Black Friday, that annual Olympiad of consumerism, is once again upon us. And once again, I’m fighting back with a list of holiday gifts plucked from the pages of the columns I wrote this year. All of them — save one — can be ordered from the comfort of your kitchen table while you nibble on turkey leftovers, provided you have an Internet-enabled device. I’m arranging them not by price or age group, but instead in the chronological order they appeared in this fine publication. As always, I invite you to read, or reread, my past columns on my website, www.matthewolshan.com, in the “Op-Ed Archive” section.

1. Inverted Jennie postage stamp memorabilia ($12 – $40, USPS.com)
In one of the first columns of the year (January 16th), I wrote about my boyhood obsession with stamps, including the ultra-rare “Inverted Jennie,” an airmail stamp from 1918 that was accidentally printed upside-down. A real “inverted Jennie” will set you back a cool million dollars, but the United States Postal Service has introduced a series of products based on the original that can be found with a quick search on the USPS website. Perfect for the closet philatelist in the household.

2. Bicycle Eco Edition Playing Cards ($5, Amazon.com)
On January 30th, under the lead “Swedish Shout-pants and Other Unspeakable Games,” I described some family fun made possible by a simple deck of cards. The Bicycle brand is tried and true; the Eco Edition is made of 100% recycled material and comes in a cool shade of green.

3. War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Pevear and Volkonsky ($15, Amazon.com)
Late February brought with it the Russian-backed military action in Crimea, and with it, an opportunity to reflect on the historical humiliation at the root of Russia’s current adventures there. On March 13th, I wrote about a young Russian officer, Count Leo Tolstoy, who saw action in an earlier Crimean War, and whose experience there shaped his views on both war and peace. I grew up on the Constance Garnett translation of his masterpiece, but this version is more scholarly and accurate.

4. Marshlands, by Matthew Olshan ($19, Amazon.com); The Marsh Arabs, by Wilfred Thesiger ($11, Amazon.com)
My own literary debut, Marshlands, came out this spring. It, too, is a tale of war and empire, but set in a place very much like the marshes of Southern Iraq. I hesitate to include it on this list; I always hated it when my professors told me to buy their own books. So to balance the self-serving nature of the suggestion, I’m also recommending Sir Wilfred Thesiger’s magisterial The Marsh Arabs, which was a touchstone for my novel, and happens to be one of the greatest travel books ever written.

5. Schwinn 420 Elliptical Machine, (about $400, Amazon.com)
Early this year, seemingly out of the blue and against all odds, I resolved to improve my physical fitness. For a sedentary fellow like me — a slug, really — this was nothing short of revolutionary. I wrote about the first few months of self-imposed misery on June 12th. I’m now in the tenth month of the experiment, which has been made possible by a relatively inexpensive Schwinn elliptical machine. The model I bought was the “Schwinn 420.” That model has been discontinued, but the replacement, the “Schwinn A40,” seems comparable.

6. Gakken Premium Gramophone Kit ($80, Thinkgeek.com)
Always on the lookout for an interesting father/daughter project, late this summer I stumbled on a high-quality reproduction of one of the earliest record players. I described the challenges — and delights — of building this wind-up kit on August 28th. Be forewarned: the instructions are in Japanese! But with a little help from the Internet, you should be able to overcome that minor obstacle.

7. Deer hide tanning, ($30, Johnson’s Furs, Enola, PA, 766-8166)
Last year marked my first successful deer hunt, a milestone I chose to commemorate by having the hide tanned. The process took about nine months, but was absolutely worth the wait. I wrote about this strange and rewarding experience on September 25th. FYI, this is the only gift on the list that can’t be ordered electronically. Also, it requires that you leave a recently skinned deer hide with Mr. Johnson.

8. Seagate Backup Plus 1 Terabyte External Hard Drive ($65, Amazon.com)
Last month, disaster struck my writing desk: my trusty iMac and my backup drive failed simultaneously, a tale of woe I chronicled on October 9th. By a great stroke of luck, I was able to recover much of what was lost, but the experience drove home the importance of multiple backups for truly irreplaceable files. I’ve now incorporated cloud storage into my backup regime, but I also use this slim new external drive as a form of cheap insurance.

9. Alice in Wonderland and Through the looking-glass, by Lewis Carrol ($4 – $40)
My twentieth wedding anniversary column on Edward Lear’s delightful poem “The Owl and the Pussycat” inspired a follow-up column on October 23rd which focused on the work of another Victorian master of nonsense: Lewis Carroll. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass are two books that are worth reading no matter your age. There are many different editions to choose from, but be sure to get one that features the original illustrations by Sir John Tenniel, which, in my opinion, have never been surpassed.

10. Altoids tin guitar amplifier kit ($20, or $35 fully assembled, from the seller “hesslerk” on Etsy.com)
Last, but not least, here’s a suggestion for the hip young rock’n’roller in your life: a guitar amplifier that fits in an Altoids tin. I chose to order it as a kit and solder it up with my daughter, an adventure in do-it-yourself electronics that I detailed on October 30th, but you can order this miniature amp fully assembled for a few dollars more.

I hope this list gives you a few ideas for the holidays. As always, a gift subscription to this fine newspaper makes an excellent stocking-stuffer.

Good luck avoiding the crowds tomorrow!