Books For Gifting
Books to share with the people you love
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As I published one of my longest essays last week on one of my favourite all-time books, Little Women, I thought it would be nice this week to give all of our overwhelmed holiday season brains a break and think about gift giving.
I have had so much fun reaching back into some of my archived essays and thinking about which books I would recommend for the special people in our lives.
This is what I came up with…
All Fours by Miranda July
Gift it to: A special woman in your life
Do her a kindness this year and wrap up this book for your significant other, mother, sister, best friend…I wrote about this book here but basically it’s all about a female artist in her forties who goes on a creative and sexual odyssey whilst trying to work out what the heck is going on in her life.
My Life On the Road by Gloria Steinem
Gift it to: The budding feminist
In this brilliant book, feminist icon Gloria Steinem looks back at her life in the feminist movement as she travels the US to speak at college campuses. Insightful and inciting, it will make any budding feminist want to burn her bra and go march somewhere.
84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Gift it to: The reluctant reader (why are we even inviting them over??)
This is such a short, easy to read novella that anyone can enjoy. An epistolary novel, it follows the letters exchanged between New Yorker Helene Hanff and English bookseller Frank Doel over many years, building a friendship that neither of them expected to find. Will put a smile on the face of even the grumpiest of readers.
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Gift it to: Someone who is dealing with loss
I read this book not long after losing my mother many years ago, and although it is about grief and loss, Didion’s razor sharp journalistic exploration of the sudden death of her husband and the imaginative ways in which she deals with it really helped me to make sense of it all.
The Outrun by Amy Liptrot
Gift it to: Someone who is feeling lost
In this memoir, Liptrot relives the year she returned to her former home on the Orkney Islands. There she attempts to recover from an alcohol addiction and finds solace in the rhythms of the natural world. Just beautiful writing, and an honest and hopeful reflection on recovery.
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
Gift it to: Someone wanting to get into Classic lit
This is a fairly short book for a classic, and is one that people often haven’t discovered. Telling the mystery of the disappearance of three schoolgirls on a picnic one hot summer’s day, it has some dark and humorous undertones such that they’ll forget they’re even reading a work of classic fiction at all.
The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank
Gift it to: Someone who isn’t sure where they’re going in life
Your single, twenty-something best friend will love this story about one young woman’s life as she moves from adolescence through her twenties and faces the constant questioning of when she’s going to have it all figured out. I loved this book (and I am neither single nor in my twenties!).
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Gift it to: A true crime fiction fan
This is the only true crime book I think I’ve ever read, and that was only because it was a prerequisite for a module of my MA. But what surprised me was how engrossing it was. Capote writes the book almost like a detective story, but from the viewpoint of an impartial journalist. It follows the life of the murdered family, the two murderers, the police detective charged with finding them, and the people who live around the scene of the crime. A remarkable piece of writing. (Then again, Harper Lee did help him write it…).
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Gift it to: The teen in your life
Show them you know where it’s at by gifting them one (or more) of this fantastic graphic novel series from one of the coolest writers of the moment. Many of them will have already watched the Netflix series, so it won’t be too troublesome to tear themselves away from their screens to engage in some comfort reading. These books tell the story of Charlie and Nick and a diverse cast of characters. (And yes, totally steal it to read later- the artwork is amazing and it makes you laugh, cry, all the feels).
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
Gift it to: Someone who can’t put their phone down
I return to this again and again when I need a reminder on how to avoid distraction. Newport explores the reasons we can’t leave our devices alone and suggests a way to use them better.
A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Gift it to: Someone who loves to get lost in a family saga
This is a great one for anyone who enjoys getting into a good old family saga, full of plot twists, love, revenge, loss, jealousy, and greed…you name it, it’s in here. Hand this to your mother-in-law and you won’t see her for hours…
A Line Above the Sky by Helen Mort
Gift it to: Someone who has just become a mother
This is a book I have only just read, but it is a beautiful collection of essays about Mort’s love of mountain climbing blended with her first couple of years as a new mother. The sleepless nights, the unbelievable love for her son, and her need to get back out on the trails she loves all converge in an evocative collection.
So there’s just a little list of ideas; please share your own so that we can all give better gifts this year- and really, is there any gift better to give or receive than a book?
As a side bonus, with everyone tucking into their great reads, you can hopefully go off and enjoy some peace and quiet with your feet up, a slice of panna cotta and a great book yourself 🙂
Many of the links I have shared are for second hand copies if you are on a budget, and don’t forget to support your local indie bookshops where you can. If you are so inclined, why not also gift a subscription to one of your favourite newsletters to a friend who might enjoy it next year? It’s the perfect gift that keeps on giving! Just sayin’ 🙂
This is such a unique gift guide, I love it! I’ve read some of these (and I’m hoping to read a few others this year). Thank you for sharing ☺️
Sorry I'm late in responding Kate. A great list. I recently reread 84 Charing Gross Road and the library copy I borrowed also had the Duchess of Bloomsbury Street so I felt doubly lucky. I have gifted "The Morville Hours" a few times - there is a lovely review of it in the Guardian from 1998!. At this time of year I always look out for Carol Ann Duffy's latest Christmas poem - I think a collection of the poems has been printed this year. And Beatrix Potter's "The Tailor of Gloucester" never ages.