The 12 Best Gifts for Book Lovers
We all have that one friend: The ardent novel-over-Netflix fan who’s always giving you the best book recommendations—somehow faster (and much more accurately) than The New York Times best-seller list. This holiday season show them you care with gifts tailored to the individual who truly understands the importance of a good reading nook.
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A Library-Scented Candle
Byredo’s Bibliotheque candle features notes of soft peach and plum and a base of smoky leather, patchouli and warm vanilla, to create a tranquil, intimate feeling. You’ll feel like you’re in a gorgeous, old library, even if you’re actually thumbing through the pages of an old New Yorker in a cramped apartment.
The Year’s Buzziest Novel
In case everyone in your life hasn’t read Sally Rooney’s Normal People, now’s the time to make sure they do so. Rooney's novel is about Connell and Marianne, classmates in a small Irish town, where Connell is popular and Marianne is essentially friendless. Despite their differences, they form an unlikely couple. They eventually enroll at the same college, where their roles are flipped and suddenly Marianne's the cool one. They date, break up and make up—a few times over—in a will-they-won’t-they relationship that will be instantly recognizable to anyone who's dipped a toe in the dating pool over the past ten years.
Owl Bookends
These cute bird bookends are exactly what any growing novel collection needs.
A Literary Love Letter to New York
Featuring interviews with bookish New Yorkers—think Marc Jacobs, Hamish Bowles, Tina Brown and Tavi Gevinson—A Booklover’s Guide to New York by Cleo Le-Tan is an illustrated love letter that showcases NYC’s best bookshops, libraries and haunts of world-famous writers. Yup, this is prime coffee-table fare.
A Little Feminist Book Set
These kid-friendly odes to feminist icons prove that it’s never too early to introduce the little ones in your life to some badass ladies.
A Dinner Party How-To
Whether you’re having a spur-of-the-moment weeknight meal with a neighbor or a weekend dinner party with 15 friends, Alison Roman believes that feeding your loved ones should be fun, not stressful. Her new cookbook, Nothing Fancy, presents casual entertaining tips and crowd-pleasing recipes (like a DIY martini bar, coconut-braised chicken and chickpeas, plus a lemony turmeric tea cake you won’t want to miss out on).
Blue Light Blocking Glasses
For folks who prefer to read digitally, these antireflective lenses from Quay and Chrissy Teigen are designed to block harmful light from screens and devices. Plus, they’re pretty cute.
One of the Year’s Best YA Novels
Juliet Takes a Breath is a queer coming-of-age novel by Gabby Rivera, the first Latina to write for Marvel Comics. Juliet is a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx who, after moving to Portland, Oregon, to intern with her favorite feminist writer, comes to terms with her sexual and racial identities. Though written primarily for a teenage audience, it’s an enlightening lesson on intersectional feminism for readers of any age.
A Pom Pom Bookmark
Hold your place in style.
A Creepy British Thriller
In The Whisper Man, by Alex North, a widower and his son move to a tiny English town to start fresh. Except the town has a scary history, including a serial killer who abducted and murdered five young boys. But, lo and behold, the culprit is caught. So why does the widower, Tom, start to feel like something isn’t right? Another boy goes missing, and Tom’s young son says he hears someone outside his window at night. Did “The Whisper Man” have an accomplice?
A Chic Mug
You + a book + this mug = peak coziness. Just add tea.
A Lasagna-Only Cookbook
We know what you’re thinking: Is this an entire cookbook devoted to lasagna? Why yes; yes, it is. Lasagna: A Baked Pasta Cookbook, by Anna Hezel, includes 50 different recipes for dishes like a classic meatball lasagna, a shockingly simple slow-cooker spinach lasagna and a brunch-ready eggy carbonara lasagna. The pasta-bilities are endless. (Sorry, had to.)
RELATED: 13 Exciting New Cookbooks to Add to Your Collection This Fall
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