• December 2015
• >
• Must List

Books to Give and Get

Great gift ideas for the bibliophiles on your list.

There is at least one on every holiday gift list: the person who just can’t get enough books. This holiday season, we have targeted our recommendations by interest. There is nothing better than relaxing with a steaming cup of cocoa, wrapped up in a soft throw in a big chair by the fire while diving into a new book. Happy reading!

 

For Lovers of Historical Fiction

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

In 1939, young Alma is sent by her parents to live in San Francisco as Poland falls under Nazi control. She falls in love with her wealthy uncle’s quiet Japanese gardener, but after Pearl Harbor is attacked, they are cruelly ripped apart when he and his family are declared enemies of the country. From {New York Times} and internationally best-selling author Isabel Allende, {The Japanese Lover} is a love story and multigenerational epic that sweeps from San Francisco in the present day to Poland and the United States during World War II.

 

 

 

For Fiction Readers Who Love a Suspenseful and Entangled Plot

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

After last year’s best-selling {The Husband’s Secret}, Liane Moriarty brings back the darkly comic mystery surrounding a disastrous parents’ night at an elementary-school fundraiser. Her unique style and detailed character development let the reader in on the lives of Madeline, Celeste and Jane, three women at different crossroads who wind up in the same shocking place. {Big Little Lies} is Moriartyor characteristically hilarious take on ex-husbands, new wives and the little white lies we all tell ourselves in order to get by.

 

 

 

For the Cookbook Collector Who Loves the Personalities Behind the Recipes

My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life by Ruth Reichl

{My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life} is part cookbook (her first solo one) and part memoir. The book is a chronicle of Ruth Reichl’s year following the abrupt shuttering of Conde Nast’s {Gourmet} magazine, the country’s oldest food-and-wine publication, of which she had been editor for a decade. Reichl took some time to recover from the shock, and as a chef would, got in the kitchen to begin the healing process. The result is a wonderful, well-curated collection of recipes the reader will come to cherish, as well as an insider’s look at surviving the unexpected and coming out on top.

 

 

For the Romantic Who Loves a Tale With a Twist

See Me by Nicholas Sparks

In true Nicholas Sparks form, {See Me} is a drama about a couple in love but threatened by secrets from the past. Maria Sanchez is the beautiful daughter of Mexican immigrants who achieves success despite her traumatic history, and falls in love with Colin Hancock, a troubled man striving to keep his life on the straight and narrow to avoid prison time. Their love is tested in terrifying ways through a series of incidents that begins to bring up secrets from Maria’s past. Packed with emotion and suspense, {See Me} reminds the reader that those who see us for who we really are may not always be the ones who are easy to recognize.

 

 

For the Reader Who Can’t Get Enough of the Courtroom and Legal Thrillers

Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham

Currently holding the No. 1 spot on the {New York Times} Best Sellers list, {Rogue Lawyer} is the story of Sebastian Rudd, a lawyer who forges his own path in the legal world. He prefers to defend clients other attorneys won’t go near, such as vicious crime lords on death row and accused murderers. He is a lawyer that believes everyone is entitled to a fair trial, at any cost. A true rebel, Sebastian is Grisham’s most colorful, vividly drawn character, making {Rogue Lawyer} an impossible-to-put-down read.

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