Gift giving can be a challenge if you don’t know the recipient well enough to discern what she/he likes or doesn’t like. But a book can be an easy gift, so long as you know you’re buying it for a reader. Last year I purchased The Searchers, by Glenn Frankel, for a family member who is a huge fan of the movie and its setting, Monument Valley. For her husband, I purchased Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years, Volume 1, by Mark Lewisohn. Like me, he is an avid Beatles’ fan and was delighted by the gift. A couple of years earlier, I gifted my mother with a couple of Chicken Soup for the Soul books because she prefers inspirational, uplifting stories. For another family member who enjoys travel, I bought a unique guidebook (How to Survive Your Vacation by Edward Lopatin) written and self-published by one of my globe-trotting friends.

Coffee table books can be beautiful and expensive, but make wonderful gifts. About ten years ago my husband gave me Vanity Fair’s Oscar Night, a pictorial history of the awards. I would never have splurged to buy that book for myself, and it gave me so much joy to receive it. I return to it every year when Oscar season comes around.

Non-fiction books are easiest to gift because you can select one that matches an interest of the recipient. Fiction is a bit trickier because it’s difficult to know specifically what authors or genres interest the intended recipient, so generally I stick with non-fiction gifts.

Of course, a book lover will always appreciate a bookstore gift card. Happy Shopping!