Holiday Book Shopping Guide

Whether you’re buying gifts for friends and family or browsing for books for yourself, this list might help point you in a direction.

I hope you find something you like.

For the history buffs:

• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
  • The story of us in under 500 pages.
• The Anthropology of Turqoise: Reflections on Desert, Sea, Stone, and Sky by Ellen Meloy
  • Exploring our attachment to the color and its ties to the natural landscape.
• Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Gramm
  • Did you know the FBI arose to solve the murders of Native land owners? I DIDN’T EITHER.
• Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution by Susan Stryker
  • The T in LGBTQ+ deserves its own chapter.
• The Book of Pride: LGBTQ Heroes Who Changed the World by Mason Funk
  • Covering the icons who started the queer rights movement and the individuals who kept the fight going.
• On Broadway: From Rent to Revolution by Drew Hodges
  • How SpotCo developed campaigns for Broadway’s most memorable shows.
• The Season: A Social History of the Debutante by Kristen Richardson
  • Tracing the roots of debutante and marriage culture around the world.
• Lakota America: A New History of Indigenous Power by Pekka Hamalainen
  • How the Lakota tribe shaped history.
• American Radicals: How Nineteenth-Century Protest Shaped the Nation by Holly Jackson
  • This text is not at all relevant to today’s political climate, wink wink, nudge nudge.
• The Jews of Harlem: The Rise, Decline, and Revival of a Jewish Community by Jeffrey S Gurock
  • Can we stop ignoring the historical contributions of Jewish people in the United States, please?
• Music: A Subversive History by Ted Gioia
  • Protesters, take note.
• Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands by Dan Jones
  • It wasn’t just about religion, fam.
• Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation by Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw
  • Alternate title: Tim McGraw shares the cultural impetus for “Born in the U.S.A.”

 

 

For the disaffected youths who never grew up:

• Our Secret Better Lives by Matthew Amster-Burton
  • A coming-of-age tale set to ’90s grunge.
• Everything Grows by Aimee Hermann
  • Grunge, Riot Grrls, and queer identity.
• Mudhoney: The Sound and the Fury from Seattle by Keith Cameron
  • The so-called “definitive biography” of grunge pioneers Mudhoney.
• Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain by Charles R. Cross
  • The life and tragic loss of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
• Revenge of the She-Punks: A Feminist Music History from Poly Styrene to Pussy Riot by Vivien Goldman
  • A music journalist covers female contributions to punk music.
• Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge by Mark Yarm
  • I’m from Seattle; this is my obsession.
• Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: A Memoir by Carrie Brownstein
  • Bow down to Sleater-Kinney. Show some respect.

 

 

For the spiritually-inclined:

• When One Religion Isn’t Enough: The Lives of Spiritually Fluid People by Duane R. Bidwell
  • Multiple faiths, you say? Tell me more.
• Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto by Lesley Hazleton
  • Agnosticism: it’s broader than you think.
• Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others by Barbara Brown Taylor
  • This is the type of interfaith cooperation I like to see.
• Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne Lamott
  • Anne Lamott makes even hell sound hilarious.
• The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams
  • “Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question.” Read to find out if they answer it.
• The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
  • This sounds like a personality book and you know how much I love those.
• Unsettling the Word: Biblical Experiments in Decolonization edited by Steve Heinrichs with illustrations by Jonathan Dyck
  • You mean we can use the Bible to empower indigenous peoples?
• Prayer: 40 Days of Practice by Justin McRoberts with illustrations by Scott Erickson
  • A helpful guide to incorporating daily prayer in one’s life.
• Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne by Wilda C. Gafney
  • From the synopsis: “Using her own translations, Gafney offers a midrashic interpretation of the biblical text that is rooted in the African American preaching tradition to tell the stories of a variety of female characters, many of whom are often overlooked and nameless.”
• Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
  • Jesus’ best friend recounts his experiences with the Son of God. I should mention this is fiction…OR IS IT?

 

 

For witches, Wiccans, and pagan pals:

• Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers by Taisia Kitaiskaia with illustrations by Katy Horan
  • Celebrated writers reimagined as witches.
• Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
  • Lou is a witch. Reid is anti-witch. Obviously, they fall in love.
• Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey
  • Secret detective witch twins solve a bloody murder.
• Toil & Trouble by Austen Burroughs
  • Man recounts family history and life events that drew him to witchcraft.
• Witchery: Embrace the Witch Within by Juliet Diaz
  • A straightforward guidebook for learning craft.
• The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
  • Written by the author of The House Witch, this book hopefully mentions that many essential oils are toxic to cats.
• Initiated: Memoir of a Witch by Amanda Yates Garcia
  • Worth reading for the cover alone.
• The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith
  • There’s a witch, a forest, and French people. The witch spends time as a toad.
• The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West
  • Truth is witchcraft and misogyny is a curse.

 

 

For the optimists:

• You Are Your Own: A Reckoning with the Religious Trauma of Evangelical Christianity by Jamie Lee Finch
  • Heal from religious trauma by validating the body.
• Becoming by Michelle Obama
  • Because our First Lady had a life before her husband became President.
• It’s the Little Things: The Pocket Pig’s Guide to Living Your Best Life with photographs by Richard Austin
  • YOU CAN’T SAY NO TO POCKET PIGS.
• Muslim Girls Rise: Inspirational Champions of Our Time by Saira Mir with illustrations by Aaliya Jaleel
  • Muslim girls are out here changing the world. I command you to witness them.
• Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History by Blair Imani with illustrations by Monique Le
  • How can you top that subtitle? Women and nonbinary people are KILLING IT.

 

 

For people who love magic, space, and queer representation:

• Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore
  • Two sisters. One rivalry. A curse that will turn one of them into a swan.
• We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
  • The plot synopsis makes me really angry. I hope the protagonist sets her world on fire.
• Crier’s War by Nina Varela
  • Enemies-to-lovers war romance WITH ANDROIDS??? Honestly, how dare you.
• Reverie by Ryan La Sala
  • A “riotously queer” book about dreams that come to life
• Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor
  • Think Repo Men for queer teens…in SPACE!
• Beyond the Black Door by A. M. Strickland
  • An ace girl visits people’s souls while they sleep.
• There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool
  • A prophecy tells of a Prophet who will save or end the world. Here are your five suspects.
• The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
  • A brutal caste system. A fearsome disease. A brewing revolution. A hot bodyguard that I have a huge crush on.
• Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
  • A magical caste system forces human girls into sex slavery for the Demon King. These girls fight back.
• The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
  • A diverse group of Parisian thieves seek an ancient treasure.
• An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
  • Making the case for reparations…in space!
• Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
  • A man called the Tracker seeks a mysterious child.
• Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne
  • The most fractured fractured fairy tale ever written.
• The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
  • A silly space opera starring a ragtag bunch of misfits fighting in an epic war.
• The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
  • Take the popular “What if we killed Hitler?” plot, reverse it, and give it an all-female cast.

 

 

For aspiring astrologists:

• Astro Poets: Your Guides to the Zodiac by Alex Dimitrov & Dorothea Lasky
  • Hilarious. Rainbow. Scarily accurate.
• Astrology for Writers: Spark Your Creativity Using the Zodiac by Corrine Kenner
  • Did someone say archetypes?
• Wood Nymph Seeks Centaur: A Mythological Dating Guide by Francesca Lia Block
  • My name is Lauren and I read this book far too young. (Avoid Satyrs at all costs.)
• The Stars Within You: A Modern Guide to Astrology by Juliana McCarthy with illustrations by Alejandro Cardenas
  • Want to understand astrological charts? JOIN THE CLUB.
• The Mixology of Astrology: Cosmic Cocktail Recipes for Every Sign by Aliza Kelly Faragher
  • Surely, in 224 pages, there will be one cocktail suitable for a Capricorn sun, Scorpio moon, Aquarius rising who just started drinking again.
• Written in the Stars by Debbie Frank
  • I just handed you an opportunity to sing “Rewrite the Stars” from The Greatest Showman
• Star Power: A Simple Guide to Astrology for the Modern Mystic by Vanessa Montgomery
  • I chose this one for the aesthetics.
• The Signs: Decode the Stars, Reframe Your Life by Sarah Faulkner
  • A more practical guide to using astrology as a self-help mechanism.

 

 

For the pessimists predicting a future dystopia:

• The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh
  • Ahem…a “feminist revenge fantasy???” Go at it.
• The Power by Naomi Alderman
  • Detailed feminist revenge fantasy + biting satire.
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John
  • We’re due for another plague, y’all.
• The Farm by Joanne Ramos
  • Eugenics, misogyny, and a crackdown on reproductive rights. So…the American South?
• Bunny by Mona Awad
  • Suspiria for MFA students.
• This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
  • Our possible futures are a Borg-like mass of organic matter or a technological wonderland where PEOPLE CAN TAKE OUT THEIR EYES.
• Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera
  • Hi, hello, our future is Fury Road and all-girl crews are our only salvation.
• How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin
  • In one story in this collection, a utopian society in a parallel universe tries to learn from our mistakes.
• Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
  • Impossible things are happening on planet Earth. Several experts are sent in with guns. Nothing bad happens.
• Internment by Samira Ahmed
  • Please don’t let this be our future.
• The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
  • In this book, girls are sent into the woods when they turn sixteen to keep from driving men wild with their sensual bodies. Thanks, I hate it.

 

 

For intersectional feminists

• The Mars Room by Rachel Kushnel
  • A reminder that prison sucks.
• Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
  • Unofficial Winner of the Best Subtitle Award.
• This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jenkins
  • WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY? BUY THIS BOOK.
• Beyond Respectability: The Intellectual Thought of Race Women by Brittney Cooper
  • Let’s throw respectability politics right out the window.
• When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors & asha bandele
  • Hear from two people actively involved in the Black Lives Matter movement. Experience matters.
• Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
  • Criss Cross for adults.
• Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture edited by Roxane Gay
  • Rape culture is real. Rape culture is real. Rape culture is real-
• Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger by Soraya Chemaly
  • Punishing women for their anger won’t make them less angry.
• Bodies of Information: Intersectional Feminism and Digital Humanities edited by Elizabeth Losh & Jacqueline Wernimont
  • The most horrifying part of my media literacy class was learning the misogyny carries over into technology.
• Jewish Feminists: Complex Identities and Activist Lives by Dina Pinsky
  • Read this, then follow Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg on Twitter.
• Dear White Women, It’s Not You. It’s Me. I’m Breaking Up With You!: Commentaries on Race, White Feminism, Allyship and Intersectionality by Hannah L. Drake
  • I can’t blame Hanna L. Drake one bit. Hey, white women: let’s be better allies, yeah?
• Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay by Phoebe Robinson
  • The chapter on society’s view of plus-size women will make you want to throw this book across the room.
• Becoming Dangerous: Witchy Femmes, Queer Conjurers, and Magical Rebels on Summoning the Power to Resist edited by Katie West & Jasmine Elliott
  • Women and femmes describe the rituals that help them survive turbulent times.
• The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations by Toni Morrison
  • A beautiful collection available in millennial pink.
• Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom
  • “[McMillan Cottom] turns her chosen form into a showcase for her critical dexterity, investigating everything from Saturday Night Live, LinkedIn, and BBQ Becky to sexual violence, infant mortality, and Trump rallies.”
• Burn it Down: Women Writing About Anger edited by Lily Dancyger
  • As a woman who threatens to burn things to the ground every single day, I find immense comfort in this title.
• For the Love of Men: A New Vision for Mindful Masculinity by Liz Plank
  • This one is for all the men who say, “MASCULINITY ISN’T TOXIC.” Not what we’re talking about, Ben Shapiro.
• Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers
  • Radical, you say? My oh my.

 

 

For the comic book lover:

• Cheshire Crossing by Andy Weir with illustrations by Sarah Andersen
  • Dorothy, Alice, and Wendy JOIN FORCES. THIS IS MY DREAM.
• Nimona written and illustrated by Noelle Stevenson
  • From the synopsis: “Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism!” Stevenson is also the showrunner of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
• The Witch Boy written and illustrated by Molly Knox Ostertag
  • Because boys can be witches instead of shapeshifters.
• Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki with illustrations by Rosemary Valerio-O’Connell
  • The touching saga of a fed-up girl and her awful girlfriend.
• I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation written and illustrated by Natalie Nourigat
  • An insider look into the animation industry.
• Blackbird, Vol. 1 by Sam Humphries with illustrations Jen Bartel
  • Jen Bartel’s artwork is GORGEOUS. She also worked on Black Panther and puts out glorious art prints and merch.
• Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’Edera, Miquel Muerto, & Andworld Design
  • Oh, good, my nightmares have come to life.
• Waves by Ingrid Chabbert with illustrations by Carole Maurel
  • A journey into conception, miscarriages, and infertility.
• Mooncakes by Wendy Xu with illustrations by Suzanne Walker
  • It’s a queer werewolf-witch romance with cake. So, uh…go buy it.
• The Tea Dragon Society written and illustrated by Katie O’Neill
  • TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEA DRAGONS.
• Grease Bats written and illustrated by Archie Bongiovanni
  • “Think Dykes To Watch Out For in the current age with Tinder or Sex And The City but gay and actually good.”
• Bloodlust and Bonnets written and illustrated by Emily McGovern
  • A debutante becomes the LEADER OF A VAMPIRE CULT.
• Cats of the Louvre by Taiyo Matsumoto, translated by Michael Arias
  • Attic cats experience art.
• Drawing Power: Women’s Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival: A Comics Anthology edited by Diane Noomin
  • May this anthology stoke your anger and bring you healing.
• Cosmoknights written and illustrated by Hannah Templer
  • “For this ragtag band of space gays, liberation means beating the patriarchy at its own game.”
• DC: Women of Action by Shea Fontana
  • Showing love for the kickass ladies of DC comics.
• Shuri, Vol 1: The Search for the Black Panther by Nnedi Okorafor, Leonardo Romero, & Jordie Bellaire
  • Shuri deserves everything, including her own comic book series.

 

 

For the soft souls who love love:

• Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno
  • Jane the Virgin for teens with ocean magic.
• Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite & Maritza Moulite
  • An epistolary novel cowritten by sisters? Yes. Want.
• If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
  • The Taming of the Shrew set in high school…with Rocky Horror added in for fun.
• The Universal Laws of Marco by Carmen Rodrigues
  • Stars. Fate. A love triangle. All sorts of quality content.
• Technically, You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson
  • An epistolary novel about teens who fall in love over text. IT’S ADORABLE AND BI AND THE PHRASE “BURRITO CLOWN” MAKES AN APPEARANCE.
• Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
  • Imagine a world with a female president whose son fell for the Prince of Wales. JUST GO WITH IT.
• Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
  • A Puerto-Rican lesbian moves to Portland to intern with her favorite author, hello my dream life.

 

 

For the serious sort:

• This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura
  • Oh cute, CJ likes working at her family’s flower ship… We’re revisiting the Japanese interment during WWII, you say? That took a turn.
• Color Me In by Natasha Diaz
  • A biracial teen confronts her identity after experiencing prejudice from multiple camps.
• With Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
  • Teen mom and aspiring chef Emoni dreams of cooking as a career.
• The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante
  • Marisol takes part in an experimental grief study to keep her family in the United States.
• They Could Have Named Her Anything by Stephanie Jimenez
  • Two students at a private school strike up a friendship and start to rebel.
• The Art of Breaking Things by Laura Sibson
  • A teenager decides whether or not to speak out about her assault after her abuser’s return.
• Hope and Other Punchlines by Julie Buxbaum
  • A photo of Abbi as a baby turned into a meme, giving her unwanted notoriety. Then a cute boy who knows all about the famous “Baby Hope” photo locates her at summer camp.
• Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D Jackson
  • Three teens turn their murdered friend into a posthumous rap star.

 

 

For the literary types:

• The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray
  • Two sisters take charge of their nieces after their oldest sister is arrested.
• Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
  • A mother abandons her daughter to move to the U.S. Naturally, there are consequences for their relationship.
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
  • Local legend Kya Clark is suspected of murdering Chase Andrews. The landscape is magical or something.
• The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
  • A history of New Orleans seen through the eyes of one family in a yellow house
• Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
  • After experiencing trauma in the U.S., a spirit-touched Nigerian girl interacts with the many ọgbanje who occupy her body.
• This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga
  • Dangarembga shows you exactly how colonialism and capitalism wear on the black body
• Normal People by Sally Rooney
  • Depressed kids more-or-less stay friends as their lives change in monumental ways.
• Inland by Téa Obreht
  • Spirits. Camels. Téa Obreht’s first novel since The Tiger’s Wife.
• Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
  • Queenie battles anxiety, racism, a miscarriage, a breakup, and online dating. NO WONDER SHE’S TIRED.

 

 

For the creative nonfiction lover:

• In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado
  • A memoir about domestic partner violence written in multiple genres.
• Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
  • Laymon’s prose will break your heart.
• Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim
  • An anthology of black women writers finding themselves in literature.
• How to Be Alone: If You Want To, and Even If You Don’t by Lane Moore
  • My other favorite memoir of the year. A beautiful look at loneliness and survival.
• What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About: Fifteen Writers Break the Silence edited by Michele Filgate
  • Writers enumerate on their complicated relationships with their mothers.
• Little Weirds by Jenny Slate
  • Enter into Jenny Slate’s special brand of strange.
• All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
  • The dark side of transracial adoption.
• Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
  • Three different looks at how the patriarchy crushes all of us.
• Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land
  • TREAT SERVICE WORKERS BETTER!!!
• Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States by Samantha Allen
  • Here’s to a safer United States.

 

 

For the science geeks and futurists:

• The Remarkable Life of the Skin: An Intimate Journey Across Our Surface by Monty Lyman
  • I wasn’t interested until the synopsis mentioned skin care. Now I’m HOOKED.
• Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World by David Owen
  • Funnily enough, I’m currently listening to Bikini Kill.
• Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don’t Have To by David A. Sinclair, PhD
  • This is how dystopian sci-fi novels start.
• Slime: How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us by Ruth Kassinger
  • Algae = everything, apparently.
• The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World by Amanda Little
  • Please be Lara bars, please be Lara bars, please be Lara bars…
• We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer
  • Native people are exempt from reading this book.
• Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed For Men by Caroline Criado Perez
  • BUT WHY, THOUGH.
• Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition by Patricia S. Churchland
  • The shoulder angel and shoulder devil aren’t just jokes anymore.

Happy shopping, friends.

Get out there and hit those book sales.