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You have a reader (or three) on your gift list. You head to the bookstore and stand there wondering what on earth to get them. There are just so many choices, it's overwhelming. Well step right up and let me see if I can help you out.
Before we jump into the books I have to say something. You've heard me say it before (many times) that there is a golden rule to book giving - know your audience. You need to think of what your reader would like, not what you like. The books I buy for my friends aren't always ones I'd choose for myself. If I really don't know what book to get them I a) buy them a gift card and/or b) I buy them something that a book lover would love but that isn't a book.
The Books
These are a selection of books that caught my eye this past year and that continue to show up in my feed reader.
Wicked Plants: the weed that killed Lincoln's mother and other botanical atrocities by Amy Stewart and illustrated by Briony Morrow-Cribbs. I can't tell you how much I want to read this book. Want. Want. Want.
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: the true story of a thief, a detective and a world of literary obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett. I think the title of this one pretty much explains why a book lover might enjoy it.
Under the Dome by Stephen King. King's return to supernatural horror is a must for his fans. Sure, some of them will have bought it immediately, but there is probably at least one person on your gift list who doesn't have it and would appreciate it.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. I cannot turn in any direction without someone telling me that I must read this book.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This one is a librarian favourite of 2009 and I think it will be widely picked up by book clubs when it hits paperback.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I'll be frank, I rarely recommend books that hit the Man Booker Prize list, let alone ones that win it. Wolf Hall keeps turning up in my feed reader with a hearty "recommend" attached to it. It's probably not for every reader, but for the more serious reader and lover of historical novels I'd say give it a shot. As it clocks in at close to 600 pages and is currently only available in hardcover it's probably not the best choice for the person that commutes.
Beyond Heaving Bosoms: the Smart Bitches' guide to romance novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan. This look at the romance genre is quickly becoming required reading for fans of the genre. It's smart and sassy, much like the Smart Bitches themselves.
Flow: the cultural history of menstruation by Elissa Stein and Susan Kim. I received a review copy of this book and it knocked my socks off. I want to buy one for every single woman in my life and a few men too. It's informative, fun and worth it for the vintage menstrual product advertisements alone.
Cake Wrecks: when professional cakes go hilariously wrong by Jen Yates. A must-have for lovers of the Cake Wrecks blog but it also makes a great coffee table book. Or perhaps for that friend who likes to poke fun at their own lack of culinary skills.
Crazy for the Storm: a memoir of survival by Norman Ollestad. One part survival memoir, one part a loving memory of his father, Ollestad's book got a lot of attention early in 2009. Probably especially poignant for fathers and sons.
Know someone who really loved The Last Lecture? Gift them The Notes Left Behind by Brooke and Keith Desserich. After their six-year-old daughter Elena was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer she started hiding love notes to her parents and her younger sister Grace. This the journal that her parents kept during the last months of Elena's life. (Do not go looking at the book trailers for this book unless you are ready to start crying at your desk. Don't say I didn't warn you.)
We all know someone that has a soft spot for both classics and for books that look good on their bookshelf. Look no further than Penguin's new hardcover classics. You can look at them in Penguin's Flickr set. There is really
