Gift Ideas from a Valentine's-Day Doubter

The book selections include titles from fiction, memoir, self-help/advice, cookbooks, travel guides, and poetry...

Jesse Kornbluth ’68 doesn't want you to buy a gift this Valentine's Day. On his website, headbutler.com, Kornbluth writes that he views the holiday as something "ginned up by merchants to get Americans to spend any discretionary dollars they haven't blown at Christmas." But if buy a gift you must, Kornbluth offers his picks for books, films, and music in his typical sassy, smart style.

Be warned: Even if you share Kornbluth's Grinch-like attitude toward the holiday, you may find yourself contemplating a purchase from this thoughtful, wide-ranging list. The book selections include titles from fiction, memoir, self-help/advice, cookbooks, travel guides, and poetry. In music, Kornbluth recommends set-the-mood standbys such as Al Green and Etta James alongside names less commonly associated with turning the lights down low.

View the list here; read more about Kornbluth and Head Butler in the Harvard Magazine archives here.

You might also like

Open Book: A New Nuclear Age

Harvard historian Serhii Plokhy’s latest book looks at the rising danger of a new arms race.

Novelist Lev Grossman on Why Fantasy Isn’t About Escapism

The Magicians author discusses his influences, from Harvard to King Arthur to Tolkien.

For Campus Speech, Civility is a Cultural Practice

A former Harvard College dean reviews Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber’s book Terms of Respect.

Most popular

Why Men Are Falling Behind in Education, Employment, and Health

Can new approaches to education address a growing gender gap?

The 1884 Cannibalism-at-Sea Case That Still Has Harvard Talking

The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens changed the course of legal history. Here’s why it’s been fodder for countless classroom debates.

What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

Explore More From Current Issue

Two bare-knuckle boxers fight in a ring, surrounded by onlookers in 19th-century attire.

England’s First Sports Megastar

A collection of illustrations capture a boxer’s triumphant moment. 

Man in a suit holding a pen, smiling, seated at a desk with a soft background.

A Congenial Voice in Japanese-American Relations

Takashi Komatsu spent his life building bridges. 

Four young people sitting around a table playing a card game, with a chalkboard in the background.

On Weekends, These Harvard Math Professors Teach the Smaller Set

At Cambridge Math Circle, faculty and alumni share puzzles, riddles, and joy.