One of the best emails I get every year is from a friend I’ve known for nearly a decade. We don’t see each other enough anymore but I know I’ll always hear from him in mid-December, when he sends around a list of the 10 best books he read that year. It’s to a small group of people, many of whom I’ve never actually met. Though there are no “rules” for this once-a-year quasi-book club, there’s very little back-and-forth; everyone replies with a short seasonal greeting, followed by their straightforward list of 10, and very limited commentary. With each subsequent email, my running “to read” list gets a little bit longer, and I always love seeing which of my books from last year made it onto this year’s lists.
In that spirit, I’ve compiled this gift guide, although I also suggest that you take advantage of it for yourself — these are all certified bangers, as the kids say. And yes, we’re now only a few days out from Christmas but the wonderful thing about shopping for books is that bookstores are going to be open all week. These were all published over the past two years (and most came out this year) because I had to give myself some sort of time parameter, otherwise I’d go on forever.
Happy gifting (and reading)!
