Given the difficulty of wrapping an MP3 and sticking it under the tree, consider giving an actual book or CD this holiday season. We’ve rounded up the latest and greatest options:

MUSIC
Blue Scholars, Cinemetropolis Seattle’s hip-hop veterans raised the bar with their third and latest full-length album, a package of socially conscious rhymes, soulful beats, and short films inspired by the raps; it’s “a visual soundtrack.” Available at bluescholars.bandcamp.com

Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues Can’t go wrong with a Grammy-nominated Folk Album of the Year. Blues is one of their richest collections to date—folk rock that’s acid-washed in psychedelic pop, with plenty of soaring vocal harmonies reminiscent of the Foxes of 2008. Lead singer Robin Pecknold broods with the best of them. Available at subpop.com

Pickwick, Myths: Vol 1–3 Get in on the ground floor of Seattle’s soul revival. The local sextet boasts a lead singer, Galen Disston, who sounds like he came straight from Motown—but they only have three EPs to date. Package them up for the music lover in the family who thinks he’s heard everything. Available at pickwick.bandcamp.com

Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs, Alone in This Together Star Anna (her given name) was discovered busking outside an Ellensburg cafe at age 16, and the guitarist now counts Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready and Guns N’ Roses’s Duff McKagan as fans and collaborators. She lends aching vocals to alt-country that has the grit and passion of hard-driving rock and roll. Available at staranna.com

Various Artists, Live at KEXP, Volume 7 The Live at KEXP collection is the equivalent of a professional mix tape, and we look forward to it every year. Station DJs pick their favorite live, in-studio performances by local indie bands and national acts for a disc as diverse as your music tastes; this year’s album includes tracks by the Head and the Heart, Florence and the Machine, Jonsi, Sharon van Etten, and Wild Flag. Available at kexp.org/cd

BOOKS
Hemingway’s Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost: 1934–1961 by Paul Hendrickson (September 2011). For the avid readers and writers in your life, this biography is full of rich detail about the real hardships that plagued Hemingway’s life. $15–$30, available on amazon.com and at Elliott Bay Book Co

Historical Atlas of Washington and Oregon by Derek Hayes (October 2011). Curious about your city and surrounding land? This would make a good gift for map lovers or, you know, someone with a lot of coffee tables. $25–$40, available on amazon.com and at Queen Anne Books

The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Its Legacy by Paula Becker and Alan J. Stein (October 2011). Take a trip back in time with this incredibly well-researched history of the fair, teeming with photos and Bubbleator anecdotes. $40, available at thenextfifty.org

Home Made by Yvette van Boven (September 2011). In a city filled with farm-to-table recipe lovers and eager at-home chefs, there’s at least one person on your list in need of a good cookbook. Van Boven does it all from scratch with step-by-step photos and a dash of irreverence. $25–$40, available on amazon.com

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (September 2011). Nobody tell Dad, but this is already wrapped and waiting for him. Harbach’s debut novel is ostensibly about baseball, luring all the sports fans, but the gripping saga of the star shortstop landed the book on the New York Times Ten Best Books of 2011 list. $15–$25, available on amazon.com

With contributions by Allie Oosta, Laura Dannen, and Lisa Han.