Which books would our holiday-attending friends, aunts, friends’ children, friends’ grandmothers and others gift-givers read? We asked Toronto Star staffers what books they’d pick for friends, family, colleagues and other loved ones. Here are 25 of them:
Genuinely entertaining and entertaining: King’s Landing by George R.R. Martin
Based on the books, with limited creative license: Something to Shoot For by Ellen Datlow and Paul Marshall
Hilarious: Its Not Easy Being a Cheerleader by Allison Semmes
Fine historical fiction, with occasional risque facts: Eddie: The Eddie Van Halen Story by Richard Rothman
Inspirational, inspirational, inspirational: Journey One: Relive the Moment that Leads to a Moment of Silence by Agatha Gornick
Not-for-critics but definitely for fans: Zen as Therapy: Exploration of Grounded Life by Joan Didion
Eloquent style that’s way cooler than it sounds: Poems by Steven Elliot
Selected for an audience of parents: Not This Time by Kate Atkinson
Mixed with, but not limited to, children’s literature: Cats and Dogs by Steven Gaines
Golf enthusiast? J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Books for travelers: The Four-Degree Rule by Ali Abbasi
Intimacy and timelessness: A Sense of Place: Around the World by David Sedaris
Travels in the New York City Subway by Ron Feldman
Energetic social commentary: Talking Is Hard by Kwame Anthony Appiah
Books for travelers from a family member (or friend) with a valid passport: The Far Side: Life, Animated by Scott Adams
Recipes to help travelers who can’t cook: Big Tree Cookies by Judyann Earle
The best-selling memoirs for global travellers: Sacred Spaces by Olivier Campbell
The 40 best books of the last 20 years for international travelers: World on the Brink by Andrew Fogg
Books for Canadian tourists: French Lessons: Canada by Andrew Solomon
Best-sellers from British readers: The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Best-sellers from Americans: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Surprisingly amusing autobiographies about babies: Talking Baby by Shannon Palmisano and Up Up Up by Roseanne Cash
Poetry collections, rather than short stories: I’m Sorry I Lied to You by Paul Green
Gaining an audience over the years for African-American fiction: Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl
Books to keep your thinking trickier than usual: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Historical fiction for older readers, such as Gilded Lanes by Elyse Dodell
Best-selling thrillers: The Martian by Andy Weir