Getting Used to the Holidays

Strapped for cash? Maxed out your holiday budget and realized you have three more people to shop for? NEVER FEAR! THE UBC IS HERE! If you want inexpensive gifts, we got ya covered. Throw off the shackles of the antiquated notion that a book has to be new to be a great gift. We have newer titles as well as vintage finds and out-of-print gems that make great gifts without breaking the bank.

A Dance with Dragons, Volume 5 of "A Song of Ice and Fire," by George R.R. Martin

$18

Everyone wants this one! And we just got one in the UBC in time to woo your moon-and-stars! It's in great condition. I'll hold it for you no password required, just give us a call! Or stop by and it can be yours!

Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy box-set by Sigrid Undset

$50

When this box set came in my heart stopped. It literally took my breath away for a spell. This would be a magnificent treasure to give the love of your life, or the weirdo in your life that is obsessed with Scandinavian literature. A beautiful vintage collection with a slipcase in great condition. Really cool type details on the title pages as well. *swooon*

The Unofficial Lego Builder's Guide by Allan Bedford

$13

I read this crazy thread on Reddit the other day where a poster wrote to gripe about how expensive Legos are. "Why!" Why so expensive!? A particularly perceptive poster responded something along the lines of the fact that Lego pieces have to be made to fit within 1/1000th of an inch of each other and that's with all bricks made since 1958. ASTOUNDING. So for the Lego-lover in your life, here's an exhaustive guide to all the many ways you can precisely click those blocks in together. A springboard for creativity, a technical how-to to stretch the dollars spent on all those Legos, and a surefire way to get your budding engineer reading a little before playing.

The Nervous System by Olof Larsell

$35

Carl says, "If you've got the guts, this would be a great gift." And I have to agree. I am firmly entrenched in the camp that everything that happens inside my body is wizards and gnomes making magical cogs whirr with pixie dust. YET. I couldn't stop pouring (poring?) over this book. Such a cool vintage find with great illustrations throughout, many of which are in color. A great one to give for a doctor (there's lotsa those in this neighborhood) as a pretty gift for a collection, or to give for an artist to hack up and use in a multimedia piece. Or, Carl suggests, "a perfect gift for that nervous Nelly."

Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James

$13

Another hot ticket that many are after these days, treat the fancy lady of affluence to a bit of guilt-pleasure reading! Tide over the Downton fan with some intrigue until January.

Ed Ruscha monograph

$10.50

Whether you're new to Ruscha or an old fan - this is a great, unexpected gift for just about anyone. Ruscha's work is minimal, playful, clever and though provoking. I'd gift this bad boy to an art nut, a free spirit, a writer, a type nerd, anyone not crazy about reading, someone with too many books to read already, or keep it for yourself as a treat for all this exhausting thinking about to whom to give gifts. Get a taste of what Ruscha's all about here.

1st Annual Yankee Swap Gift Guide

Yankee Swap, White Elephant, whatever you call it, the time is upon us, friends. The time when we go to huge parties coporate or otherwise and exchange awkward gifts that we hope all will have the sense of humor to appreciate. Or give up entirely and buy a handle of booze. BUT THERE IS NO NEED TO GIVE UP because I'm here for you. I understand the modern person's need for a great, hilarious yankee swap gift that will be both coveted and inexpensive. Effortless yet perfect. I have rounded up several examples of such gifts from our fair dungeon's shelves. Stop in, spend only a few dollars for another year of laughs or at least appropriately humorous or interesting wares that we will happily wrap for you free of charge and send you on your way to a sure bet of holiday celebrationism.

First, for the party of smarties, The Interrogative Mood by Padgett Powell. A book written entirely in questions. Quick to explain to a party, a fascinating conversation starter, funny, weird. $7.50. Nailed it.

The Lone Ranger Pop-Up Book, in time for that wacky new Johnny Depp movie this one would be great at a party where the nostalgia factor might really convince your boomer boss to give you that 110% raise you've requested. Moving parts, awesome details, and not to mention all the 3D action without those cheap glasses. A bit of an investment but worth every penny at $25.

According to legend, Napoleon found an oracle in an Egyptian tomb, it later became one of his prized possessions and he frequently consulted it before his most "speculative and successful enterprises." For less than $20 ($14.50) you can give the gift of history AND prescience in one slim volume. In it are the keys to weather omens, palm reading, what your moles and dreams mean and much much much more.

For $5 you can give the gift of David Shrigley. An awesome collection of hilarious outsidery art in postcard format this will be highly coveted among The Young and Smart set. Your redneck brother might even love it.(Mine does).

The Big Book of Magic is a great pick for just about any sort of party, they're really easy to do and understand tricks, er, I mean illusions that you can do with coins or string or very few props. Accessible to all ages and chock full of super retro line illustrations. Snatch it up for $8 before it disappears in a secret compartment in the bottom of a hat!

The Riffology of AC/DC might be a great gift for your roommates who have terrible taste in music, karaoke enthusiasts, or a passive aggressive comment toward your coworker who wears shorts at inappropriate times of the year. Either way, this is a ROCKIN' gift that people will fight for and it's only $13.

And finally, saving the BEST FOR LAST is Where to Go and What to Do When You're Single and Living in and Around Boston for a mere $4.50. This book was printed in 1985, it's chock full of kitschy art deco illustrations and (mostly though not entirely) outdated suggestions for meeting people and dating in the Boston metro area. So awesome, it's a historical snapshot of our fair city and a cultural portrait of being single in the age of Bret Easton Ellis, Madonna and Miami Vice.

Nifty Gifties

We got some holidays coming up, folks! People are really into giving new books as gifts, but what about rare, out-of-print vintage cool things? Below I'm highlighting some of the most special things of all you won't find anywhere else in the WORLD but the Used Book Cellar. These are rad things you should totally give to those people on your list that have everything. 'Cuz they won't have these:

For the budding grand sommelier, an epic-huge hardcover book "Wines of the World" with full-color photographs, endpapers and a SLIPCASE. Nothin' says class like a slipcase. The book is huge and well-bound so it lies flat. It has a bit of the history of wine, and talks about some ideas for ones to look out for, but as this was printed in 1967, the bread and butter of this book (or cheese and crackers?) is the exhaustive guide to regions, and what kinds of wine come from where, what they taste like, why they taste the way they do. A really fascinating, beautiful book. $20 smackers.

For the funny-man, kooky-lady, anglophile or philosophy major who needs a laugh over the winter break, if I were you I would SERIOUSLY consider The Brand New Monty Python Bok [sic]. This book is rated NC-17 guys, but really there's something for everyone (over 17) here. In standard Python fashion nothing is sacred, all things are satirized and there are lots of pictures. Crude humor. Making fun of monarchs. Sex advice. Rat recipes. Fairy tales. Etiquette tips. Rene Descarte detective stories. Basically, you and anyone worth knowing deserves this book. All this can be yours for just $15 bucks. This is a HUGE savings off of the (fake) list price of £142.48½

For the history buff grampa who's always saying you wouldn't have a chance in a fight against Winston Churchill (I'm in therapy now, guys, don't worry) I present to you The New Yorker War Album. This book was printed in 1942 and is full of New Yorker cartoons lampooning the 1st and 2nd World Wars. Full of subtle humor and slices-of-life from the years of the Great War, this would make a rare, cool gift. $14

The UBC is mad-rich in fancy art books. Big ones, small ones, expensive ones, inexpensive ones. Rare, awesome, etc. We're all over the board! Art is the way to go to impress the cultured ones in your life, and why break the bank to impress someone? Everyone is impressed by the guy or gal who can get a $75 art book for $13. Which is possible here.

So show us the goods, you might be saying? Here is but a SAMPLING dear readers:

I'm obsessed with Penguin book covers, and look at this thing we got in that I DID NOT EVEN KNOW EXISTED: A whole MONOGRAPH of the full paintings used on Penguin covers. Some beautiful, strange stuff in here. Color and black and white. A cool old saddle-stitched book of paintings by Ben Shahn. In 1949 it went for three shillings and sixpence at modern art museums EXCLUSIVELY. But YOU can have it for $5.

For $20 we have a monograph of Anish Kapoor (the shiny Chicago bean guy) that is both physically a beautiful book (shiny endpapers! handwritten notes sewn into the center of the binding!) as well as a fascinating exploration into a VERY contemporary sculptor's process, inspirations and oeuvre.

And for $8 (this is a crazy deal) we have this really large trim-size (I'm talking 15" x 11") book of 16 color plates of French Primitives, beautiful paintings of French medieval life and interest beautifully reproduced (sometimes with metallic ink!). The pages are loose, making each leaf ready for framing!

Thanks for reading! If you have any books you want to turn into cash or store credit, we're here Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10 AM-4PM.