My parents sometimes ask me what I want for, say, my birthday; my answer is invariably the incredibly unhelpful “I don’t know.” To make things a little easier both for them (and possibly anyone who gets me in a “secret Santa”-type event), I’ve taken the time to write this basic list of things that would be cool to have. Honestly, this list is also in large part for my own benefit; it’s a repository of neat trinkets to buy once I have full-time job.
Books
For him was rather have at his bed’s head / Twenty books, clothed in black or red / Of Aristotle, and his philosophy / Than robes rich, or fiddle, or psalt’ry.1
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales
I like physical books. You can see what I’ve been reading on my virtual bookshelf. I’ve tried to make this list reasonably diverse with respect to things like genre and price point.
On my to-read list are The Fall of Gondolin and Beren and Lúthien by J.R.R. Tolkien. I have the hardcover edition of The Children of Húrin that was illustrated by Alan Lee; it would be nice to have the matching editions of the other two, but it’s not of utmost importance.
I think it would be cool to have a copy of The Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth one day. This should probably wait until I move out of Pittsburgh and really get my own place. It is super pricey, although it’s occasionally half off on Amazon
Proofs from the Book by Martin Aigner and Günter M. Ziegler
I’ve been thinking of getting something in Latin, like the Loeb edition of Augustine’s Confessions, or more realistically (given the atrophy of my language skills) something like Wheelock’s reader. In a past life, I was an aspiring Latinist, but I’ve sadly shelved that for now. I keep on telling myself that someday I’ll return to it.
I’m thinking of one day purchasing the Bibliotheca version of the Bible, just because of how beautiful it is.
You can also give me any book that you think I’d like!
Other Stuff
After reading Tristan Hume’s review, I’ve low-key become convinced that a tungsten cube would make a cool gift.
At some point it probably makes sense to invest in a proper bike computer, like those made by Garmin or Wahoo, although I’m not sure if I’ve reached that point yet.
I am a huge fan of Lego. If I were to get myself a set, I think it would be one of the small Lego Architecture sets.
Fun fact: a “psaltery” is a type of musical instrument. It is not, as I had assumed, the same thing as a psalter, which is a copy of the Psalms.↩︎