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Books worth wrapping, sorted by the reader you’re buying for.
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Four books to start with and two more in reserve. Every one links to our full review.
For the one who wants two people, one obstacle and a proper ending.
Three linked holiday novellas from Abby Jimenez. An easy yes for anyone who reads romance by the tree.
BuyRead our reviewFriends to lovers in the misty rainforests of Tofino. For the reader who packs a Carley Fortune every summer.
BuyRead our reviewChristina Lauren's boldest swing yet: a scientist resurrects her husband. For the rom-com fan who wants a surprise.
BuyRead our reviewA tender novel about grief, healing and what books do for us. Give it to the friend who presses novels on you.
BuyRead our reviewSenior year at Tiffin Academy with a superb ensemble cast. For the Hilderbrand loyalist on your list.
BuyRead our reviewA snowbound Vermont Christmas told by three narrators. Made for a quiet afternoon between the holidays.
BuyRead our reviewFor the one who reads on the train and misses the stop.
The second We Solve Murders novel: sharper, funnier and sadder than the first. Pair it with book one for a newcomer.
BuyRead our reviewHoneymoon kidnappings in France, two ransoms and one groom back. A safe pick for the Grisham reader.
BuyRead our reviewMoriarty's sequel about consent, charm and what adults miss. For anyone who has read or watched Big Little Lies.
BuyRead our reviewThe authorised Miss Marple novel: a snowbound Swiss hotel in 1950. For the Agatha Christie devotee.
BuyRead our reviewThe 6:20 Man book four sends Travis Devine to Sydney. Best for a reader already following the series.
BuyRead our reviewGamache book twenty-one: a forest grave and a forgotten 1914 shipwreck. For the reader who lives in Three Pines.
BuyRead our reviewFor the one who checks the front of every book for a map.
ACOTAR book six, with Azriel's darkest chapters. The one a Maas fan is hoping to unwrap.
BuyRead our reviewRainy March is a Book Witch who hops into damaged novels. For readers who love books about books.
BuyRead our reviewA lush historical fantasy that reimagines Anne of Brittany's fight. For the reader who likes history with magic in it.
BuyRead our reviewThe cosy fantasy readers are raving about, cats included. A gentle gift for someone who needs a soft landing.
BuyRead our reviewThe Swordheart sequel: very funny, and angry where it counts. For the Kingfisher fan who has read the first.
BuyRead our reviewA story collection from Alix E. Harrow. For the fantasy reader who likes to dip in and out.
BuyRead our reviewFor the one who reads with a pencil and lends books carefully.
A compact, emotionally precise novel about a chance reunion. For the reader who buys every Patchett.
BuyRead our reviewStrout's quiet new novel about a beloved teacher. For anyone who likes fiction that listens closely.
BuyRead our reviewJohn Green's first adult novel follows two young actors through a film shoot. For the reader who grew up on his YA.
BuyRead our reviewA literary novel about a Chinese American student in Taipei. For the Kuang reader ready for something different.
BuyRead our reviewSaunders on death, catastrophe and accountability. For the reader who wants a short book with a long echo.
BuyRead our reviewLoneliness, a love built out of podcasts and the people who show up. For fans of Sorrow and Bliss.
BuyRead our reviewFor the one who likes a story with real dates behind it.
A novel built like a Bach suite, about loss, music and class. For the book-club friend who loved Demon Copperhead.
BuyRead our reviewA ninety-page story about a cursed king and a daughter who can become anyone. A small, handsome gift for a myth lover.
BuyRead our reviewBonnie Garmus's follow-up to Lessons in Chemistry: witty, wounded and digressive. An easy pick for last year's fan.
BuyRead our reviewOxford, Mississippi, 1933: an orphan, a wallflower and a mystery, from the author of The Help.
BuyRead our reviewAn 1865 survey mission on the Irish coast becomes a meditation on grief. For the Hamnet reader.
BuyRead our reviewA vast, humane novel about a Korean family and the cost of education. For the reader who wants a long winter book.
BuyRead our reviewFor the one who would rather be somewhere else entirely for a while.
Doubled guests and two broken versions of America. For the Station Eleven reader.
BuyRead our reviewAn ageing bookseller rides a ghostly steam train through his own life. A warm pick for almost anyone.
BuyRead our reviewTwo timelines and a space creature who craves speed, in a duology opener. For the hopeful sci-fi reader.
BuyRead our reviewTwo men drive west across a dying America to keep one last promise. A quieter, sadder Klune.
BuyRead our reviewThe Time Traveler's Wife sequel. For the reader who still thinks about Henry and Clare.
BuyRead our reviewA corporate samurai space opera about ageing, duty and quiet endings. For the Fonda Lee fan.
BuyRead our reviewFor the one who keeps the lamp on and turns the page anyway.
The Ninth House trilogy ends with a buried 1933 expedition. Give it to someone who has read the first two.
BuyRead our reviewA struggling actress, a vanished past and one isolated setting. For the reader who wants to be up past midnight.
BuyRead our reviewVictorian gothic horror with real entomology, set in 1899 North Carolina. For the reader who likes dread with wit.
BuyRead our reviewAn atmospheric haunted-house story set in Fell, New York. For the ghost-story reader.
BuyRead our reviewOld Black Hollywood braided with a monster story. For the horror reader who likes history in the mix.
BuyRead our reviewA 1692 witch trial and a modern haunted house, with two twists. For the McFadden binge-reader.
BuyRead our reviewFor the reader who has outgrown the children’s shelf and knows it.
A will with two conditions, a lawsuit and a romance. For the teen who has read every Lynn Painter.
BuyRead our reviewA Harbinger of Death, three rigged tests and a rival who lies for a living. For the fantasy-loving teen.
BuyRead our reviewA 1927 Detroit mystery about a designing heiress and a secret artists' colony. For teens who like history.
BuyRead our reviewA Jacks and Evangeline novella. A stocking-size treat for the Once Upon a Broken Heart fan.
BuyRead our reviewThe sixth Stevie Bell mystery, and the most frightening so far. For the Truly Devious reader.
BuyRead our reviewA standalone fantasy romance with a cursed prince and a bride tournament. No series homework needed.
BuyRead our reviewFor bedtimes, car journeys and the first book they read alone.
A Miami middle-grade mystery that teaches reporting, not deduction. For the curious nine-to-twelve-year-old.
BuyRead our reviewAn imaginative winter adventure set in London. A seasonal read-aloud with something to talk about after.
BuyRead our reviewA lyrical middle-grade fantasy set in 1719. For the young reader who likes a story with some weight.
BuyRead our reviewA picture book that defies its own title. For the smallest readers, and the adult doing the voices.
BuyRead our reviewAn illustrated fable about childhood adventure, from Trevor Noah. One to read together.
BuyRead our reviewA father-and-son journey told for middle-grade readers. For the child who likes adventure with history.
BuyRead our reviewFor the one who always asks whether it really happened.
Judi Dench on stage fright past ninety and a long marriage. For the theatre lover in the family.
BuyRead our reviewBen Macintyre on a KGB defector in Tehran. For the reader who likes true spy stories.
BuyRead our reviewA memoir about an unexpected friendship with a wild hare. A gentle gift for the nature lover.
BuyRead our reviewA year of meals and memories with Stanley Tucci. For the person who cooks from memory.
BuyRead our reviewRon Chernow's biography of Mark Twain, genius and flaws included. For the reader who wants a big one.
BuyRead our reviewCharles Spencer's memoir of his sister, built from the funeral oration he wrote for her.
BuyRead our reviewPrices move about at this time of year, so we sort by format instead.
Light to post, easy to wrap and kind to a tight budget.
The edition that feels like a present before it is even opened.
For the reader you most want to spoil this year.
A book they already love is the safest one to give in a finer edition. Look for a clothbound hardback, an anniversary printing or a boxed set, and start with these six.
Four small, safe choices for a colleague or a cousin you hardly know.
Magic and murder in a short Christmas mystery. Light, seasonal and hard to get wrong.
BuyRead our reviewGentle essays on getting closer to books. For the colleague who always has a paperback on the desk.
BuyRead our reviewKatherine Rundell on endangered species, in short, vivid chapters. For the curious friend.
BuyRead our reviewA novel about art, loss and lasting friendship. For anyone who loved A Man Called Ove.
BuyRead our reviewFour things that will be used every day.
A whole library in a coat pocket, and a screen that is easy on tired eyes.
Clips to the cover, so they can read in bed without waking anyone.
A parcel through the letterbox each month, long after the decorations come down.
Small, useful and hard to get wrong. A sleeve keeps a paperback tidy in a bag.
Three presents that arrive by email.
Bought and delivered in minutes, with nothing to wrap.
For commuters, dog walkers and anyone who says they have no time to read.
Lets them choose for themselves. Print it and tuck it inside a card.
Nothing is here on reputation alone. Each of the 76 books is one we have read and written about.
Read what we liked and what we did not before you buy, and judge for yourself whether it suits them.
Nobody can buy a place in this guide. The choices are ours alone.
Short answers to the things people ask us every December.
Go for something short, recent and easy to like, such as a well-reviewed novel or a warm memoir. Our Secret Santa picks were chosen with that person in mind.
Yes. A book chosen for one particular person shows that you thought about them, and it will still be on the shelf long after the wrapping has gone.
Start with what they already love, whether that is animals, jokes or a favourite series, and choose for their reading level as well as their age. If you are unsure, ask a parent which books they keep going back to.
Yes, if the shop offers one. Keen readers often own the book already, and a receipt lets them swap it without any awkwardness.
Keep it short: their name, the date and a line about why you chose it. Write on the first blank page, in a pen that will not bleed through.
An ebook, an audiobook or a bookshop gift card can all be bought on the day and sent by email. Print the confirmation and put it in a card, so there is still something to open.
