If you thought 1992 was for the birds, you might want to make 1993 for the flowers.
Or for great paintings, or nature - or even Mickey Mouse.These are among the many themes to be found on 1993 calendars - more than 4,000 different ones in all, according to the Calendar Marketing Association.
Because calendars are decorative as well as functional, works by prominent artists are popular. While checking the date, you can admire the paintings of American realist Edward Hopper on a wall calendar ($12.95) or spiral-bound engagement calendar ($17.95), both from Macmillan. Same goes for the popular Norman Rockwell, whose scenes of Americana appear on calendars from Abbeville, in wall ($9.95) and spiral-bound engagement ($10.95) styles.
If your artistic taste is impressed by Impressionism, consider wall calendars "Renoir," with paintings depicting the four seasons; or "The Impressionist Vision," with 13 works by Degas, Monet, Cezanne and others (both Abrams, $9.95 each). And for desktop, there's "American Impressionists" (Abbeville, $10.95), a wire-bound engagement calendar featuring 57 works by various artists, including Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent.
Those who prefer art on the lighter side haven't been brushed off. Decorate a wall with "The Art of Mickey Mouse" (Hyperion, $9.95), featuring interpretations of the lovable little rodent by a dozen artists; or "Snoopy" (Pharos, $9.95), with 13 Sunday strips starring Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the "Peanuts" gang.
Andrews and McMeel offers calendars based on popular comic strips, including "The Far Side," "Ziggy" and "For Better or For Worse" in wall and desk formats, at less than $10 each.
The world's greatest - and most prolific - artist is Mother Nature, and several new calendars bring the beauty of her work into our homes.
From Macmillan come several "Audubon" calendars, including, for the wall, "Nature," featuring polar bears, irises, roseate spoonbills and other natural glories in full-color photos, and "Endangered Planet" ($10.95), which reminds us each month of the beauty of one of the many wildlife, plant and other natural features of Earth that are losing their battle for survival.
More natural wonders to behold in "Sierra Club" calendars from Random House including, for the wall: "Wilderness" with Arizona cactus, Alaska grizzly bear and a Virginia forest among an assortment of natural beauties; and "Trail," which goes exploring in a canoe on New Hampshire's Jericho Lake and on elephantback in Nepal ($9.95 each);
The photos in wall calendars "Colors of the Sea" (Starwood, $10.95) and "Cousteau: 50 Years of Underwater Adventure" (Abrams, $9.95) capture the natural beauty that lies beneath the ocean's surface.
If you like giving nature a hand in the garden, you might choose for the wall "Gardens" (Camden House, $9.95), where bellflowers, tulips and begonias abound; or "Gardener's Calendar" (Workman, $9.95), in full-color Page-a-Day format.
Starwood also offers gardening calendars at $10.95 each, including "Earth Friendly Gardening," with tips and encouraging photos of successful gardens; "Perennials for All Seasons," which shows off blossoms and offers planting and growing how-to; and "Gardener's Guide," with advice on planting, care and record-keeping, and photos of flowers and gardens, in six regional versions.
For something a bit different, there's the "Audubon Postcard Calendar" (Macmillan, $10.95), a standup, tabletop calendar with a detachable, mailable wildlife postcard for each month.
New calendars cover a variety of hobbies and interests. For example, for a golfer's wall there's "USGA Championship Calendar" (Times, $9.95), which takes golfers from first hole to 18th at championship courses around the country; and for the desk (and golf bag), "The Golfer's Log and Calendar" (Random House, $12.95), a spiral-bound appointment calendar that includes a game log, tips and other information.
If your hobby is cooking, hang the "Eating Well Recipe Calendar" (Camden House, $9.95) on the kitchen wall and dig into puree of vegetable soup or frozen lemon mousse with blackberry sauce; but if your hobby is eating, you might need the "Weight Watchers Personal Daily Planner" (NAL, $10), a spiral-bound engagement calendar with weekly food diaries and a recipe section.
Movie fans won't have to buy a ticket to see "The Psychotronic Movie Calendar" (Pharos, $9.95), a wall calendar that celebrates some of Hollywood's most bizarre offerings, and "Must-See Movies" (Random House, $9.95), a daily page desk calendar with reviews of "must-rent" videos.
Satisfy a passion for quilts with "Amish: The Art of the Quilt" (Macmillan), featuring designs by Amish women in Lancaster County, Pa., available in wall and engagement versions ($12.95 and $17.95, respectively), and "Amish Quilts" (Good Books, $9.95), a wall calendar, contains a dozen colorful designs.
"The New York Times Puzzle-a-Week Appointment Calendar" (Times, $9.95), which is exactly as advertised - a Times puzzle on the lefthand page and space for a week's appointments on the right; or "Cars Detroit Never Built" (Sterling, $9.95), a wall-style featuring the 1954 Firearrow, 1979 Probe I and other experimental American cars.
For those rough days, there's "Life in Hell" (HarperPerennial, $10), a wall calendar with cartoons by Matt Groening and advice, inspiration and a reason to celebrate just about every day - including Sept. 16 (Peter Falk's birthday) and May 7 (International Tuba Day).
For a daily dose of almanac lore, try "The Old Farmer's Almanac" (Random House, $8.95), a daily-page calendar with advice and information for every day of the year; or "The World Almanac Fact-a-Day" (Pharos, $8.95), offering history, famous birthdays, sports facts and quotes.
There will be plenty of new faces in Washington, D.C., in 1993. And one way they can familiarize themselves with their new hometown is through "Capital" (Starwood), featuring photos of the architecture and monuments of the nations's capital throughout the seasons. Available in wall and spiral-bound engagement versions ($10.95 and $13.95, respectively).
Art and crafts are the topics of two appointment calendars from Abrams: the bilingual (English-French) spiral-bound "Museums of the World" ($14.95) and "The Year of American Craft" ($25), a hardcover with gilt-edged pages.
Hang "The Scented Room Calendar" (Workman, $9.95) on the wall and put the four accompanying scented sachets in the closet or drawer; or spend a year in France through the gardens, landscapes and homes in the slipcased "Pierre Deux French Country Desk Diary" (Workman, $16.95).
With all those choices, 1993 doesn't have to be for the birds - unless you want it to be. In which case, save a spot on a wall for:
"The Bird Identification Calendar" (Dutton, $9.95), with 75 full-color illustrations of North American birds by John Sill; "Birders World" (Abrams, $9.95), boasting more than three dozen color photos by leading nature photographers; "A Guide to Backyard Birds (Starwood, $10.95), including tips on feeding our feathered friends and attracting them into the yard; or "Penguin Passion" (Starwood, $10.95), with full-color photos of those pleasantly peculiar black-and-white birds.