Although Thanksgiving is a few weeks away, it feels like everyone is already shopping for holiday gifts. And so it’s time for my annual Books Make Great Gifts Guide. There’s something for everyone on your list, and remember that books are so easy to wrap!
Biographies and memoirs are popular this season, especially from celebrities. Cher’s memoir is titled simply “Cher: The Memoir, Part One” because her life is so big (she has been in the spotlight for six decades), it will require two volumes. “Part Two” publishes next year.
Ina Garten, known as the Barefoot Contessa, usually publishes a new cookbook every year, but this year she gives us a fascinating memoir, “Be Ready When The Luck Happens.” Your best friend who watches the Food Network will love this one.
Everyone was a fan of Johnny Carson, and Bill Zehme with Mike Thomas’ new biography, “Carson the Magnificent,” would make a great gift for Dad, as would Max Boot’s “Reagan,” which shines new light on the life of Ronald Reagan.
People are also reading…
Other nonfiction titles that would make a good gift for your son-in-law include Adam Higginbotham’s “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space,” and Yuval Noah Harari’s “Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks From the Stone Age to AI.” Sy Montgomery has written brilliantly about pigs and octopuses, and now she has “What the Chicken Knows” for the animal enthusiast on your list.
For your favorite chef, Martha Stewart has “Martha: The Cookbook: 100 Favorite Recipes with Lessons and Stories From My Kitchen,” or perhaps they would like Stanley Tucci’s “What I Ate In One Year — and Other Thoughts” as he takes us through a year in his life through food.
If you have fiction fans on your list, Susan Rieger’s stunning “Like Mother Like Mother” shares the story of three generations of women and how the decisions they each make affects the following generation.
Liane Moriarty’s “Here One Moment” starts on a airplane sitting on a tarmac. When one passenger stands up and predicts how and when each person will die, it is disconcerting until one prediction comes true, then it is life-altering for all.
Richard Price’s “Lazarus Man” takes place in 2008 East Harlem as a tenement building blows up, and we see how it affects everyone who lived there and the police investigating it.
If your neighbor loves a good Hallmark Christmas movie, Susan Mallery’s “One Big Happy Family” is the perfect holiday read.
Romantasy is a hot genre now, and your adult niece who read the “Iron Flame” series would enjoy Shelby Mahurin’s “The Scarlet Veil.”
You could give your aunt two fantastic reads: Niall Williams has two novels that take place in a small Irish town, “This Is Happiness” along with new release “Time of the Child.”
Mystery fans will enjoy Richard Osman’s (of the “Thursday Murder Club” series) new standalone novel “We Solve Murders,” about a retired cop who teams up with his daughter-in-law to discover who is trying to kill her. It’s a real page-turner, with terrific characters and some hilarious dialogue.
Diane LaRue
Moving on to the younger readers, Katherine Rundell’s “Impossible Creatures” is for young adult readers who are into fantasy novels.
Middle grade readers are big fans of Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson” books, and his new one “Wrath of the Triple Goddess” continues the series that features mythological themes.
Book series are big with younger readers, and you can’t go wrong with Dav Pilkey’s newest “Dog Man” title: “Big Jim Begins.” Other series that younger readers enjoy include “The Investigators,” about alligator private eyes, and the “Wings of Fire” and “Dragon Masters” series that appeal to the younger fantasy readers.
The “Bad Guys” series is humorous, and Kate DiCamillo’s “Mercy Watson” series delights elementary school-age children. For graphic novel readers, you can’t go wrong with “The Babysitters Club” and “Amulet” series of books.
For the littlest ones, Sherry Duskey Rinker has a new board book: “Construction Site: Garbage Crew to the Rescue,” for fans of all her construction book series. Mo Willems is hugely popular with kiddies, and his “Don’t Let the Pigeons Drive the Sleigh” has a holiday theme.
No one is more popular with the toddler set than YouTube sensation Ms. Rachel, and she has a board book, “Ms. Rachel and the Special Surprise,” that will enchant your grandchild.
I hope you found something here for everyone on your list. Remember to support local indie bookstores — most of them have online shopping — or go to bookshop.org to support independent bookstores.
Diane LaRue is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and blogs about books at http://bookchickdi.blogspot.com. She is president of the Friends of Webster Library and manages the Book Cellar, a nonprofit used bookstore that benefits branch libraries of the New York Public Library in New York City.
This post was originally published on here
