Rushdie for Christmas

As huge fans of Rushdie, we feel compelled to give Rushdie's books as gifts. Midnight's Children, our favorite, is too thick--they are as likely to read it as they are to eat that fruitcake. We have come to the conclusion that we're not going to understand Satanic Verses until we read our free Qu'ran, so that's unlikely to meet with wild success as a gift, either.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories, the novella about a boy's fantastic journey to the source of all stories (our eponymous Ocean of Notions), is just right to introduce the unsuspecting to Rushdie. Full of sing-songy, witty wordplay without silliness. Quick enough reading for a weekend. And since it was written in reply to the infamous censure of Satanic Verses, even the ignats on our giftlist can figure out who he is with a little prodding.