I love books. I love reading. I love authors. Books are my go-to gift all year round. I think books make a great gift because they don’t take up much space, they create an experience, they can stimulate connection and conversation between giver and recipient, and when you receive one you can try it out and then re-gift it if it’s not a good fit and nothing is wasted in a landfill.
I hope this list of book ideas to give as gifts is helpful this holiday season.
- For the friend who said they want to read more poetry: the city in which i love you by Li-Young Lee
- For the friend who loves food, cooking, baking, eating: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan (or even better get the version illustrated by Maira Kalman)
- For the friend who idealizes living on a farm: The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball
- For the friend who is really into personality profiles and has already read every book about the enneagram: The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
- For the friend who is grieving any type of loss (doesn’t have to be loss of a spouse like the title mentions): The Hot Young Widows Club: Lessons on Survival from the Front Lines of Grief by Nora McInerny
- For the friend (or friend’s kid, or your kid) who simply enjoys a great story: The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
- For the friend who often starts sentences with, “my therapist said…” or who has mentioned an interest in going to therapy but feels hesitate (this book is funny and insightful and engaging, it’s very narrative, so don’t worry about this gift feeling like it would be awkward to receive): Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
- For the friend who has been wanting more adventure or travel in their life but feels like they have to wait til their kids are older: At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe by Tsh Oxenreider
- For the friend who wants to learn more about racial justice in America: I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
- For the friend who stakes their identity on being a Reader (truly a great gift book!): I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel
- For the friend who has said, “I don’t know how to talk to my family members about politics!”: I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening): A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversations by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth A. Silvers
- For the friend who wants to introduce their middle school age kids to narrative poetry (aka a “novel in verse”): Brown Girl Dreaming (Newbery Honor Book) by Jacqueline Woodson
- For the friend who loves literary memoirs: I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell
- For the friend who wants to take action of some creative projects next year: Big Dreams, Daily Joys by Elise Blaha Cripe
- For the friend who has 3-7 year olds: Love by Matt de la Peña
- For the friend who has a lot of picture books and you want to get them something thoughtful they don’t already have: Real Cowboys by Kate Hoefler
- For the working parent who has expressed a desire to find more time for the things they enjoy: Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam
- For the with young kids who seeks out parenting advice. (this book doesn’t come across as judgmental at all, more of a memoir about parenting): The Blessing Of A Skinned Knee: Raising Self-Reliant Children by Wendy Mogel
- For the friend who loves both poetry and cooking: Eat This Poem: A Literary Feast of Recipes Inspired by Poetry by Nicole Gulotta
- For the friend who enjoys insightful well-written essays: This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
- For the friend who is writes personal essays or memoir or would enjoy any writing prompts: Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir by Natalie Goldberg
- For the person in your life who is creative, but you don’t know much about their preferences or specific mediums: Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
A list of novels I’ve recently recommended a lot:
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- Touch by Courtney Maum
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
