The holidays are a time for giving and, in my opinion, there truly is no better gift to give than a book. Though it can be tempting to buy a gift card to a favourite bookstore and be done with it, the deeply personal and thoughtful sentiment of gifting a loved one a book that you think they specifically will love is unmatched. This list, organized by genre, will hopefully assist you in finding the perfect gift for the holidays. And please, please, please buy from your local independent bookstore!
For lovers of feminist literature, I would recommend Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo and The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir. Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of twelve different black British women and is a stunning portrait of intersectionality. The Woman Destroyed is also split into smaller stories, each one a different stage of life for women and all showcasing the vulnerability of women in a patriarchal society.
For enjoyers of the classics, A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe would be a great gift. Following a tourist on the shores of Sicily discovering the secrets and history of fallen notability, it is thought to have influenced Austen to write Northanger Abbey, a fantastic but more famous novel. A satirical and sharp examination of reputation and parentage, Evelina by Frances Burney is another great option for fans of the classics.
History fans can be tricky subjects to shop for, however I have found two books to be universal hits. A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of Virginia Hall, WW2’s Most Dangerous Spy Sonia Purnell is a well-researched and thorough examination of the first woman to deploy to occupied France. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer is another great option, this one is about the Indigenous knowledge and its influence on science and offers insightful looks at the importance of treating our earth with respect.
Memoirs are great books to give and the two I recommended as gifts are Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad and Just Kids by Patti Smith. Jaouad writes about her experience of being diagnosed with cancer and her transition to a cancer-free life after being so near death. In Just Kids, Patti Smith details her life as a singer-songwriter, poet, and poet as one of the most influential elements of the punk movement in New York as well as her relationship with Robert Maplethrope. Raw and beautifully written, these memoirs would be perfect gifts.
For romance fanatics, Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman should fit every bill. The novel follows journalist Chani as she writes a profile of her celebrity crush Gabe Parker. The narrative cuts between the first profile which catapulted her to fame and a follow-up ten years later. Funny, sexy, sweet, and introspective in the best way, Funny You Should Ask is a must-read.
Writers & Lovers by Lily King is one of my favourite books of all time and I would recommend it to absolutely everyone, particularly those who enjoy literary fiction. Writers & Lovers follows struggling novelist Casey as she navigates loss, love, and writing all through a beautiful and emotionally charged narrative. Ghosts by Dolly Alderton, a novel that details the aging of parents and the challenges of dating in a modern and digital age is a great option, too. I would also highly recommend The Friend by Sigrid Nunez, in which a writer inherits her friend’s dog after he kills himself. With a highly interesting narrative structure and thoughtful introspection, it makes for a short but powerful read. Finally How to Pronounce Knife is a collection of short stories by Souvankham Thamavongsa focusing on the lives of Laos immigrants, often through the eyes of children. An examination of both classism and racism, each of the fourteen stories are stunning and thought provoking.
For anyone interested in historical fiction, The Door by Magda Szadó would be a great gift. Reprinted and translated from Hungarian, the novel follows a woman who hires an old woman with many secrets as a housekeeper. It is a harrowing novel and one I couldn’t stop thinking about long after I put it down.
So this holiday season, give both your loved ones and an independent bookstore near you the best gift by shopping locally for books your friends and family will love.