Holiday book recommendations from San Diego bookstores

The holidays are just around the corner, and many of us are scrambling to finish our shopping.

At KPBS, we interview local authors and those visiting San Diego for book events. We’re also a team of avid readers ourselves. So, what better gift to give than a book?

Midday Edition spoke to local independent bookstores for their recommendations.

“I think giving books is such a fun gift because it’s about giving something you love that you also think will match up with something that someone else loves,” said Becca Title, owner of Meet Cute Romance Bookshop in La Mesa. “It’s about knowing someone well and giving them something that you really feel protective about.”

Find the full list of booksellers’ recommendations below.

Seth Marko, owner of The Book Catapult

‘You Dreamed of Empires’ by Álvaro Enrigue

 ”It’s this labyrinthine, Borghese-like novel about the days that Hernán Cortés spent in Montezuma’s court in Tenochtitlán in the 1500s. It’s sort of a fictionalized alternate history of his time there. In reality, Cortés was visited by Montezuma and was treated as a celebrity and was given everything he wanted. He then left and came back with an army and killed everybody.

That’s what happens in real life. This (story) doesn’t quite go as well as that for Cortés, which is what’s so great about it. It’s sort of dreamlike. A lot of the dialogue feels almost contemporary. I loved every word of it. I was really surprised by it. It was a really fantastic book and definitely my favorite for the year.”

‘Get the Picture’ by Bianca Bosker

 “Bosker is a journalist based in New York. She goes to art openings and gallery shows with friends, but not really understanding a lot of contemporary art … So rather than just kind of move on from that or accept it, she does a journalistic deep dive on understanding the world of contemporary art. It’s really funny. It’s completely eye opening, especially if you’re interested in art at all.”

‘The Most’ by Jessica Anthony

“This is one of those books that you think you have the people pegged at the beginning about who they are and what really makes them tick. It’s only maybe 120, 130 pages. Over the course of that short period, you kind of have the layers of the onion of this marriage, of this relationship peeled back, and you learn a lot more about them than you ever thought you were going to. All is not as it seems. I love books like that: where you think you’ve got it figured out when you start reading it, but it’s almost flipped completely on its head by the end of it. I think of it like a ‘novel of omission,’ where a lot of the actual story is not revealed until much later in the book.”

Susie Horn and Katie Turner, co-owners of Joyride Bookshop

Board books by Jessica Spanyol

“It’s for ages 6 months to 6 years old. It’s a bilingual universe, published by Child’s Play International, with titles such as ‘Rosa Loves Dinosaurs,’ ‘Enzo Es Un Bibliotecario’ and ‘Clive and His Bags.’ All books end with the children heading off for a good night’s sleep after a day of imaginative play. They’re wonderful. They’re bilingual, and they break a lot of stereotypes around imaginative play.”

‘Miss Leoparda’ by Natalia Shaloshvili

“It’s a great story about a leopard who drives the community around in her bus as they go about their animal business. One day, a car shows up and, in their envy, all the animals stop riding the bus together, and they all buy cars … And then they all sit in traffic. ‘Miss Leoparda’ is ultimately a wonderful, clever and environmental call for community.”

‘Loose Threads’ by Isol

“‘Loose Threads’ is a story about borders, and the humane ways in which sharing across those borders make both sides a lot better off. I think it’s really neat.”

‘Impossible Creatures’ by Katherine Rundell

“It’s about two kids, Christopher and Mal. Christopher is in our world and Mal is in a magical realm filled with magical creatures. One day, Christopher discovers and rescues a drowning griffin and he meets Mal. It becomes up to them to understand why magical creatures are dying, and to save them together. It’s just a really wonderful fantasy read and exceeds all the buzz and expectation around it.”

‘Taxi Ghost: (A Graphic Novel)’ by Sophie Escabasse

“This book has a really fun premise. The main character, Adele, gets her first period, and with that she gains the power to see the ghosts around her. She learns more about her family history and that she comes from a long line of mediums. She also begins to develop relationships with these ghosts, who have been driving her sister’s car around and causing all kinds of chaos in Brooklyn, and she starts to get to know them and their problems and help them in really funny and wonderful ways.”

Aaron Trites, co-owner of Now or Never Comics

‘Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees’ by Patrick Horvath

“There’s this character who’s a very cute little bear, who commits unbelievably gruesome murders. She never does it in her town because she doesn’t want to get caught. She has to go out to the big city, kidnaps people there, chops them up and buries them in the woods.

But, all of a sudden, a serial killer arrives in town and starts killing people, and she’s at risk of being exposed for her crimes. Now she’s in this position where she has to catch this new serial killer before she’s caught. Really, really dark, grisly – kind of like a true crime story, but through this weird children’s book prism, where the book looks far sweeter than it should given the tone.”

‘Karate Prom’ by Kyle Starks

“It’s a little bit of ‘Karate Kid’ or ‘Cobra Kai’ crossed with a little bit of John Hughes — kind of ‘Breakfast Club,’ ‘Sixteen Candles.’ It’s about a high schooler named Don, who goes to his karate tournament and gets his butt kicked by a girl within seconds, and then immediately falls in love with her. It’s about their budding romance, and evil ex-boyfriends who are fighting them. Ninjas get involved and it escalates very, very quickly to karate prom.”

‘Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #1’ by Jonathan Hickman, illustrated by Marco Checchetto

“Spider-Man as Ultimate Spider-Man is an alternate universe Spider-Man, where Peter Parker never became Spider-Man as a teenager, so he never had those struggles as a kid. He never lost his Uncle Ben. He became a photographer, he married Mary Jane, he’s got two kids. And now, as a more established professional adult, now he gets his Spider-Man powers.

It’s him readjusting to life as a superhero, a superhero with a family. What most folks know about Peter Parker is him going it alone. You know, kind of struggling in silence. But now he’s got this support network that he’s never had before. It’s a really cool riff on traditional Spider-Man stuff.”

Energon Universe Comics (Transformers, G.I. Joe, Void Rivals)

“Image Comics has taken a really cool approach to these licensed properties and kind of mashed them up into their own universe. So now Transformers and G.I. Joe exist in the same universe, along with this far flung, sci-fi series called ‘Void Rivals.’ It’s reinventing these ‘80s properties in really cool, fresh and exciting ways, giving them a chance to play with these different toys in the sandbox altogether, and it doesn’t hurt at all that they’ve been getting unbelievable talent on them.”

‘Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Outlaw’ by Tom King

“It’s a great balance of classic Wonder Woman elements: all the mythology and her legacy of 80 years, and also a really cool and new way to approach this character that’s a little bit more political than a lot of her stuff has been.”

Becca Title, owner of Meet Cute Romance Bookshop

‘Ana Maria and the Fox’ by Liana de la Rosa

“A Mexican heiress is secretly sent to Victorian London with her sisters to seek refuge from the French occupation of Mexico, and gets her first taste of freedom away from her controlling father. What does she do with it? Vex the absolute daylights out of a shrewd British politician who really should be doing his objectively important work but is, unfortunately, finding himself very distracted.”

‘A Shore Thing’ by Joanna Lowell

“This Victorian-set historical romance about Kit, a trans artist, and Muriel, a woman botanist, who end up on a cross-country bike race, is an utter delight. Full of queer joy, righteous anger and hope, it’s about finding yourself, your people and your place in a world that wants you to be someone you’re not.”

‘The Ministry of Time’ by Kaliane Bradley

“Part sci-fi, part thriller, part romance — I truly have never read a book quite like this one. Aching and funny and dark. Oh my God, the prose. I’m not really an annotator, but I had to get out a pen and a highlighter for this one.”

“Sports romance is really having a moment right now! For hockey, we recommend Rachel Reid’s ‘Game Changers’ series and Stephanie Archer’s ‘Vancouver Storm’ series.

For F1, try ‘Cross the Line’ by Simone Soltani. Golf? Tessa Bailey’s ‘Fangirl Down.’ And if they’ve jumped on the WNBA bandwagon this year, welcome — and you should give them Anita Kelly’s ‘How You Get The Girl.’”

‘Modern Divination’ by Isabel Agajanian

“ If you know somebody who saw ‘Wicked’ and is waiting breathlessly for part 2, my first recommendation would be to pre order a book called ‘Modern Divination’ by Isabel Agajanian, which she initially self-published and which will be re-released from Macmmillan in May. That’s happening a lot in romance right now, but that is a gift for the future.

For right now, ‘A Dark and Drowning Tide’ by Alison Saft is a dark academia fairy tale set in a fantasy version of 18th century Germany, in which rival grad students Lorelai and Sylvia have to work together to solve the magical murder of their advisor.”

Jenni Marchisotto, co-owner of Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore

‘I Was a Teenage Slasher’ by Stephen Graham Jones

“If you are someone like me who grew up watching the ‘Scream’ movies, ‘Halloween’ or any of those classic slasher films, this book really puts a twist on it. It tells the story from the point of view of the slasher while getting into a lot of different tropes of the genre in a playful yet serious way.”

‘Five Broken Blades’ by Mai Corland

“ It’s a heist. There are six main characters, and none of them are trustworthy, but they come together to steal something from someone very important.

The story is told in shifting perspectives and as the crime unfolds, secrets are revealed. It is the first book in a duology, with the second book, ‘Four Ruined Realms,’ coming out early in 2025. You wouldn’t have to wait long, though there is a bit of a cliffhanger at the end.”

‘The Dead Cat Tail Assassins’ by P. Djèlí Clark

“It’s a novella, so it’s on the shorter side, but it is about a woman who is, as the back of the book says, is neither a cat nor not a cat — but she is definitely dead and definitely an assassin. She’s a member of a guild that carries out assassinations.

The story opens with her next assignment, and the face of her target is incredibly familiar, despite her not remembering who she was before she died and became this god’s assassin.

It’s a short, really great book that combines mystery and fantasy in a fun and playful way.”

‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ by Matt Dinniman

“This story uses the structure of a video game but presents it as a narrative. It’s part of a new genre called LitRPG.

Inn ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl,’ aliens arrive, and the world as we know it ends. The cast of characters throughout the books is amazing and incredibly fun. It’s very funny, playful and more and more people are talking about it. It’s definitely something that I think we’ll see more of in the next few years.”

Jesi Gutierrez, co-owner and creative director of Libélula Books & Co.

‘Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America’ by Paola Ramos

“I think this book is really important because it delves into the very real and, in my opinion, unfortunate fact that so many Latin and Latino communities voted for Donald Trump. It explores how the Latino community has been persuaded to move to the far right. It’s not a light read — it’s not something you’re going to read on Christmas Eve by a fire. But it’s essential for understanding how we got to this moment in history.”

‘Red Tarot: A  Decolonial Guide to Divinatory Literacy’ by Christopher Marmolejo

“Another really great book that came out this year is by a local San Diego author, which I always love, that integration of someone who is local and released in the year that we get to reflect on.

It’s an incredible guide to tarot asking important questions: What are we moving toward? What do we leave behind? What no longer serves us? It’s an incredible and contemporary collection of writings.”

‘Rifqa’ by Mohammed El-Kurd

“This collection by a Palestinian author weaves incredible poetry that distills the very real violence happening in Palestine. The ability to present that information in poetic form is incredible, and allows for a level of accessibility I haven’t seen in some other writing.”

‘Beyond the Gender Binary’ by Alok Vaid-Menon

“The other book I wanted to mention was ‘Beyond the Gender Binary’ by Alok Vaid-Menon. I think that this is a great way for folks to start the conversation around gender and trans identity. It’s a perfect little book to stick in someone’s stocking.”

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