There are so many sales on so many things going on this week.
There’s the long tail of Black Friday, then Cyber Monday and Small Tuesday and Giving Wednesday and keeping up with it makes me want to lie down in the dark.
But I thought about it for a bit (in the dark of course) and in response I have one request for this week’s gift guide:
Please name a book that makes a good gift,
and tell us the name of your local independent bookstore.
NB: Each title will link to the Bookshop listing, with additional retailers afterward should you wish to shop there! Some of our links are affiliate coded, which sends a portion of your purchase back to us at no additional cost. It’s an important revenue stream for us, so thank you in advance for using our links!
Elyse: My local bookstore is Lion’s Mouth in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
I have gifted many copies of Legends and Lattes ( A | BN | K ) because it’s such a beautiful, cozy read when you need something unstressful.
Amanda: Floriography ( A | BN | K | AB ) or Ornithography by Jessica Roux. Gorgeously illustrated and perfect for the right nerd.
Shoutout to Belmont Books in Belmont, MA, where I used to work!
Shana: I love gifting Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), it works for anglophiles, social workers, and travel fans..and I have plenty of all three in my life.
Underground Books in Sacramento, CA, always has a cookbook and kids book that needs to go home with me.
Carrie: I second Underground Books and Legends & Lattes, or pretty collectible editions of classics like this edition of Sense and Sensibility ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ).
Lara: I know it’s viewed as a boring suggestion but I absolutely love receiving vouchers for book stores. The endless possibilities of what I might choose! The freedom!
Sarah: And Bookshop.org has gift certificates!
Sneezy: A continent or two too far to be my local bookstores now, but I have to shout out Pandemonium and Bakka Phoenix!!!
Bakka Phoenix focuses on sci-fi and fantasy, and Pandemonium was one of my favourite used bookstores ever. It’s just so chill there.
I’d recommend Shadows by Robin McKinley ( A | BN | K | AB ). It’s spooky, it’s chill, it’s got crazy kids being crazy kids, and is just a lot of fun.
Ed. note: I can only find this book at Bookshop’s UK outlet, and not in the US store. Sorry!
Kiki: Okay, stick with me: From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to find the Good Death ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) by Caitlin Doughty.
Yes, it’s about death, but every person I’ve recommended this to has been shocked by how much they liked it.
Amanda: What a great suggestion, Kiki! I love that book!
Kiki: Alternatively: the latest Best American Poetry is always a fantastic sample of modern American poetry and a new edition comes out each year.
My local bookstore is Porter Square Books and they just moved to a beautiful and bigger Cambridge location!
Sarah: My local is Loyalty Books in Silver Spring and Washington DC NW, with a big cheer for East City Bookshop in DC, and for Friends to Lovers in Alexandria VA, recovering from a fire the day they opened that destroyed their brand new inventory (check out their GoFundMe for more details).
As for books I have gifted, I’ll start with the first book recommended to me as a gift for someone Going Through It: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ( A | K | AB | Au ) by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
It’s a very absorbing book populated with people who feel very real while you’re reading.
I’ve also gifted many cookbooks, including Amanda’s favorite, Snacking Cakes ( A | BN | K | AB ) by Yossi Arefi.
I’ve had very happy feedback from friends for whom I bought The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin ( A | BN | K | AB ). Anyone who likes science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, or loves NYC likes this book. (We did cocktails about it, too!)
If you’re not sure about what book you might gift someone, we have some Bookshop lists to help you, including Warmest, Fuzziest Coziest Romance and Un-putdownable Books. And I did a list for this post of Giftable Books, too, should you wish to bookmark it!
And don’t forget, if audiobooks are your thing, Libro.fm offers a similar opportunity to support local bookstores through audiobook purchases. You can buy a credit bundle as a gift, too, so they can shop for themselves!
What about you? What book do you love to gift to people, and what’s your local bookshop?
I would suggest gifting someone A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd.
And my local independent bookstore is booked in Philadelphia. Check it out at http://www.bookedch.com
There’s a household moratorium on books (also plants, shoes, yarn, and kitchen toys) because of dire lack of space, but also my book habit would be too expensive to keep up with even with all the space in the world. I don’t buy books except as gifts, and usually from The Strand. For new books, and events, I liked Word in Greenpoint but I haven’t done either in long enough I just checked they’re still in business.
I am excited to give KJ Charles’s Death in the Spires to the snobs on my list who don’t read romance – because it isn’t, technically.
Question for those who have read it: if I give From Here to Eternity to the assholes who won’t read mysteries either, is it too obvious I am making a suggestion? Not that disliking genre fiction means a person should die! Just, perhaps, the ones in my family, might want to consider it.
My local bookstore is Oregon Books and Games https://www.oregonbooks.com
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I always want to gift someone with the experience of reading Lois McMaster Bujold for the first time, so I’m likely to toss the novella Penric’s Demon their way and wait for them to become entranced with the Magic that Is Bujold.
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If they prefer science fiction: Warrior’s Apprentice
If they prefer romance: Beguilement
If they prefer “strong female characters”: Shards of Honor/Cordelia’s Honor (because anyone who quotes that at me needs a little Cordelia-style Betan therapy)
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So much Bujold.
So few readers of it.
There’s a new romance book store in Portland, Oregon called A Grand Gesture!
I don’t generally gift books, because I’m picky about the books I read, and I hate when someone gives me a book in a genre or subject I’m not interested in.
I don’t have any local indies in my county, but ones I’ve had a good experience with are Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, DE; Bethany Beach Books, Bethany Beach, DE; Turn The Page Bookstore, Boonsboro, MD; A Likely Story, Sykesville, MD; and Old Town Books, Alexandria, VA.
West coast and recommend Leigh’s Books in Sunnyvale, CA.
I am incapable of narrowing things down until I know what a person wants out of a book . . . so here are some first-in-a series or standalones that I can personally vouch for
Historical Mystery: The Anatomist’s Wife by Anna Lee Huber, Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose, A Disappearence in Fiji by Nilima Rao, or A Rustle of Silk by Alys Clare
fantasy romance: Paladin’s Grace or Swordheart by T. Kingfisher, or Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn
very competent main characters: The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard or Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
Horror: Barbara Hambly’s Those Who Hunt the Night or T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places
Historical Romance: The Duke who Didn’t by Courtney Milan
Urban Fantasy: Black Dog Blues by Rhys Ford, Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire, or Laura Laakso’s Fallible Justice
space opera: Jennifer Estep’s Only Bad Options or one of the Liaden Universe books by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (several starting points)
cozy fantasy with a very kind character: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
disability-inclusive romantic fantasy: Wards of the Roses by Celia Lake (several of her books fit this)
Paranormal Romance: Building from Ashes by Elizabeth Hunter
novella length SFF: Nghi Vo’s Into the Riverlands, Bujold’s Penric’s Demon, or Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
science fiction: All Systems Red by Martha Wells, Machine by Elizabeth Bear, Finder by Suzanne Palmer, or Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace
Thriller: City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong
Fantasy: The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick, Saint Death’s Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney, or Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
A ‘good gift book’ depends so much on the recipient’s taste in books. The most successful book I ever gave was a used copy of the 1928 Delineator Cookbook to my sister-in-law whose own copy from her grandmother was missing its cover and falling apart; it made her cry. A few years ago, I mailed a copy of Linesman by S.K. Dunstall to a friend undergoing chemo. She read it and the two sequels and then passed them along to her sister who also enjoyed them. (Said friend is now in remission…yay!)
I agree completely with @Kareni– a “good” gift book (or just about any other gift) depends on who is getting the gift. However, I’m happy to shout out Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati OH (they have a store in Lexington KY also) and I’m looking forward to the spring launch of Swoon Books & Wine Bar in Dayton OH, which I learned about here at SBTB.
I am currently obsessed with recommending Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter by Ben Goldfarb to absolutely anyone I can get ahold of- it’s not quite a universal book but it’s got a lot for a lot of people- incredible history, ecology, and the best bunch of real life characters who are really, really enthusiastic about beavers. And a surprising number of beavers named Justin.
My local bookstore is Magers & Quinn in Minneapolis- they carry new and used books and are open 10am to 10pm, and I have made more late night book purchases there than I ever, ever intended to. Including the 15 books I snagged for my kid off their clearance cart for $22, huge book buying win.
We also love Wild Rumpus which is an indie bookstore just for kids books and is such a delightful place of bounty for kiddos.
One successful children’s book I gifted is Eight Princesses and a Magic Mirror by Natasha Farrant.
Seconding @Rebecca’s recommendation of Wild Rumpus, and adding Red Balloon in St. Paul (also children’s)
In SoCal, Vroman’s in Pasadena, Once Upon a Time (children’s) in Montrose, and Underdog (inclusive) in Monrovia
In San Francisco, City Lights and Book Passage
In Austin, Book People (they had a fantastic children’s section when I was there)
And I don’t see Powell’s in Portland on the list yet…
How about a graphic novel! I started collecting Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo comics recently: I’ve been getting the “Second Edition” printing by Dark Horse because I already have volumes 1-7 from the 90s. The Second Edition “Saga” printing is gorgeous: oversized 6.5″x10″ and the first 7 or so are actually three trade paperbacks in one.
The only tricky thing is, in this printing, “volume 1” is actually volume 8+. They collected volumes 1-7 in a 2 part hardcover boxed set that precedes the paperback Second Edition printing.
You could start with “Usagi Yojimbo Book 1: Ronin” (the one with him on a horse, wielding a sword) – that’s the original volume 1 and it’s available.
Usagi is a ronin, a masterless samurai, who is wandering the “warrior’s path” following the disastrous defeat/death of his master at the Battle of Adachigahara. The comics are his adventures on the road: there are bandits, ninja, honorable thieves, dishonorable governors, a grumpy rhino bounty hunter with a great backstory, humor, GHOSTS, murder mysteries, a lot of references to Japanese folk tales and movies, great side characters, and more. The pacing is great, the arcs can be triumphant or poignant or bittersweet. The art is absolutely wonderful and also kid friendly (except for all the people getting killed with swords of course! But really, it’s not actually that gory). I loved this series when I was ten and I love it now when I’m much, much older than ten!
Two more things I’ve always liked about these comics: The characters always eat so deliciously…I guess because he’s traveling a lot, so in-scene people are always glad for their meals. I always felt kind of hungry when they were eating. Also, the buildings/tools/clothes are actually meticulously researched and very interesting to look at – you can be watching him fight a bat-ninja on the roof of a building and pause to look at how the poles that hold the thatching are tied together – or a woodcutter is running for his life from some bandits and you can kind of see how his backpack is put together. It’s a very fun series!
Powell’s in Portland is still my happy place!