Gift Guide: For the Bookworm
Creating gift guides has grown on me. It’s like a shopping excursion for a portion of my personality! (See past year’s here)
This year, I’m pretend-shopping for three portions of my personality and sharing a few things I’ve loved and a few things I would love. Next up: the bookworm. (See the homebody’s gift guide here.)
Gifts for the Bookworm:
I thought it would be fun to make a few book bundles, should you be shopping for someone with specific tastes or want to gift a loved one the tiny start to a collection.
Bundle 1: Contemporary Fiction
This bundle has some of my favorite fiction released in 2022. No particular thematic elements, but fantastic writing all around. All of them made it onto my best-of-the-year list:
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow | Gabrielle Zevin The book is nominally about two childhood friends who design video games together, but in reality it’s a gorgeously written portrait of pain, friendship, adulthood, and grief. I was utterly absorbed the entire way through despite the fact that I think video games are almost always a waste of time (oops, I said it). I immediately bought a copy for my collection. I think this was my #1 favorite book of the year.
The Five Wounds | Kirstin Valdez Quade Holy Week in rural New Mexico: a pregnant teenager, a dad who can’t get his life in order, a grandmother trying to hold it together while concealing her own secret. I have never been so frustrated and so in love with a set of characters as these; they make horrible choices and hurt each other and seek redemption. What a beautiful, tender novel. If I had the power to declare classics, I would make this one of them.
Sea of Tranquility | Emily St. John Mandel This book is strange and magnificent; St. John Mandel plays with timelines and lives in curious ways. I would have enjoyed twice as many pages, but she’s remarkably restrained here. There are moon colonies and time travel, pandemics and exile. But at it’s core, St. John Mandel is just incredible at sketching out characters quickly, rendering each one so real that you’re never quite sure who is important to the plot. She writes near-future science fiction in a way that feel inevitable, obvious. I love that. Couldn’t put this one down.
Bundle 2: Classic Tales, From the Women’s Perspective
Perhaps my favorite micro-genre of literature is a well-known story told from a woman’s perspective. I can’t get enough of it, I will read any novel that attemps this format, and these 3 are special favorites:
Ophelia | Lisa Klein This has been a favorite of mine since high school. Klein’s story of Ophelia— the love interest in Hamlet who goes mad and drowns herself— was the first time I’d read a story told from a different character’s perspective in this way. She adds depth and a touch of feminism to Shakespeare’s work and imagines a very different Ophelia than the one you might be familiar with. (Note: it is not written in iambic pentameter!)
The Red Tent | Anita Diamant This book came out when I was in preschool, but I found my way to it this year and was struck by the imaginative retelling of a portion of the Old Testament; the height of the conflict is a chapter in Genesis so short that you could blink and miss it. It’s beautiful, unapologetically feminine, and richly told.
Circe | Madeline Miller I’ve always loved Greek and Roman mythology: the petty fights and brutal revenge are what the best dramas are made of. Circe takes a minor mythological character in The Odyssey and puts her at the edges of millennia of mythological drama. It’s that rare combination of utterly enthralling and fantastically beautiful prose. It’s in the running for my favorite book of all time.
Bundle 3: For the Foodie
Every home cook should have a small collection of food-themed books. I favor the approachable and practical over the aspirational, personally:
Smitten Kitchen | Deb Perelman Okay, I don’t have this book yet, but I’ve heard a whisper that I will shortly. Smitten Kitchen is my #1 source for recipes, because Perelman shares my general philosophy toward food: it should be joyful, varied, guilt free, and never too fussy to make life difficult. I’ve heard so many good things about this collection and can’t wait to peek inside.
Salt Fat Acid Heat | Samin Nosrat It’s part textbook, part cookbook, and full of joy the whole way through. (Have you seen the Netflix series? The book radiates that happiness and love.) The choice to illustrate rather than photograph food makes the whole project more approachable. I credit this book for teaching me the fundamentals of cooking - not just what food is good, but why it’s good.
Dessert Person | Claire Saffitz This book is full of creative dessert projects as well as twists on classics. A whole section of loaf and single-layer cakes provides perfect inspiration for casual weekend baking, or you can flip over to the section of layer cakes and fancy desserts if you’re feeling ambitious. It also happens to be a truly stunning collection that would look beautiful on any coffee table or shelf.
Non-Book Accessories for Bookworms
Kindle: I realize that I can’t shut up about my Kindle, but that’s because everyone should be equipped with one of these and a library card, and I’m doing my part to get the word out. If you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it! Makes a great gift, especially if you happen to be a millennial or zoomer who can give a quick IT lesson after gift-opening. And if you’re wondering if you want one? Yes, you do!
Ember Mug: I have it on good authority from my slow-drinking friends that this mug is worth the investment for those who like to linger over their warm drink of choice. This mug keeps the liquid inside heated to the temperature of your choice for hours on end. A splurge item that most people wouldn’t buy for themselves makes a great gift!
Marble Bookends: These classic marble and brass bookends are the type of shelf accessory that never go out of style, and they’ve got a classic shape that will look equally at home in a boho, mid-mod, or traditional space. Do I have them? No. Do I want them? Kinda!
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