It’s no secret that I love giving books to my friends and family during the holiday season. Sometimes I gift them something that fits their personality (like a coffee table book) or I find a perfect, evergreen book to gift them. I’m going to breakdown the best books to give this holiday season for anyone in your life. Let’s get started!
one | for the person who loves working on themselves…
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. We all know Shonda Rhimes as the truly amazing screenwriter for shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, but aside from her writing skills, Rhimes usually liked to stay behind the scenes. She passed up opportunity after opportunity because she was scared. No more! In this book, she chronicles her “year” of saying “yes!” Yes to speaking opportunities. Yes to powerful friendships. Yes to dancing in the rain. And so much more.
two | for the person who is always seeking a thrill…
Verity by Colleen Hoover. Verity is an author of a best-selling series who has lost two daughters to tragic accidents. She herself is comatose after a car accident, and therefore, her husband, Jeremy, has gone about hiring a ghost-writer to finish her book series. The lucky ghost-writer just so happens to be Lowen, the starving artist looking for her next book deal. Jeremy and Lowen immediately have romantic chemistry, and that is only heightened when Lowen has to spend a few days at his house looking through Verity’s notes to continue her books. But strange things are happening in the house, and Lowen doesn’t know who she can trust when mysterious things keep happening.
three | for the person who doesn’t actually like reading…
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. Based on a real relationship between Mitch and his old professor, Morrie, Tuesdays with Morrie chronicles the weekly meetings the pair have when Mitch finds out Morrie has ALS. This book is jam-packed with helpful life advice and touching moments between a professor and his student.
four | for the person who loves to cook…
Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl. Ruth Reichl food writer, restaurant critic, and the Editor-in-Chief of Gourmet. After reading the magazine for the better part of her life, Reichl couldn’t turn down the position when Condé Nast offered it to her. She was hesitant to be a manager and not a writer, but how could she say no? This memoir chronicles her time at the magazine, how it impacted her career and self-image, and makes readers think about their food in a whole new way.
five | for the person who loves fashion…
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. Andy, an aspiring writer, snags the job “every girl would die for” but for her, it’s just a hell-ish job as an assistant to the Miranda Priestly — Editor-in-Chief of Runway Magazine. Andy is required to do all the normal assistant tasks such as order breakfast, grab coffee, and deliver magazines, but everything is 10 times worse because Miranda is insane. If you loved the movie, you’ll love the book series.
six | for the person who is always making others take personality tests…
The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile. If you love learning about personality types and figuring out what makes a person tick, this book is perfect for you. The Road Back to You delves into the Enneagram, the newest personality craze. Cron and Stabile breakdown the nine types completely and give a comprehensive look at what each type is like when they are in a healthy, average, or poor mindset.
seven | for the person who has read all the classics…
Anna K: A Love Story by Jenny Lee. An Anna Karenina meets Gossip Girl reboot, Anna K features 17-year-old Anna, a Manhattan socialite who is just trying to keep her life on course with her perfect boyfriend and meeting her father’s high standards. When Alexia Vronsky runs into her at Grand Central, everything changes and madness ensues.
eight | for the person who loves Harry Potter…
The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Quentin Coldwater has spent his whole life dreaming of visiting Fillory, a magical land he read about in a fantasy series he loved as a child. At 18-years-old. Quentin is surprisingly admitted to an exclusive college of magic where he learns basic magic skills alongside the meaning of friendship, love, and booze. As an even bigger surprise, Quentin finds out Fillory is real — but it’s far from the wonderful land he thought it would be.
nine | for the person who can stroll for hours in a museum…
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Vianne and Isabelle are trapped in France during World War II, and each sister must serve their country in the best way they know how. For Vianne, this means being strong for her children while her husband fights on the front-lines and a German soldier moves into her home. On the other hand, Isabelle serves as a spy against the Germans. Each sister’s journey is full of bravery and tells the heartbreaking story of what war can do to families and countries.
ten | for the person who is always up for an adventure…
A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab. Follow me to a world with three Londons — White London, which is teeming with magic and run by truly villainous siblings, Red London, which is home to Kell and relatively balanced, and Grey London, which doesn’t know of magic’s existence. Kell is special — he can travel between Londons. But when Kell discovers a dark relic from the past, he is thrown into an adventure he never asked for that results in the fight for his life. He’s also joined by an unwelcome companion, Delilah Bard. Delilah and Kell must battle for their lives to save the Londons as they know them.
Happy reading,
Kimberly
