Tons of book gift ideas

In case you haven't seen it, I just want to point out that today USA TODAY's holiday book gift guide launched. It includes a bunch of pop-culture titles, from Frank Stefanko's Patti Smith: American Artist to the $125 Andy Warhol: 'Giant' Size. (I just borrowed the Warhol book, and it is huge! I'm not even sure I'll be able to carry it to my car.)

Anyway, here are a few more books Pop Candy readers might like to have for the holidays:

1. Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy! by Bob Harris (Crown, $23.95). This is the perfect gift for any Jeopardy! fan, though I'm not a religious watcher, and I was thoroughly entertained. The former champ offers tips, funny anecdotes and an engaging story. And hey, Joss Whedon, Ira Glass and Paul Feig contribute blurbs on the back! What's not to love?

2. Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic. by David Nadelberg (Simon Spotlight, $14.95). This hilarious collection of adolescent writings comes from the creator of the Mortified stage show. Revel in Duran Duran fan fiction, bad raps, teen diary entries about Seth Green and other true, embarrassing artifacts.

3. The Last Christmas by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan (Image Comics, $14.99). The first five issues of the comedian's comic book just came out in trade paperback. The story crosses Santa Claus with ... the apocalypse.

4. The Real Animal House: The Awesomely Depraved Saga of the Fraternity That Inspired the Movie by Chris Miller (Little, Brown, $24.99). This memoir comes from the writer whose stories were the basis for the movie. As you might expect, it's raunchy, girl-crazy and out of control. Makes a perfect gift for the guy you know who's trying to relive his college days.

Feel free to share your own book gift ideas in the comments.

Chappelle gets some advice

If you only watch one episode of Iconoclasts on the Sundance Channel, tonight's installment would be the one to catch: Dave Chappelle spends a day with Maya Angelou, and the results are rather inspiring. (I watched a tape last night.) During the episode, Angelou discusses her friendships with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr, talks about meeting Tupac Shakur, shows off her extensive art collection, offers career and life advice and more.

Chappelle wisely listens, though he occasionally opens up about his writing process and why he left Chappelle's Show. Iconoclasts airs at 9 p.m. ET. (Note: If you missed any episodes, a marathon airs Sunday, starting at 4 p.m. ET.)

Give the gift of Elvis

A cool book popped up on my desk the other day -- literally. If you have an Elvis fan in your life (and don't we all?), a good holiday gift might be the just-released Graceland: An Interactive Pop-Up Tour by Chuck Murphy (Quirk, $40). Priscilla Presley wrote the intro, and everything you see is produced in cooperation with Elvis Presley Enterprises, so it's just like taking a walking tour.

Cool pop-up features include a refrigerator that opens, pull-out sunglasses, revolving TV screens and a photo flipbook. Below I've included some photos, and here's an interview with the author. For another fun King-themed gift idea, how about some Elvis Coffee?

Happy holidays from Billy

If you thought Twisted Sister's holiday album was strange, wait until you hear Billy Idol's Christmas CD, available exclusively at Best Buy stores. You can hear Billy's version of Oh Christmas Tree on his MySpace page and see campy videos for White Christmas, Happy Holiday and Jingle Bell Rock.

"I love breaking into a lot of weird musical areas, and I got to do quite a lot of that on this album," he says on his site. "Sometimes I get a little jealous of someone like Elvis Costello who can do so many different musical things."

Mel Gibson talks

EW.com has posted its interview with Mel Gibson about Apocalypto, Michael Richards, his personal demons and other such things.

"I felt like sending Michael Richards a note," he says. "I feel really badly for the guy. He was obviously in a state of stress. You don't need to be inebriated to be bent out of shape. My heart went out to the guy. Poor (expletive), he's getting it now. They'll probably torture him for a while and then let him go. I like him."

'Office' supplies

Want a sneak peek of tonight's Office? Here are three clips. In the episode, we learn a Dunder-Mifflin employee is a former convict. (I've already seen it, and my favorite bit is the final 30 seconds. All I'm going to say is it involves Ed Helms and a banjo.)

More Office goodness: Rainn Wilson and Angela Kinsey, aka Dwight and Angela, talked to TVGuide.com this week about their unusual romance. Also, don't forget that I interviewed Kate Flannery in this week's Pop Candy podcast. She plays Meredith on the show, though she originally auditioned for the part of Jan.

Want more Office stuff? Check out Life in the Office, a fun blog devoted to all things Dunder-Mifflin.

Early buzz: Close on TV, 'Minors,' 'BSG,' more

Hungry for some headlines? You got 'em:

- Glenn Close has signed to star in a pilot for FX.

- Danny DeVito went on The View yesterday. Believe it or not, chaos ensued. (Here's the video.)

- Slate has a feature on those amazing Battlestar Galactica writers.

- Rod Stewart's divorce from Rachel Hunter is finally final.

- Go here to watch six minutes of Unaccompanied Minors, the holiday flick directed by Freaks and Geeks' Paul Feig.

- The lineup for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival has been announced.

- In case you haven't seen it, Tom Waits' Daily Show performance is worth a look.

- Read this to learn all about Legos.

- Can Dreamgirls win the best-picture Oscar? The Observer looks into it.

- I think we can all agree that NPR's This American Life is a great show.

- Raise your hand if you've sung Paradise City while drunk.

- And finally, here's the opening scene of The Big Lebowski remade with Nintendo Wii's new bowling game. Be aware that the language is a little racy ...

Wanted: More fizz

Alka-Seltzer is holding a contest to find a new, updated version of its "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz" theme song. If you think you've got the chops, go here to enter. If you think this is a ridiculous contest, keep in mind that four first place winners receive $1,000, and the grand prize winner gets $10,000. Cyndi Lauper is among the judges.

Will you see another 'Rocky'?

Well, the success of Heroes certainly isn't going to hurt Rocky Balboa at the box office. Milo Ventimiglia plays Sylvester Stallone's son in the flick, and Yahoo has the latest trailer. I don't think it looks so bad -- though you know I was a big fan of The Contender, so what do you expect?

The hottest Disney ladies

Pop reader Marsha R. just sent me this list of the "Top 10 Hottest Animated Disney Women." Not surprisingly, Jessica Rabbit nabs the top spot -- though I wonder if Sleeping Beauty is peeved that she didn't make the cut?