<p>^^ It’s ‘World Without End’ by Ken Follett. I read his ‘Pillars of the Earth’ a long time ago so I wanted to read this one as well and was waiting for it to come out in paperback.</p>
<p>I was wondering if it was one of those. I read Pillars last summer and also got the softcover World without End a few weeks ago, but I haven’t read it yet.</p>
<p>Better plan on the kindle after christmas. Right now shipping time is 11-13 weeks.</p>
<p>My husband tends to request books and CDs which I think is horribly dull. He eats honey everyday, so I usually get him some weird honey. Truffle honey was a big hit. He likes getting crossword puzzle books.</p>
<p>A few suggestions:</p>
<p>If he follows a particular sport (e.g. baseball or football etc.) and has since childhood, how about a framed picture of a childhood favorite. I’m looking at Sandy Koufax as I type this. </p>
<p>If he likes to cook, how are the knives? A good chef’s knife will last a lifetime (mine is now nearly 20 years old - and gets used nearly daily). Or a nice peppermill (just got one for my birthday)? A good cookbook from a favorite restaurant?</p>
<p>A framed picture of your kids for his desk? Or an “applebook” </p>
<p>[Apple</a> - iLife - iPhoto](<a href=“Mac - Apple”>Photos - Official Apple Support)</p>
<p>which is what I am getting my wife for her birthday in January - I am scanning in pictures from each year, son on left, daughter on right up until this Christmas. </p>
<p>Does he do business with people in other countries? I love my swivel world clock that tells me what time it is in other countries </p>
<p>[Sharper</a> Image World Time Swivel Clock - Gadget with reviews and price comparison at dooyoo.co.uk](<a href=“Kelkoo Group - The intelligent e-commerce marketing platform”>Kelkoo Group - The intelligent e-commerce marketing platform)</p>
<p>If he travels a lot, bose headsets are still the best thing going for listening to music on the airplane…</p>
<p>Hope this helps…</p>
<p>P.S. Mom60 - for your surfer dude - great book </p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Inside Maverick’s: Portrait of a Monster Wave: Bruce Jenkins, Grant Washburn, Doug Acton: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Mavericks-Portrait-Monster-Wave/dp/0811851214]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Mavericks-Portrait-Monster-Wave/dp/0811851214)</p>
<p>
One of those parmesan cheese grinders/graters would also fall into this category. I got my mom a pretty cheap one years ago, and it’s still going strong. It’s great having freshly grated cheese.</p>
<p>Scualum, that world time clock is a keeper! H does indeed do international business, this will be perfect. Thank you. Corranged, the nice peppermill is also a great idea, he’s getting one from my mother. </p>
<p>And about that chainsaw – I think I’m putting it on MY Christmas wish list :)</p>
<p>Ucla-dad… I’m currently reading World Without End, too. 
It’s hardback (H got it heavily discounted one year from Amazon and I finally picked it up). Very heavy to read in bed. I’d love to read it on a Kindle.</p>
<p>Along the lines of the wireless thermometer, one gift I got DH last year that he really loved was a [bright</a> yellow Fluke infrared laser-sighted temperature gun](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-62-Mini-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B000MX5Y9C/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1227905614&sr=8-1]bright”>http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-62-Mini-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B000MX5Y9C/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1227905614&sr=8-1). It comes with a zippable carrying case. The carrying case has a belt loop.</p>
<p>He loves cooking and grilling, and he can use it to see if the pan is too hot before he throws a steak on. (This is what I intended it to be used for.)
He can take it to the grocery store with him to see if the fish are being properly stored.
He can use it to tell if the A/C vent is blowing directly at the A/C intake.
He can see how cooler it is in the shade on our porch than it is in the sun.
He can aim it at the can of soda he’s been drinking to see whether or not he needs to put it back in the fridge.
He can use the laser-sighting to tease the cats.
He can see how cold my feet are before he gets into bed.</p>
<p>He has found that the possibilities are endless. It’s a great little gadget, though I may live to regret purchasing it.</p>
<p>(Great ideas here… I’ll have to look for truffle honey!)</p>
<p>We didn’t get this as a gift, but for someone looking to spend about $400, we recently purchased an Acer. This is a very small and light laptop. It is great for travel! I would say that it is half of the size of a typical laptop. I think without some of the extras, you might be able to get for $100 less. </p>
<p>My BIL just bought a 52 inch flat screen with surround sound, so for those with money who want to stimulate the economy that bill was about 5k (all inclusive of all the extras). No, they do not have kids in college, LOL!</p>
<p>I think that a Keurig coffee maker makes a great gift! That is the coffee maker that uses K cups.</p>
<p>My husband loved a high-end pizza cutter & little special tupperware tubs shaped especially for holding slices of leftover pizza.</p>
<p>wow–I’m glad I have that Kindle for DH hidden and ready for Christmas!</p>
<p>aibarr, my H would have a lot of fun with that thing, too! If he could have a ton of fun with a simple “birdie” (does the cat generate electricity?), temperature gun would top that easily! The best gifts I ever gave him were a heavy-duty cordless drill and an Eagles’ reunion concert DVD (judging by how often he uses them).</p>