Books are the best gifts
Garrison Keiller said it best: “A book is a gift you can open again and again.”
I hope that this month, you will give or receive a book for Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or for any other holiday or occasion (or already have).
Books truly do keep on giving as they’re read and re-read or passed along to others.
It’s not too late to visit a local independent or chain bookstore or big box retailer to buy a book for anyone of any age. Don’t forget about gift cards, too! Because you can purchase and send them digitally, it’s so easy to let your recipient select the book of their choice.
Turn to Google for inspiration
Need ideas for books that will make great gifts? Google will help!
Googling “books for mystery lovers” got me to this Pinterest page with soooo many covers.
Searching for the best children’s books led me to a helpful article on Parents.com, “Parents’ 10 Best Children’s Books of 2017.”
Buzzfeed Books is a wonderful resource. How about “43 Books You Won’t Be Able to Stop Talking About?”
My own favorite source is the “Popular Book Club Books” list on Goodreads. Never disappoints.
And, of course, you probably know authors with books that will make great gifts. (Even better if you can get one signed.)
For example, I participated in a Secret Santa Facebook name draw this year with a large group of people I don’t know. A quick look at the Facebook profile for the woman whose name I drew revealed that she’s an avid runner, so how could I not get her my friend Jen Miller’s popular memoir, Running: A Love Story?
Books are the best gifts year-round
This is the gift-giving season, but it’s not the only time of the year you’ll need to give a gift.
The next time you want to give the perfect Valentine’s Day, birthday, graduation, bridal shower, Father’s Day, or Mother’s Day present, look for a book.
You’ll enjoy searching for the just the right choice. And you just might introduce the recipient to something new, interesting, or exciting.
Would your book make a great gift? Tell us why and provide a link in a comment.
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I agree, Sandra. Books engage the imagination and provide a respite from the bustle of modern society. What better gift than a stress break?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I’m ready for that stress break, Kathy! Happy holidays to you!
Sandy
For all the writers who stop by Sandra’s excellent blog:
The Writer’s Lexicon
Learn how to harness body language, cut hackneyed adjectives, and draw on the environment for ambience. No more wooden characters. You’ll transform them into believable personalities that your readers will learn to love. Or hate.
https://kathysteinemann.com/Musings/books-lexicon/
Do I think my books make great Christmas presents? Of course I do. This year I’m giving THE COUNTRY GIRL EMPRESS to all the historical fiction fans on my gift giving list. There’s nothing more relaxing than to escape to 19th century Vienna for just a couple of minutes or a few hours. If you’d like to know more, please visit: https://www.amazon.com/Country-Girl-Empress-Piper-Burgi/dp/1977542301
Thank you, Sandra for asking the question, and giving me the opportunity to talk about my book!
Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday Season!
Happy holidays, Piper!
Sandy
I believe my book “Weight Loss Starts in Your Brain” Rewire your brain, tame your cravings and lose weight naturally” is a great gift to start 2018 with a new vision for yourself. It is a book you do rather than read full of Cogni-tips and games to engage in a life changing self discovery journey. It is based on a clinically proven method using cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness, and neuroplasticity principles to help you simply change the way you eat and lose weight for good. No dieting anymore. It is a losing proposition. My book can be pre-ordered on my website and will be on Amazon mid January 2018. After years of delivering up to 45 lbs. loss in 12 weeks tto women over 50, I decided to share my method with the book and webinars! It’s never too late to lose weight. https://thecognidiet.com/book/
Sounds great, Veronique!
Sandy
Many of my small publishing cooperative’s books are great, especially for teens on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. An added benefit we’ve just started is using a dyslexic friendly font. Anything published in 2017 used this font, so if you know a teen with this disability, one of our books might be what they need to learn to love reading.
I believe my book, “Daily Affirmations “ A 21 Day Guide To Positive Thinking would be an absolutely amazing gift! In this book, I provide healthy ways to become a better person by changing your perspective. It would be an amazing gift to those batteling with anxiety, depression, overthinking or chronic negative thinking or those who just want to become a greater version of themselves.
How you start your morning is how your day will flow. Begin your morning with positivity and powerful words of Affirmations from my new book. Order details below.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1549605887?ref_=pe_870760_150889320
I consider my children’s ebook the perfect gift for a young child: the time the parents spend reading the book to their children is actually the biggest gift of all. The bonding, while reading a bed time story, it is crucial for a happy, healthy, childhood.
It is free today and tomorrow, please enjoy!
https://www.amazon.com/MORSEY-HORSEY-STARES-Adventures-Morsey-ebook/dp/B06XYVXJSD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513822672&sr=8-1&keywords=morsey+the+baby+sea+horsey
“You Don’t Have to Learn Everything the Hard Way” for young adults is an award winning, self help book that’s like sitting with a friend who cares about you. Some of the hard topics of life are tackled in this book that gives young adults the power to make the choices in life that will really work for them (and recover from the choices that didn’t work!) Check it out (and the reviews) on Amazon here http://tinyurl.com/5j6zow
Thanks for the great recommendations you posted, Sandra. Great ideas! I hope my book adds something great to your list.
This puzzle book provides an activity for families, and it’s fun in unexpected ways! The Librarian’s Almanaq is available through Amazon. The Conjurer’s Almanaq is a Kickstarter project, with gift certificates available for holiday giving.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/almanaq/the-conjurers-almanaq-escape-this-book?ref=43hkge
Take a journey with a lovable and enduring character named, Cardinal Mike. He is on a quest to find the perfect tree and he needs your help! C’mon and join his friends, the Robin, Squirrel, Sammy Sparrow, and the Wise Old Owl. See you inside our adventure!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/cardinal-mike-quest-for-perfect/id677991496?mt=11
The Nautilus Journal
An extraordinary sojourn across the globe ends off the coast of the Lofoten Isles. For French Naturalist, Professor Pierre Aronnax and two companions, the journey was too incredible to be true. Only his packet of notes told of their adventure aboard a highly advanced submarine boat called, Nautilus.
The famed marine author from the Paris museum whose mortality was in questions for months, had survived an ordeal which took him 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. Upon his return to France, his scientific zeal prompts him to recount and chronicle the secrets of his ordeal and secure it for safekeeping.
https://www.amazon.com/Nautilus-Journal-Louis-M-Marich-ebook/dp/B003A844LU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1446817209&sr=8-2&keywords=the+nautilus+journal
Thanks for the blog, Sandra.
The Game-Day Goddess Sports Series are timeless guides to football, basketball, and baseball that were selected Best Books for College Students by StudentAdvisor, owned by the Washington Post Co. These handy, innovative guides allow students to enjoy games and enable them to land an internship or job because they teach them the art of sports chitchat.
Click here to get your game on: amazon.com/author/suzybohnert
Elle’s Magical Shoes has the right formula for readers young and old alike. When you give a child a book as a present, you want it to be entertaining. My book mixes real-life with fantasy and incorporates family, friendship, loyalty, and forgiveness. Readers will be entertained, but they may learn some valuable lessons.
I’ve heard from children that they really liked the book. One finished it on her plane trip to Florida. I had a grandmother tell me that she had to read the book over and over again to her grandchild at the grandchild’s request. I’ve heard from adults that they enjoyed reading the book too. A teacher read the book to a classroom, so even though the title has a girl’s name in it, boys can find something in the book also.
Who doesn’t love the outdoors/nature? I’ve written two hiking books, “Hiking Southwest Utah and Adjacent Areas, Volumes 1 and 2” which make great presents for the outdoors people in your family. My wife Deb and I hiked all of the 50 different hikes (25 in each book). The books contain locator maps, trail maps, and many color photos (I took them all), along with detailed directions to the trailheads.
Here is a link to Volume 2 available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Southwest-Utah-Adjacent-Areas/dp/1533162107?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Give the gift of knowledge: ‘Grammar for People Who Hate Rules: Killer Tips from the Ruthless Editor.’ This TRULY is a gift that keeps giving, a book that will be opened again and again.
My Division One series, available in print and ebook formats, is a fun science fiction/mystery/action-adventure romp around the globe and across the galaxy, suitable for Young Adult and up! This is my take on the urban legend of the unique group of men and women who show up at UFO sightings, alien abductions, etc. and make evidence… disappear… to depict my vision of the universe we don’t know about. But watch out! Things aren’t always what they seem!
The ongoing series starts with Book 1, Alpha and Omega:
https://www.amazon.com/Alpha-Omega-Division-Stephanie-Osborn-ebook/dp/B01MXNQTFJ/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
My newest novel The Frozen Sea is a cultural quest about the possibility of some of Franz Kafka’s papers being hidden in Venice, Italy. Readers who love intelligent mysteries with vignettes of historical fiction starring figures from literature will love it. It’s third in a series of European cultural adventures featuring the amateur sleuth Bryn Awbrey.
https://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Sea-Rosanne-Dingli/dp/197765908X
You’re right. Books make wonderful gifts. “Colors of Joy: A Woman’s Guide for Self Discovery, Balance, and Bliss” is bound to be appreciated, because its journal writing activities and self-care exercises are colorful, distinctive, and fun to use. Order an autographed copy at http://www.nancyandreswriter.com/colors-of-joy/
Does anyone know anything about the place where they live? If one is trying to get through school, one will need to learn.As one gets older how your home land was built becomes interesting. However, the information available is often far too dry. I attempt to be entertaining within my novels but still supply information … and there is documented history in all of them.
http://sbprabooks.com/davidmmcgowan
or connect at my blog
http://www.dmmcgowan.blogspot.ca
Dave
Mine will make a great Valentine’s gift!! Never too early to think of, right!?
On lulu.com search ‘Love Guru Uma’ and enter your birthdate as its for 18+ for two pages of racy material and colorful language!
Michael Beckwith of the Secret and Oprah show, says: “Uma is not merely a seeker of love, a writer about love, she IS love…”
This adventure romance is a topsy-turvy rollercoaster ride! Offering
Book club activities too.
Based on the true story of a family pet, my book “The Underdog with The Underbite”, is an uplifting and encouraging story about overcoming life obstacles against all odds. It would make a great gift because it encourages and inspires young readers to greatness by letting them know that they can overcome every obstacle that life puts in their way. For all the kids that were told you’re not smart enough, not pretty enough, not good enough, not cool enough, or otherwise discounted as not being enough, I wrote this book for YOU. May you find inspiration, encouragement, and an alter ego in the life of Spud “The Underdog”, who inspires you to overcome every obstacle you face in life.
You may purchase your copy here for that special kid in your life: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010OAJXIK