My 2021 Book Lovers Gift Guide

To make using this gift guide easier, start with the Editor’s Picks to choose a can’t-miss gift in seconds, then browse the category lists for taste-specific ideas. Pair any book with a handwritten note and you’ve got a meaningful, memorable gift.

Every year I hear the same thing: “I want to gift a book they’ll actually love.” Same! This 2021 guide keeps the soul of the original while making it easier to shop today-clear picks, clean categories, and zero fluff.

How to Use This Guide (30 seconds)

• Start with Editor’s Picks (mini-reviews) for fast, confident gifting.
• Use Categories to match specific tastes and ages.
• When possible, order from your local indie (or buy online + curbside pickup).

Editor’s Picks (With Mini-Reviews)

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

Martha, sharp and self-sabotaging, finally names the unnamed thing that’s shaped her life and marriage, and chooses what healing will look like for her; I picked it for the mix of wit and ache-perfect for readers who love Sally Rooney and nuanced relationship fiction-and I finished it feeling seen, tender, and a little rearranged.

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

A stay-at-home mom believes she’s turning into a dog, and the feral transformation becomes an honest, darkly funny reckoning with art, motherhood, and power; I chose it because it’s bold and unforgettable-great for readers who like genre-bending feminist fiction-and it left me thrill-nervous and weirdly empowered.

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Ailey Pearl charts her identity across centuries of American history and family memory, learning where love and legacy meet; I included it for its sweep and heart-ideal for epic-literary fans and book clubs-and I closed it feeling expanded, humbled, and grateful.

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris

In Reconstruction-era Georgia, two freed brothers and a grieving farmer form an unlikely bond that tests a town’s notions of freedom and decency; I chose it for its compassion and quiet tension-perfect for readers of Colson Whitehead-and it left me hopeful and hushed.

Assembly by Natasha Brown

In one workday and a party, a Black British woman weighs career, love, and the costs of assimilation, choosing what she will and won’t carry; I picked it for its precise, elegant punch-great for readers who love slim, devastating novels-and it made me underline every other sentence.

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

A struggling novelist/mom is mistaken for a hitwoman, and chaos (plus excellent plot twists) ensues as she fakes it till she… solves it; I chose it because it’s propulsive and hilarious-perfect for readers who want clever capers-and it made me grin from chapter one.

Girl A by Abigail Dean

A woman known as “Girl A” confronts her past in a notorious abuse case as she and her siblings navigate inheritance and identity; I included it for its psychological depth-great for fans of layered, character-first thrillers-and it left me chilled and impressed.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

In 18th-century London, a secret apothecary serves women seeking justice; in the present day, a historian uncovers the past; I chose it for the dual timeline + vengeance-meets-healing theme-ideal for readers who love historical mystery with heart-and it left me satisfied and soothed.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Zhu refuses the fate assigned to her and seizes a destiny of greatness in a fierce reimagining of the Ming founding; I picked it for its ambition, politics, and gender subversion-perfect for fans of epic fantasy-and it made me ferociously team Zhu.

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

A shy widower and a lonely teen connect through a mysterious list of library books that gently mends a community; I chose it for its kindness-great for readers who love feel-good literary fiction-and it left me teary in the best, most human way.

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Two public-radio producers fake being exes for a hit show… and inconveniently fall for each other; I included it for sparkling banter and workplace charm-perfect for rom-com devotees-and it made me giggle, swoon, and text quotes to friends.

Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti

A media mogul fakes her death to read the obituaries and reckon with her legacy-and the secrets that surface; I chose it for big-hearted messiness-great for readers who love family drama with moral questions-and it left me reflective about the stories we author about ourselves.

Books from the 2021 Holiday Gift Guide

2021 Debut Fiction

Literary Fiction

• The Divines by Ellie Eaton
• Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler
• City of a Thousand Gates by Rebecca Sacks
• Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
• American Delirium by Betina González, translated by Heather Cleary
• Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic
• Brother, Sister, Mother, Explorer by Jamie Figueroa
• Aquarium by Yaara Shehori, translated by Todd Hasak-Lowy
• Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith
• Nobody, Somebody, Anybody by Kelly McClorey
• Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin
• Ghost Forest by Pik-Shuen Fung
• The Bachelor by Andrew Palmer
• Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
• Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson
• Three Rooms by Jo Hamya
• Fault Lines by Emily Itami
• Snowflake by Louise Nealon
• Assembly by Natasha Brown
• Love and Other Thought Experiments by Sophie Ward
• Lean Your Loneliness Slowly Against Mine by Klara Hveberg, translated by Alison McCullough
• The Teller of Secrets by Bisi Adjapon
• Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding
• Tell Me How to Be by Neel Patel

Romance

• The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon
• Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
• Float Plan by Trish Doller
• Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
• A Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams
• The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian
• The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
• The Paris Connection by Lorraine Brown
• The Shaadi Set-Up by Lillie Vale
• The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer
• Always, in December by Emily Stone
• The Donut Trap by Julie Tieu

Family & Friendship

• Faye, Faraway by Helen Fisher
• How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones
• The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson
• The Vietri Project by Nicola DeRobertis-Theye
• When I Ran Away by Ilona Bannister
• Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins
• Other People’s Children by R. J. Hoffmann
• The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin
• Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin
• Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen
• Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann
• The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser
• The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton by Eleanor Ray
• God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney
• Rock the Boat by Beck Dorey-Stein
• The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
• Immediate Family by Ashley Nelson Levy
• Agatha of Little Neon by Claire Luchette
• Edge Case by YZ Chin
• Out of Love by Hazel Hayes
• Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen
• The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman, translated by Leslie Camhi
• The Family by Naomi Krupitsky
• Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti

Magical Realism

• The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
• Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian
• Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey

Science Fiction & Fantasy

• The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
• She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
• Shallow Waters by Anita Kopacz
• The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel
• Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
• Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn
• God of Mercy by Okezie Nwaka
• A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
• This Weightless World by Adam Soto

Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense

• Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
• Girl A by Abigail Dean
• The Downstairs Neighbor by Helen Cooper
• Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
• Madam by Phoebe Wynne
• The Comfort of Monsters by Willa C. Richards
• In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead
• Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian
• Nice Girls by Catherine Dang
• We Know You Remember by Tove Alsterdal
• The Last Guest by Tess Little
• All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

Historical Fiction

• The Radio Operator by Ulla Lenze, translated by Marshall Yarbrough
• The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
• Daughters of Sparta by Claire Heywood
• At Summer’s End by Courtney Ellis
• The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
• Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson
• The Light of Luna Park by Addison Armstrong
• Silent Winds, Dry Seas by Vinod Busjeet
• A Play for the End of the World by Jai Chakrabarti
• The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab
• The Sisters Sweet by Elizabeth Weiss
• Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

Beautiful Editions (Gift-Ready)

• Vintage Classics Japanese Series
• Penguin Green Ideas Collection
• Vintage Classics Russian Series
• Juniper Books Toni Morrison Portrait Set
• Juniper Books Ernest Hemingway Signature Set
• Juniper Books Mary Poppins Sets
• Folio Society Peter Pan and Wendy by J. M. Barrie
• Folio Society Crooked House by Agatha Christie
• Folio Society Dracula by Bram Stoker

Books about Books

• Bibliophile: Diverse Spines by Jamise Harper and Jane Mount
• Around the World in 80 Books by David Damrosch
• Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller by Nadia Wassef
• 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
• The New York Times Book Review edited by Tina Jordan and Noor Qasim
• Dark Archives by Megan Rosenbloom
• The Writer’s Library by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager
• Ex Libris: 100+ Books to Read and Reread by Michiko Kakutani (lettering by Dana Tanamachi)
• Book Towns: Forty-Five Paradises of the Printed Word by Alex Johnson

Travel

• Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper
• Leave Only Footprints by Conor Knighton
• World Travel by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever
• Where the Deer and the Antelope Play by Nick Offerman
• In the Weeds by Tom Vitale
• 1,000 Perfect Weekends by National Geographic

Nature

• The Loneliest Polar Bear by Kale Williams
• Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach
• On Animals by Susan Orlean
• Eloquence of the Sardine by Bill François, translated by Antony Shugaar
• Earth’s Wild Music by Kathleen Dean Moore
• Below the Edge of Darkness by Edith Widder

Home & Garden

• Simply Sustainable by Lily Cameron
• Hill House Living by Paula Sutton
• House Story by Jasmine Roth
• Minimalista by Shira Gill
• House Planted by Lisa Muñoz
• Striking Succulent Gardens by Gabriel Frank
• Take It Outside by Mel Braiser, Garrett Magee, and James DeSantis
• Feels Like Home by Lauren Liess
• Seasons at Highclere by The Countess of Carnarvon

Food & Drink

Everyday Cookbooks

• The Full Plate by Ayesha Curry
• Simply Julia by Julia Turshen
• Food Between Friends by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Julie Tanous
• Everyday Dinners by Jessica Merchant
• The Quick Fix Kitchen by Tia Mowry
• Once Upon a Chef by Jennifer Segal

Travel Cookbooks

• My Shanghai by Betty Liu
• Everyone’s Table by Gregory Gourdet with JJ Goode
• Sea Salt and Honey by Chloë Tsakiris, Olivia Tsakiris, and Nicholas Tsakiris
• Bavel by Ori Menashe, Genevieve Gergis, and Lesley Suter
• Colombiana by Mariana Velásquez
• Lemon, Love & Olive Oil by Mina Stone
• Cook Real Hawai’i by Sheldon Simeon and Garrett Snyder
• Provecho by Edgar Castrejón
• Black Food edited by Bryant Terry
• Italian American by Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli with Jamie Feldmar
• Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean by Claudia Roden
• World Food: Paris by James Oseland

Vegetarian & Vegan

• Super Natural Simple by Heidi Swanson
• The Vegan Meat Cookbook by Miyoko Schinner
• Dada Eats Love to Cook It by Samah Dada
• The Weekday Vegetarians by Jenny Rosenstrach
• Running on Veggies by Lottie Bildirici
• Brave New Meal by Bad Manners (Michelle Davis and Matt Holloway)

Baking

• Zoë Bakes Cakes by Zoë François
• Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain
• Sheet Cake by Abigail Johnson Dodge
• Life Is What You Bake It by Vallery Lomas
• Cookies by Jesse Szewczyk
• A New Take on Cake by Anne Byrn

Drinks

• Mezcal and Tequila Cocktails by Robert Simonson
• Wine Style by Kate Leahy
• Girly Drinks by Mallory O’Meara
• Zero Proof by Elva Ramirez
• The Way of the Cocktail by Julia Momosé with Emma Janzen
• Sparkling Wine for Modern Times by Zachary Sussman and the Editors of PUNCH

Children’s Books

Ages 0-2

• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Nosy Crow, illustrated by Yu-hsuan Huang
• Opposites Abstract by Mo Willems
• Baby Loves Scientists by Ruth Spiro, illustrated by Irene Chan
• Hello, World! Baby Animals by Jill McDonald
• Big Dog and Little Dog Getting in Trouble by Dav Pilkey
• A Little Book About Winter by Leo Lionni

Ages 3-5

• Happy Holidays! (American Girl) by Lauren Diaz Morgan, illustrated by Romina Galotta
• Green Tractor by Kersten Hamilton, illustrated by Valeria Petrone
• Lola Sleeps Over by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw
• Dog’s First Baby by Natalie Nelson
• Circle Under Berry by Carter Higgins
• Llama Llama Seasons of Fun! by Anna Dewdney, illustrated by J. T. Morrow

Ages 6-8

• The Smart Cookie by Jory John and Pete Oswald
• Change Sings by Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Loren Long
• Pete the Cat’s Groovy Imagination by James Dean and Kimberly Dean
• Do You Speak Fish? by DJ Corchin, illustrated by Dan Dougherty
• A Friend Like You by Andrea Schomburg and Barbara Rottgen, illustrated by Sean Julian
• Tomatoes for Neela by Padma Lakshmi, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal

Ages 9-12

• Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
• Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega
• Willodeen by Katherine Applegate
• Beasts and Beauty by Soman Chainani, illustrated by Julia Iredale
• Pax: Journey Home by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Jon Klassen
• Sunny Makes a Splash by Jennifer L. Holm, illustrated by Matthew Holm
• Dark Waters by Katherine Arden
• Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley, illustrated by Xavier Bonet

Teen & Young Adult

• The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
• Wings of Ebony by J. Elle
• A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen
• We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire by Joy McCullough
• The Valley and the Flood by Rebecca Mahoney
• Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield
• The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) by Alyssa Sheinmel
• Yolk by Mary H. K. Choi
• A Queen of Gilded Horns by Amanda Joy
• Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp
• House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
• Indivisible by Daniel Aleman
• Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi
• Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
• Heartbreakers and Fakers by Cameron Lund
• Sugar Town Queens by Malla Nunn
• Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee
• From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn
• The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons
• Girls at the Edge of the World by Laura Brooke Robson
• Wicked as You Wish by Rin Chupeco
• The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl
• We Are Not Broken by George M. Johnson
• Why We Fly by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

Journals & Workbooks

• Bibliophile 2021 12-Month Planner by Jane Mount
• Book Club: A Journal by Read It Forward
• Get Untamed: The Journal by Glennon Doyle
• The Skinnytaste Ultimate Meal Planner by Gina Homolka and Heather K. Jones
• The Home Edit Workbook by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin
• Write This for Inspiration by Ashly Perez

Cards, Puzzles & Games

• Lizzy Loves Darcy by Thomas W. Cushing
• Words of Art by Catherine Gund
• Meditations and Affirmations by Deepak Chopra
• The Cheese Board Deck by Meg Quinn and Shana Smith
• Book Nerd 1,000-Piece Puzzle by Holly Maguire
• Crazy Plant Lady 1,000-Piece Puzzle by Isabel Serna

Final Thoughts

Books are tiny time machines and comfort providers. If you’re stuck, pick one from Editor’s Picks and write a two-line note about why you chose it-that human touch turns any book into their book. Which title are you gifting first? Tell me who you’re shopping for (age, vibe, recent faves), and I’ll reply with a tailored recommendation in the comments.