The best gift: books!
Growing up, one of the most reliable things in my life was books from my paternal grandfather. He’d send me them for Christmas, my birthday, seemingly random moments in between. I would write him letters with a short update on my life and then a list of the books I wanted to read next, and those books would inevitably appear in my mailbox. Sometimes he would walk into a bookstore in San Francisco, tell the clerk that he had a granddaughter in such-and-such grade, and I’d get a package with their recommendations. As he grew older and slipped into a world of dementia, I received boxes of children’s books even as I neared college age: it was heartbreaking and strangely reassuring, making me feel as if things would never change. Looking back, it is one of the best gifts I received: my deep, deep love of reading continues now, and, in turn, fostered a love of writing.
I still ask for books for Christmas and my birthday, and still consider books one of my favorite gifts to give throughout the year. There’s a certain joy in reading something that captures you, and being able to pass that feeling along to a loved one. My mom sent me this article in the mail the other day, and the entire thing resonated, but perhaps especially this:”Reading is the best way I know to learn how to examine your life. By comparing what you’ve done to what others have done, and your thoughts and theories and feelings to those of others, you learn about yourself and the world around you. Perhaps that is why reading is one of the few things you do alone that can make you feel less alone. It is a solitary activity that connects you to others.”
If you need any last-minute gift ideas, let me suggest a book. Think of a novel that moved you, changed you, inspired you, and send that. Splurge on the coffee table book—similar to fancy candles, these are the things I love to receive and yet rarely buy for myself. Cookbooks and cocktail recipe books are fun for anyone who likes to eat and loves to drink.
The fun thing about books is you don’t have to stress too much: they’re not very expensive and they’re easy to ship. If they don’t like them, they don’t like them. But if they love them—if they too, are moved and changed and inspired by them—that you are part of that transformation, that escape into another (better) world. And that’s one of those intangible joys that can only be found in a book.
My five favorite all-time books
Travels with Myself and Another
The Boys in the Boat (closely tied with Seabiscuit and Unbroken)
A few fun gift books
Feminist Journal (or any pretty journals!)
One Pan, Two Plates (it’s a vegetarian cookbook full of weeknight meals for two aka recipes I NEED)
Shake Stir Sip (cocktail recipe books are super fun, especially if you gift it with a fun bottle of alcohol and a nice thing of Luxardo cherries or bitters!)
New York: A Book of Colors (my favorite gift for friends who are expecting or have kids!)
On my list this year
p.s. Chronicle Books is currently offering 35% off and free shipping with the code GIVEBOOKS! Even better, they’ll donate a book to the nonprofit First Book (which sends new books to the schools and neighborhoods where they are needed most) for every pledge to #givebooks on social media.
What are your favorite books to give away? What books are on your Christmas list this year?
