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Lists

Love the One You're With: This Year's Best Book-Alikes

by Sarah Reif, November 30, 2021 9:30 AM
Love the One Your With: The Best Book Substitutes


Fellow procrastinators, this one is for us! Supply chain woes and a season of wonderful books that everyone is excited about mean that there’s a small chance your favorite bookstore will run out of the specific title on your gift list; but fear not! Wonderful books come out every week (and they’ve been coming out for centuries, if you can believe it). To take the stress out of gifting this year, I went through some of the hottest titles of the season to suggest great alternates.

Maybe your first choice is out of stock, maybe you’re worried your bookish friend already has the hot title of the year, or maybe you just want to look really cool by picking an unexpected title. Whatever your reason, remember that you can always ask a bookseller for a recommendation. We’re here to help and we love any opportunity to shout out our favorite books.

HOT TITLE: Crossroads

by Jonathan Franzen

This is an excellent time to be shopping for epic novels. Jonathan Franzen, Amor Towles, Richard Powers, and Ruth Ozeki have all had buzzy titles hit the shelves this fall. Any of their new releases would make an excellent gift. Not to mention their backlist titles: A Gentleman in Moscow remains beloved and a new Powers release is an excellent excuse to finally read The Overstory. Looking for generational or grand read? Give one of these a shot:

Great Circle Great Circle
by Maggie Shipstead
My Year Abroad My Year Abroad
by Chang-rae Lee
Barkskins Barkskins
by Annie Proulx









HOT TITLE: Beautiful World, Where Are You
by Sally Rooney

This is a genre very near and dear to my heart. Jo Hamya describes it perfectly in her debut Three Rooms: “In this kind of novel, the protagonist was always a woman and always sad.” It’s a simplification, but there is so much beautifully realized literary fiction out there featuring women grappling with society — its joys and ills — and their place within it. Sally Rooney is an undisputed powerhouse in this corner of literature, but these other titles are not to be missed:

The Idiot The Idiot
by Elif Batuman
Writers and Lovers Writers and Lovers
by Lily King
Luster Luster
by Raven Leilani
Topics of Conversation Topics of Conversation
by Miranda Popkey
Days of Distraction Days of Distraction
by Alexandra Chang









HOT TITLE: The Dawn of Everything
by David Graeber and David Wengrow

Capturing human history in a single volume is a daunting task. Reading human history in a single volume is equally daunting, but absolute candy for many readers. David Graeber and David Wengrow’s The Dawn of Everything is certainly going to show up on quite a few wish lists this year. I think it would look great next to Bryson or Harari, and make sure you check out our Best Nonfiction of 2021 list for more inspiration:

A Short History of Nearly Everything A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
Sapiens: The Birth of Humankind (A Graphic History, Volume 1) Sapiens: The Birth of Humankind (A Graphic History, Volume 1)
by Yuval Noah Harari






 

HOT TITLE: Big Shot (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #16)
by Jeff Kinney

The new Wimpy Kid book is a perennial wish list favorite (usually alongside the newest Dog Man volume) but there are many more wonderful middle reader titles out there that are sure to inspire fits of giggles and cries of “next book, please!”

Stuntboy, in the Meantime Stuntboy, in the Meantime
by Jason Reynolds and Raúl the Third
Cardboard Kingdom Cardboard Kingdom
by Chad Sell
Sideways Stories From Wayside School Sideways Stories From Wayside School
by Louis Sachar









HOT TITLE
: The 1619 Project
by Nikole Hannah-Jones

Already proving one of the season’s bestsellers, The 1619 Project is a powerhouse. Luckily, for readers looking to understand our world, how we got here, and where we’re going, there is no shortage of excellent writing out there. Try one of these titles reckoning with our collective history and the ongoing fight for a more just future:

How the Word Is Passed How the Word Is Passed
by Clint Smith
Caste Caste
by Isabel Wilkerson
Fight of the Century Fight of the Century
by Michael Chabon, Ayelet Waldman, and Dave Cole









HOT TITLE: Lord of the Rings Illustrated Edition
by J. R. R. Tolkien

One straight from my own wish list and one my coworker Keith is worried we’ll run out of. For Tolkien diehards, make sure they have The Nature of Middle-Earth or this stunningly illustrated edition of The Hobbit on their shelves. I know there’s nothing quite like a beautifully illustrated sci-fi fantasy edition, so I urge you to check out these titles as well:

The Books of Earthsea The Books of Earthsea
by Ursula K. Le Guin
Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana
by Michael Witwer, Jon Peterson, Kyle newman, and Sam Witwer
The Princess Bride The Princess Bride
by William Goldman
A Game of Thrones: The Illustrated Edition A Game of Thrones: The Illustrated Edition
by George R. R. Martin






 


HOT TITLE: Cooking at Home
by Priya Krishna and David Chang

Every year it seems like there’s one cookbook that’s just… gone (flashback to the great Salt Fat Acid Heat shortage of 2018 and the Dining In scarcity of 2019). They’re beautiful, make excellent gifts, and often take a while to reprint and restock. Luckily, there’s no shortage of amazing cookbooks out there, so if you’re looking to drop a hint that you’d like your friend to start making you apple galettes every week, we’ve got you covered. Check out our 16 Cookbooks for the Holidays and Beyond post for more inspiration.

Everyone’s Table Everyone’s Table
by Gregory Gourdet and J. J. Goode
Dessert Person Dessert Person
by Claire Saffitz
Cook This Book Cook This Book
by Molly Baz








÷ ÷ ÷
Still stumped? Try:
Book-Adjacent Gifts
A Powell's Gift Card 
A Libro.fm Membership
And, of course, your own old, beloved favorite book that you really want everyone to read.



Books mentioned in this post

The Princess Bride

William Goldman

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson

Hobbit Illustrated Edition

J R R Tolkien, Jemima Catlin

Wayside School 01 Sideways Stories From Wayside School

Louis Sachar

A Game of Thrones: The Illustrated Edition: Song of Ice and Fire 1

George R.R. Martin

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

Samin Nosrat and Wendy MacNaughton

Barkskins

Annie Proulx

Dining In: Highly Cookable Recipes

Alison Roman

The Idiot

Elif Batuman

Cardboard Kingdom

Chad Sell

Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History

Michael Witwer, Jon Peterson, Kyle Newman, Sam Witwer

The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition

Ursula K Le Guin, Charles Vess

The Overstory

Richard Powers

Writers & Lovers

Lily King

Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence

Claire Saffitz

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

Isabel Wilkerson

Sapiens: A Graphic History: The Birth of Humankind (Vol 1)

Yuval Noah Harari

Mothering Heights (Dog Man #10)

Dav Pilkey

Days of Distraction

Alexandra Chang

Topics of Conversation A novel

Miranda Popkey

Cook This Book Techniques That Teach & Recipes to Repeat

Molly Baz

Luster

Raven Leilani

Great Circle

Maggie Shipstead

Fight of the Century Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases

Michael Chabon, Ayelet Waldman, Dave Cole

My Year Abroad

Chang-rae Lee

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America

Clint Smith

Crossroads

Jonathan Franzen

Three Rooms

Jo Hamya

The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity

David Graeber, David Wengrow

Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health

Gregory Gourdet and J. J. Goode
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