Omni Personal Shopper: The Godfather

On the heels of Brad's delightfully eclectic picks for the Indie Girlfriend, Omni Personal Shopper is doubling up today in a relentless pursuit of gift-giving clarity. 

Frank is scratching his head over the perfect gift for a talented entrepreneur/writer/bride-to-be and asks us for some holiday help:

I have a goddaughter who has received books from me every birthday and Christmas since she was born. She graduated from college with an excellent liberal arts education and after a brief career as a writer is now designing and selling her own line of jewelry. She has announced her engagement and is planning to marry in March. For her birthday last February, I sent her books on planning her wedding and am now stumped on what to get her this Christmas. Any suggestions?

You've come to the right place, Frank.  Omni Editors: let's do some good today.

• Seeing how your goddaughter has a lot on her plate, my first recommendation would be a copy of David Allen’s Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.  Planning a wedding while launching a small business can’t be easy, but Allen’s tips and tricks will help her calm the chaos and avoid that nasty nervous feeling of “am I forgetting anything?”

• For business inspiration, T.J. Stiles's The First Tycoon provides an insightful look at the rise of Cornelius Vanderbilt.  She’ll be ready to take down Tiffany & Co. after reading this year’s National Book Award winner in nonfiction.

• Thinking more about her creative side, Tom suggests Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit and The Collaborative Habit. Tharp's a dancer and choreographer, but her ideas about creativity, creating with others, and making your creative work pay are practical and inspiring for whatever you're doing.

• Lauren also got crafty, and felt your goddaughter would enjoy books that provide guidance, brilliant inspiration, and a sense of the greater craft community.  Her recommendations are Craft Inc. Business Planner, Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design, and Bulgari: From 1884 to 2009: 125 Years of Italian Jewels.

• If the honeymoon has already been booked, how about a travel guide from Lonely Planet?  Thoroughly researched and full of can’t-miss attractions, she and her finance can retreat into the sights and sounds of their upcoming trip.

• Finally, Daphne suggests Indexed and Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity--two entertaining titles designed to encourage that creative spark. (And, she adds, they also fit great in stockings!)

Omni readers: did we miss anything?  Feel free to add more recommendations (or your own gift-giving quandaries) in the comments section.

--Dave