The request has come in for some shopping suggestions for those of you looking for a literary gift or two for your bookish friends/family members this holiday season. And, of course, I am more than happy to oblige. When it comes to books, I’m always ready to talk shop (and just shop!). I’ve sorted and resorted this list a handful of times this morning, but my peppermint hot chocolate is starting to cool and my snowman sugar cookie is now headless, so it is time to pick a format and stick with it, so rather than sorting mainly by genre, I’m going to give my recommendations by family member, but then because I couldn’t stick with five books per category, I have some bonus genre-based picks at the end. (Yes, it feels a bit stereotypical and not all moms like the same stuff, but find the heading that fits best with your Secret Santa’s personality and start from there.)
Dads
Artemis by Andy Weir
Endurance: A Year in Space by Scott Kelly
Origin by Dan Brown
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
Themis Files (Books 1 and 2) by Sylvain Neuvel
Moms
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips
Something Like Happy by Eva Woods
The Confusion of Languages by Siobhan Fallon
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
Adult Siblings
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathon Lethem
My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent
Sting-Ray Afternoons by Steve Rushin
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Nieces/Nephews
She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
This is How It Happened by Paula Stokes
Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
Friends
You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed
Other Fiction Standouts of 2017
Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
The Golden House by Salman Rushdie
Other Non-fiction Standouts of 2017
Daring to Drive by Manal al-Sharif
From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty
The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston
Of course, I’m always happy to give more personalized recommendations. Just give me an idea of the person you’re shopping for in the comments and I’ll get back to you with a couple of selections. (How can I make being a personal book shopper a full-time, paying gig?)
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, and just an overall “happy” to everyone. Read more and be kind. That is all.
In Search of the End of the Sidewalk 
So glad to see Evicted on your short list. I picked it up at an airport book store, desperate for something to read before (yet another) long flight. It’s one of the best I’ve read this year. Learned much about a topic that hits all too many in America.
LikeLike
I thought the author did a really good job at looking at both sides of the equation- both the renters and the owners and not vilifying either side. The major takeaway for me was how long a single eviction can stay with a renter, impacting future home options and even job offers. This was definitely eye-opening for me and I’ve purchased it as a gift for several people in the last year.
LikeLike