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Lists

What I'm Giving: Holidays 2021

by Powell's Staff, October 12, 2021 9:24 AM
What I'm Giving 2021

Have a book lover on your gift list, but no idea where to start? Let us help with 40 recommendations that suit all kinds of readers. These are the books we're gifting, and, well, we have very good taste.
100 Things We've Lost to the Internet 100 Things We've Lost to the Internet
by Pamela Paul

To: My adolescent children who’ve not known a world without the Internet
From: A loving mother who desires balance between then and now

Atlas of Imagined Places Atlas of Imagined Places
by Matt Brown and Rhys B. Davies

To: My urban planner best friend who loves maps and reading
From: An observant bestie who knows literary topography is your next big thing

Atlas of the Invisible Atlas of the Invisible
by James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti

To: That bar trivia team member who always knows the answers to the geography questions
From: Your spatially challenged teammate who wants to win that coveted $25 1st place gift card

Bathe the Cat Bathe the Cat
by Alice B. McGinty and David Roberts

To: My niece, who would love to bathe the cat
From: Your aunt, who does not advise it

Beasts of a Little Land Beasts of a Little Land
by Juhea Kim

To: My best friend, who’s always looking for the perfect, all-consuming, sweeping, complex and beautiful epic to sink herself into
From: Your ride-or-die, who will be absolutely fine if you cancel our plans because you can’t put this book down

Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple
by Aran Goyoaga

To: My celiac dad who loves to bake
From: The daughter who hopes to test the products

Collective Wisdom Collective Wisdom
by Grace Bonney

To: My aunt, who has always been a fount of wisdom
From: Your niece, who’s still listening

A Curious Collection of Dangerous Creatures A Curious Collection of Dangerous Creatures
by Sami Bayly

To: My son’s best friend, who is fascinated by nature’s fiercest
From: Paul’s mom, who personally doesn’t care for claws

Dracula: Deluxe Edition Dracula: Deluxe Edition
by Bram Stoker and Edward Gorey

To: Emily, who loves a grim tale made Gorey
From: Liza, who’s totally not listening to “Love Song for a Vampire” right now

An Elephant & Piggie Biggie!, Volume 4 An Elephant & Piggie Biggie!, Volume 4
by Mo Willems

To: My friend’s kiddos, who learned to read with Gerald and Piggie and still adore them
From: Aunt Madeline

Far Sector Far Sector
by N. K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell

To: My non-geeky friends: Here’s a superhero just for you, African American and intergalactic, a truly bad-ass peacemaker
From: Doug

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World
by Matt Kracht

To: My mom, who sends me photo updates on the neighborhood birds she's named
From: A person who lives in awe and fear of our feathered friends

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (Outlander # 9) Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (Outlander # 9)
by Diana Gabaldon

To: My sister who loves the Outlander series and keeps rereading the previous books
From: The sibling who likes finding the perfect book for you

H of H Playbook H of H Playbook
by Anne Carson

To: My thesis advisor, who sat through my theatrical mash-up of Euripedes’s Medea, Electra, and Hecuba
From: Rhianna (P.S. I love you, I’m sorry)

Harsh Times Harsh Times
by Mario Vargas Llosa (Trans. Adrian Nathan West)

To: My father, who’s seen much of the world, and reads the best fiction it has to offer
From: Your son, who’s looking forward to traveling again soon (maybe)

Hero of Two Worlds Hero of Two Worlds
by Mike Duncan

To: My favorite armchair historian
From: Your podcast-obsessed friend who wants to get you hooked on Mike Duncan so we can talk about Revolutions

The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes
by Zoë Playdon

To: My friend who knows there’s so much of our history that’s been silenced
From: Your friend who loves to unearth secrets with you

Hooked Hooked
by Sutton Foster

To: My girlfriend, who often quotes Younger while knitting
From: Your partner, who preferred Bunheads

How Do You Live? How Do You Live?
by Genzaburo Yoshino

To: My nephew who's starting to think through the big existential questions
From: Your aunt, who's still working it out

How to Suffer Outside How to Suffer Outside
by Diana Helmuth and Latasha Dunston

To: My sister, whose idea of hiking is walking to the bakery down the block
From: Her older sibling who walks seven miles to run errands

The Korean Vegan Cookbook The Korean Vegan Cookbook
by Joanne Lee Molinaro

To: My bulgogi-loving hubby, who doesn’t think it’s a meal without meat
From: The doenchang-savvy wife excited to prove you wrong

Light From Uncommon Stars Light From Uncommon Stars
by Ryka Aoki

To: My sci-fi obsessed dad, who's memorized all the Douglas Adams books
From: Your donut-loving daughter

Major Labels Major Labels
by Kelefa Sanneh

To: My friends who miss live shows and make the best end-of-the-year playlists
From: The beneficiary of your impeccable music taste

Matrix Matrix
by Lauren Groff

To: Ben, who made me read The Monk
From: Gabrielle, who wants to you read medieval nuns done right

The Morning Star The Morning Star
by Karl Ove Knausgaard

To: My coworker, who’s always reading big books or contemplatively staring off into the middle distance
From: Your colleague, who keeps looking but has never seen anything over there

My Monticello My Monticello
by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

To: My brother who loves great fiction when he’s not out marching for justice
From: Your sister

Never Never
by Ken Follett

To: My thriller-loving friend who patiently answers my questions about the news
From: Your nervous, doomscrolling buddy

Norse Myths Norse Myths
by Matt Ralphs and Katie Ponder

To: Myself. Have you SEEN these illustrations? (Also, my niece, who’s super into Rick Riordan’s oeuvre)
From: A Myth-tery Bookseller (with a delightfully terrible sense of humor)

Original Sisters Original Sisters
by Anita Kunz

To: My daughter: you may not have actual sisters, but you have so many kinswomen in spirit
From: Your mother

Our Country Friends Our Country Friends
by Gary Shteyngart

To: My husband, a reader who likes his fiction of-the-moment and his satire cutting
From: Your husband, who is sticking with escapist sci-fi for now, but you do you

Pax, Journey Home Pax, Journey Home
by Sara Pennypacker and Jon Klassen

To: My son, who obliterated Pax
From: Your dad, who wishes you’d go easier on this one. I might want to read it after you.

The Plague The Plague
by Albert Camus (Trans. Laura Marris)

To: My wonderful but pedantic philosophy-loving uncle
From: Your niece, who is looking forward to arguing about existentialism and allegorical interpretations with you

Promise That You Will Sing About Me Promise That You Will Sing About Me
by Miles Marshall Lewis

To: My friend who always knows more about the coolest musicians
From: Your friend, who has listened to your playlists exclusively for years

A Quick and Easy Bundle A Quick and Easy Bundle
by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson

To: A friend who’s a school counselor, well-meaning and curious older relatives, and myself
From: The More You Know, the Kinder You Can Be

Such Color Such Color
by Tracy K. Smith

To: My wife, who appreciates beauty and wisdom
From: Your husband, who has always looked to you for both qualities

There's a Ghost in This House There's a Ghost in This House
by Oliver Jeffers

To: Friendly Ghosts and Friends to Ghosts
From: A potential pal who needs hide-and-seek buddies

Upper Left Cities Upper Left Cities
by Hunter Shobe and David Banis

To: My Bay Area friends and sister in Seattle: let the best city debate begin
From: Your friend in Portland, where the airport is indisputably the best

Vespertine Vespertine
by Margaret Rogerson

To: The DM of my D&D group, who loves the macabre mythos of revenants and reliquaries 
From: My Character Is Gonna Get Possessed Now I Just Know It

Win Me Something Win Me Something
by Kyle Lucia Wu

To: My sister, because she'll be as enthralled with Willa's voice as I am
From: Your sister, who's dying to talk about it with you

Wish It Lasted Forever Wish It Lasted Forever
by Dan Shaughnessy

To: My uncle, who still hasn’t learned the futility of trying to talk sports to me
From: Your nephew, who totally knows who Larry Bird is (he was in McDonald’s commercials)



***

More Holiday 2021 Gift Ideas

• Powell's Picks of the Season
• Shopping Tips for Booklovers

 




Books mentioned in this post

Upper Left Cities: A Cultural Atlas of San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle

Hunter Shobe and David Banis and Zuriel van Belle

How Do You Live?

Genzaburō Yoshino

Hero of Two Worlds The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution

Mike Duncan

Norse Myths

Matt Ralphs, Katie Ponder

Promise That You Will Sing About Me The Power & Poetry of Kendrick Lamar

Miles Marshall Lewis

Collective Wisdom Lessons Inspiration & Advice from Women over 50

Grace Bonney

Curious Collection of Dangerous Creatures An Illustrated Encyclopedia

Sami Bayly

Harsh Times

Mario Vargas Llosa

Light From Uncommon Stars

Ryka Aoki

Such Color: New and Selected Poems

Tracy K. Smith

My Monticello

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple A New Way to Bake Gluten Free

Aran Goyoaga

H of H Playbook

Anne Carson

Far Sector Green Lantern

N K Jemisin, Jamal Campbell

Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres

Kelefa Sanneh

100 Things We've Lost to the Internet

Pamela Paul

Atlas of the Invisible Maps & Graphics That Will Change How You See the World

James Cheshire, Oliver Uberti

Original Sisters Portraits of Tenacity & Courage

Anita Kunz, Roxane Gay

A Quick & Easy Bundle

Archie Bongiovanni, Tristan Jimerson, Jules Zuckerberg

Win Me Something

Kyle Lucia Wu

Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes

Zoe Playdon

Our Country Friends

Gary Shteyngart

Never

Ken Follett

The Plague

Albert Camus, Laura Marris

Vespertine 01

Margaret Rogerson

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World

Matt Kracht

Matrix

Lauren Groff

Elephant & Piggie Biggie Volume 4

Mo Willems

How to Suffer Outside A Beginners Guide to Hiking & Backpacking

Diana Helmuth, Latasha Dunston

Beasts of a Little Land

Juhea Kim
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One Response to "What I'm Giving: Holidays 2021"

Rosa Furiosa November 7, 2021 at 05:21 PM
Regarding UPPER LEFT CITIES and the author's quote that PDX is the best airport among Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco ... Portland's train station is the best too! "UNION STATION", "GO BY TRAIN", National Register of Historic Places and a 150 foot Romanesque Revival clock tower. It is just gorgeous.

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