10 Great Books to Give As Gifts

First of all, how cool is the illustration above? Pictured are the endpapers from my book For the Love of Books: Designing and Curating a Home Library. They were designed by Samantha Hahn!

It’s hard to stay on top of all of the amazing books that are released every year. (I’m indebted to my For the Love of Books co-author, Elizabeth Lane, for keeping me up to date on the best new releases and her favorites.) So I’ve rounded up 10 recently published books that I think will make great gifts for your family, friends, colleagues, and anyone else you’re shopping for this month!

1. Signature Dishes that Matter (Phaidon) — A celebration of iconic restaurant dishes that have defined the course of culinary history over the past 300 years. An absolutely stunning book.

2. Art Record Covers by Francesco Spampinato (Taschen) — A very attractive and substantial book for lovers of art, music, and impressive coffee table books!

3. The New Architecture of Wine by Heather Sandy Hebert (Gibbs Smith) — I know you’re headed to some holiday parties this month. Why bring a bottle of wine that will be gone in an hour when you can bring a beautiful book about wineries that will last a lifetime?

4. The Road to San Donato: Fathers, Sons, and Cycling Across Italy by Robert Cocuzzo (Mountaineers Books) — In this adventurous, nostalgic memoir, an American father and son trace their heritage by bicycling through Italy.

5. Incidental Inventions by Elena Ferrante (Europa Editions) — 52 illustrated essays on subjects ranging from first love to climate change, from the bestselling author of “My Brilliant Friend.”

6. Agent Running in the Field by John le Carre (Penguin Random House) — A perfect fit for mystery buffs and Netflix binge-watchers. This new novel from one of the all-time great writers is a chilling portrait, at once heartbreaking and darkly humorous.

7. The Silver Spoon for Children, Tenth Anniversary Edition (Phaidon) — A new edition of the bestselling Italian cookbook for children 10 and up, providing quick, wholesome, and easy-to-make recipes they’ll love.

8. The Bookwanderers by Anna James (Penguin Random House) — Anna James’ debut is an enchanting story about the magic of books and the power of imagination. It’s perfect for middle-school-aged readers.

9. How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander and Melissa Sweet (HarperCollins) — Alexander and Sweet take young readers on a poetic and beautiful journey about the experience of reading.

10. A Wild Child’s Guide to Endangered Animals (Chronicle Books) — A gorgeously illustrated book that highlights 43 endangered species around the world. 

Happy reading,

Thatcher