: Bulfinch Press
$35
www.bulfinchpress.com

"The Complete Calvin and Hobbes"
Three volumes, hardcover, slipcased set
Author and illustrator: Bill Watterson
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Volume 1: 492 pages
Volume 2:  480 pages
Volume 3:  484 pages
$150
www.calvinandhobbes.com

"The Complete New Yorker"
Introduction by David Remnick
8 DVDs for computer use only
Publisher: Random House
$100
www.randomhouse.com

"Irving Berlin's Show Business: Broadway-Hollywood-America"
Author: David Leopold
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
240 pages
$50
www.abramsbooks.com

"Jazzlife: A Journey for Jazz Across America in 1960"
By William Claxton and Joachim E. Berendt
Publisher: Taschen
696 pages
$200
www.taschen.com

"Los Angeles"
Photographs by Tim Street-Porter
Introduction by Diane Keaton
Publisher: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.
263 pages
$195
www.rizzoliusa.com

"My First Menorah"
Author and illustrator: Salina Yoon
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
20 pages
$7.99
www.simonsays.com

"Nicky the Jazz Cat"
Story and pictures by Carol Friedman
Publisher: PowerHouse Books
$16.95
www.nickythejazzcat.com
www.powerhousebooks.com

"The 60-Second Encyclopedia"
Author: Michael J. Rosen
Publisher: Workman Publishing
$11.95
www.workman.com

"Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them"
Author: Tim Walsh
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
320 pages
$29.95
www.andrewsmcmeel.com

"The World's Longest Crossword Puzzle"
Author: Frank Longo
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc
$9.95
www.sterlingpub.com

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