Every year, Powell's reaches out to some of our favorite authors for some much-needed gift-giving inspiration. Below are 14 writer-approved recommendations to help you find the perfect book for even your most-difficult-to-buy-for loved one.
Explore previous years' lists: 2021 | 2020 | 2019
In a Jar by Deborah Marcero
To: My kids, who’ve spent a good part of their lives so far in a COVID-isolated world
From: Their dad, who also needs a reminder of how much adventure there is to be had in the small, everyday things (Omar El Akkad, author of What Strange Paradise)
Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie
To: My friends in or out of love, or somewhere in between
From: Jules Ohman, author of Body Grammar
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut
To: Anyone who checks 538 hoping that numbers will save us from the void
From: Your dear friend who wants you to understand that numbers are just a way to define the void, which is an all-consuming thing of wonder, and, in its own thrilling and tender way, growing closer every day! (Sasha Fletcher, author of Be Here to Love Me at the End of the World)
Family Lexicon by Natalia Ginzburg (tr. Jenny McPhee)
To: All my friends with complex family situations
From: Adrienne Celt, author of End of the World House, who wants you to enjoy the catharsis of someone else's brutal (and beautiful) honesty without having to alienate your own loved ones
Rainbow, Rainbow by Lydia Conklin
To: All my trans and queer friends who are tired of the same old tropes. We deserve to be faulty, complicated characters, too.
From: Casey Parks, author of Diary of a Misfit
Sylvie by Sylvie Kantorovitz
To: My graphic novel and art-loving nephews
From: Your graphic-novel-and-art-loving uncle who is inviting you into the world of graphic memoir for kids (Aron Nels Steinke, author of Mr. Wolf's Class)