Everyone You Buy a Present for Should Also Get a Book...
in addition to whatever the other present is. It's the law.
Dear, dear reader! It’s the BEST time of the year, and predictably, I am fully possessed by the spirit of Christmas.
Part of what this means for me is buying presents for all my loved ones. I get it, I get it, when you hear someone say that their love language is gift giving, you kind of roll your eyes a little. Okay….so you want people to give you stuff? WELL, what if I told you that my language was gift giving, but ONLY in the outward direction? Hmm now you’re kind of thinking maybe being related to me by blood or bonds of friendship would actually be pretty rad.
Yep! I’m one of those freaks who loves Christmas shopping because I’m one of those freaks who loves gift giving. And I love it in part because I’m good at it. I’m firing up my notes app, I’m hounding my siblings to go in on more expensive presents with me, I’m utilizing the little yellow notes app circles that you can check off for maximum satisfaction. I’m doing these things sometimes as early as October, which is not even taking into account the running list of ideas I keep all year round.
October? You scoff. My mom starts on boxing day. Well then, and I’m sorry to say, your mom is doing it wrong! Christmas presents must be bought in Q4 of the year during which they will be bequeathed. I just made that rule up on the spot, but I will stand by it from here on out.
I considered putting together an extensive gift guide for you, both to show off my skill and more importantly to share with you some of my gift giving joy, making it easier for you to find good gifts, which would in turn increase your gift giving joy. Joy being the ultimate goal always. But, my friends and family are loyal readers of this here missive, and I don’t have extra ideas laying around. Besides, I made my own Christmas list in Canva this year (extra, I know), so I don’t have the energy to make the cute little graphics that would be required.
So I’ve decided to issue another present proclamation and back it into a gift guide of sorts that can also serve as my annual recap: every person you buy a present for should also get a book in addition to whatever the other present is (unless the present is already a book, in which case just a book is an acceptable present, but also honestly two books is better than one).
To help you make it happen, here are my favorite books from 2024 and who to buy them for. In order of appearance in my life NOT ranked, because I don’t rank.
Possession by A.S. Byatt
Good for people who like romance and Romantic poetry, dark-ish academia, secrets, conspiracy theories, hidden treasure. And a brusque walk on the moors.
Cooking As Though You Might Cook Again by Daniel Licht
Good for your mom, your friend loves to cook, your friend who doesn’t know how to cook (and/or uses her oven as additional storage space), literally EVERYONE.
Metamorphoses by Ovid, translated by Stephanie McCarter
Good for someone who took Latin in high school, or whose childhood hyper-fixation was Greek/Roman mythology. Also maybe the person in your life who plans to write a novel.
Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair by Christian Wiman
Good for people who have had a really difficult year or a really excellent year.
Trust by Hernan Diaz
Good for people who love historical fiction, those who watched HBO’s The Gilded Age (your mom?), New Yorkers, someone who loves and lives in the grey area, maybe your investment banker friend?
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
Good for dads, grandfathers, other men & witches.
Speedboat by Renata Adler
Good for people who’ve already read everything Joan Didion ever wrote, aspiring writers, and crazy friends. Many times, someone who is one of the above is all of the above.
Romola by George Eliot
Duh. Good for someone who wants to read all the classics, or who thinks they already have. Your friend who studied abroad in Florence, or anyone who feels otherwise attached to the city (in my case, mom again).
The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt
Good for short attention spans, your cool aunt, anyone you think is stylish or unstylish, lovers of luxury, rude but funny cousins, EVERYONE.
The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride
Good for young lovers, old lovers, actors and poets. Someone who’s up for a challenge. Consider in leu of Intermezzo (sorry) for your sister who loves contemporary Irish lit.
If nothing above strikes your fancy, I’ve got more for you! Quick:
Go to your LOCAL independent BOOKSTORE. Tell the bookseller literally one thing about the person you’re shopping for (he likes dogs, she likes ice skating, he liked XYZ book, she’s mentally unstable), and they will point you in the right direction.
Buy an anthology of poetry. If the person is into poetry already, go with something like this or this or this or THIS (how charming). If they’re not much of a poetry reader, but you think they should be! I recommend Everyman’s Library. They’re cute and compact and there’s one for everything! Dog poems, river poems, erotic poems, gratitude poems, comic poems. Find them all here.
How about big books? Coffee table books (Taschen, Rizzoli, museum gift shops (MoMA, The Whitney, The Met)) are always a treat. I personally asked for cookbooks this year (this, this, this & this (by
!!)).Fancy or beautiful editions. You’d be surprised what you can find on ThriftBooks—even if the editions aren’t actually rare, they can still be pretty and interesting. Every year, my friend Carolina gets a different edition of Pride & Prejudice from me. Carolina if you’re reading this, act surprised! Used & rare booksellers are worth visiting in person as well if only for the smell.
Photo albums. Just thought of this one on the spot. I made photo albums for my best friends as college graduation presents. It takes a bit of heavy lifting on the front end (sorting through the 1000000 photos on your phone) but it’s worth it in the end! Grandparents would also love.
OMG and how could I forget—blank notebooks of COURSE. I like mine lined personally (if any of you are thinking of getting me something). Goods for the Study is my preferred source.
And now, I’ll cut myself off before I start really going off the tracks and pulling stuff that’s just made of paper out of my ass (metaphorically, obviously), like the custom Zazzle notepad that I ordered for the specific purpose of leaving notes around the house for my lover. This is what I’m talking about when I say I’m one of those freaks. Once the ball gets rolling, I literally cannot stop thinking of things to BUY for & give to the people I LOVE.
Consider these ramblings my non-bought gift to you. Because I love you! Bye!
I am SO happy to read this post Eve!! Going to the book store today to finish my Christmas shopping. Hugs from Houston! Lee