Who says procrastination doesn’t have its rewards? Last-minute holiday gift buyers, Alta Journal is here to make this season a breeze. We’ve rounded up a collection of buyers at independent bookstores throughout California to offer smart, surprising, page-turning gift ideas for struggling shoppers (like us!). Literary experts from Alibi Bookshop in Vallejo, Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, and Wild Sisters Book Co. in Sacramento select top titles that’ll make perfect gifts for even the most challenging recipient. We have you covered—with a bow and a gift receipt—in this 30-minute panel that, now in its third year, has become a beloved holiday tradition of its own.
Here are the books recommended by our panel of book buyers.
New Fiction:
- C.P.: Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar, and The Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich
- K.F.: The Book of Love, by Kelly Link; short stories by Dave Eggers; and The City and Its Uncertain Walls, by Haruki Murakami.
- C.B.: The Ex Vows, by Jessica Joyce
Nonfiction/History:
- C.P.: All the Beauty in the World, by Patrick Bringley
- K.F.: The Bookshop, by Evan Friss, and Hope for Cynics, by Jamil Zaki
- C.B.: In Defense of Ska, by Aaron Carnes
Biography/Memoir:
- C.P.: John Lewis, by David Greenberg
- K.F.: The Friday Afternoon Club, by Griffin Dunne, and How to Be a Good Creature, by Sy Montgomery
- C.B.: What I Ate in One Year, by Stanley Tucci
Mystery/True Crime:
- C.P.: Mother-Daughter Murder Night, by Nina Simon
- K.F.: Alcatraz Ghost Story, by Brian Stannard
- C.B.: Pony Confidential, by Christina Lynch
Young Adult/Kids:
- C.P.: Sleep Like Death, by Kalynn Bayron
- K.F.: The Eyes and the Impossible, by Dave Eggers; Barnaby Unboxed, by the Fan Brothers; and When We Flew Away, by Alice Hoffman
- C.B.: Youth Group, by Jordan Morris, and Please Don’t Bite Me, by Nazzy Pakpour
Food/Cookbook/Crafts:
- C.P.: Chinese Enough, by Kristina Cho
- K.F.: The Bean Book, by Steve Sando, and What I Ate in One Year, by Stanley Tucci
- C.B.: Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook, by Illyanna Maisonet
What to Give a Coworker/Neighbor/Obligatory Giftee:
- C.P.: Bay Area Wildlife, by Jeff Miller
- K.F.: The Backyard Bird Chronicles, by Amy Tan; The Serviceberry, by Robin Wall Kimmerer; and One Line a Day journals, by Chronicle Books
- C.B.: Churchill: A Drinking Life, by Gin Sander
What to Give the Reader Who’s “Read Everything”:
- C.P.: Libro.fm audiobook subscription or a banned books mug/journal plus a donation.
- K.F.: Mythos: The Illustrated Edition, by Stephen Fry and Jesús Sotés (illustrator), or book darts.
- C.B.: Check Your Shelf literary card game
Check out these links to some of the topics brought up this week.
- Buy Alta Journal’s guide to bookstores of California and the West.
- Visit Alibi Bookshop in Vallejo, Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, and Wild Sisters Book Co. in Sacramento.
- Don’t live near an indie bookstore? Buy through Bookshop.org.
- Check out an excerpt of The Friday Afternoon Club, by Griffin Dunne.•
