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Tonight the Central Library hosts the Local Press Love Fest, the title of which makes me mildly uncomfortable though I quite agree with the sentiment. Billed as a "small press social," the event promises food, raffles, door prizes, and free gift wrapping by SCRAP; tabling publishers include Timber Press, Tin House Books, Sparkplug Comic Books, Show & Tell Press, Hawthorne Books, Future Tense, Dill Pickle Club, and Dark Horse Comics. The event runs from 5:30-7:30 pm, and it's an outstanding chance to do some holiday shopping while directly supporting our literary community.

I have no idea who will actually have what books on hand, but here are a few quick gift suggestions:

The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch (Hawthorne Books)—Any chance your mom is having a midlife crisis?

Clown Girl by Monica Drake (Hawthorne Books)—Give this to the weird teenager in your life and they will love you forever.

Bright Before Us by Kate Arnold-Ratliff (Tin House)—One of my favorite books of the year. For thoughtful hipsters and people who dislike themselves. (Jokey Venn diagram goes here.)

Finder Library Volume 1 by Carla Speed McNeil (Dark Horse)
—An affordable, brick-sized collection of McNeil's brilliant comic. If there is someone in your life you need to impress with your diverse interests and discriminating taste, this is the way to go. Or shit, it for yourself—at $25 for 600 or so pages, it's a steal.

Moby Dick in Pictures
by Matt Kish (Tin House)—It's really, really pretty.

And now would be a really, really great time to throw some money at Sparkplug Comics, as they're planning to carry on after the recent death of publisher Dylan Williams. Tessa Brunton's Passage sounds like a good place to start.

If you're looking for a way to show your love for local publishers without actually leaving your home, a few of the organizations tabling tonight are also actively raising money for projects:

The Dill Pickle Club is currently raising funds for a free mobile app called Know Your City, which will provide a walking tour/map of Old Town stocked with video, audio, and text explaining the historical and social significance of various sites. Read more about it here.

Future Tense also has a Kickstarter up, raising cash for future projects and expansion into ebooks. The project is funded already, but I can think of worse things than overfunding a tiny publisher's efforts to expand—not to mention, there are some pretty sweet rewards that have yet to be snatched up, including a one-year subscription to Tin House and a stack of new books, plus all kinds of author-specific incentives. Check 'em out.