11 Books to Gift a Friend Who Loves to Read

Many people love to read and appreciate receiving a book as a gift for Christmas, birthdays, or other holidays and special occasions. Books make fantastic presents, but it can be tough to pick one out for someone else. That’s why I put together this list of eleven books to gift a friend!

All of the books on this list have three things in common:

I’ve read them and loved them.
They’re all books for adults and grownups (no children’s or YA books on this list).
They make fantastic gifts!

While there are a couple of new releases on this list, most of these books are backlist titles and have been on bookstore shelves for several years. The great thing about backlist that they are usually available in a paperback edition, which is less expensive.

Without any further chit-chat, here are my recommended best books to gift a friend who loves to read!

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Books to Gift a Friend Who Loves to Read

Where the Crawdads Sing by Deliah Owens

I snagged this beauty on a whim at Costco and fell in love with the story, setting, and characters. Resse Witherspoon featured this book as one of her book club picks and it became a popular read in 2018. It’s a cross between a romance novel, a murder mystery, and a courtroom drama set in the marshes of North Carolina. Lush and beautiful, this story is also full of surprises. It’s definitely one of the best adult books I’ve read this year.

Content advisory: There is some language, domestic violence, attempted rape, and some sexual situations. No graphic love scenes or gruesome violence.

[button url=”https://amzn.to/2SuwdiM”]Amazon[/button] [button url=”https://www.bookdepository.com/Where-The-Crawdads-Sing/9780735219090/?a_aid=batchofbooks”]Book Depository[/button]

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan

Speaking of fantastic adult books published in 2018, don’t miss this beautiful book! It’s the fictionalized story of Joy Davidman, the woman who would eventually marry C.S. Lewis. It’s a story of her struggles, her writing, and the friendship that develops between herself and an author she admires. It’s in the same vein as other books that spotlight the wives of famous male authors like Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald and The Paris Wife.

Content advisory: A very clean book. There is some infidelity (just mentions of it, no details), and domestic violence (no graphic details).

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The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

My friend lent me The Little Paris Bookshop and it took me forever to read it. When I finally picked it up, I wished I had read it sooner. It’s a delightful story of a man who almost lets life pass him by. On an impulse, he sets sail in his bookshop (it’s in a boat) and goes looking for answers to old questions, forges new friendships, and finds love. This is one of those books to gift a friend that loves happy stories threaded with wisdom.

Content advisory: Semi-descriptive sex.

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The Rent Collector by Cameron Wright

If you want to give someone a book that celebrates the gift of reading and how it can change lives, you need to take a look at this one. I read it several years ago and then read it again with my book club last year. It’s about a young mother that lives with her family at the dump in Cambodia, collecting trash for a living. When her husband brings home a picture book he found in the dump, everything changes for the young family. It’s a story of rising above the odds, perseverance, and finding hope.

Content advisory: Some war violence, but nothing very descriptive.

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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This is another book that I’ve read multiple times because I love it so much. It’s set in post-World War II England and tells the story of a young writer who goes to the island of Guernsey to write about how the German occupation affected people there. It made me laugh and ugly cry and fall in love. This is one of those books to gift a friend that loves historical fiction and WWII stories. Netflix adapted it into a film in 2018.

Content advisory: Some war violence but nothing graphic or overly detailed.

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Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Every single woman on earth needs to read this book. It’s brilliant and beautiful and will make you forget all your inhibitions about being creative. I gifted this book to myself one Christmas and absorbed every delightful page. If you’re looking for a gift for someone who has any sort of passion, they will adore Big Magic. I recommended this book to my friend who loves boxing and gifted a copy to my mom who loves to quilt.

Read my blog post about the 10 things I learned from reading Big Magic then put it on your list of books to gift a female friend.

Content advisory: A bit of language (including maybe one or two f-bombs).

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Mr. Rochester by Sarah Shoemaker

Complete honesty here—you need to buy one copy of Mr. Rochester for your friend and one for yourself. It gives readers a peek into the life of a young Edward Rochester and how he transforms from being a sweet, mild-tempered boy into the bitter and gruff man we meet in Jane Eyre. I devoured this novel and then lent it to my friend, who also devoured it and then asked her husband to buy her a copy as a birthday present.

Content advisory: Some mentions of sex (no details) and occasional language (maybe one f-bomb).

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He Wanted the Moon by Mimi Baird

This book is a little different than everything else on this list. It’s a memoir written by both the author and her father—a brilliant doctor who documented his own experiences with manic depression in the 1920s and 1930s. Dr. Baird records his highs and his lows, his stays in mental institutions, and the challenges his condition brought to his family. The second half of the book is Mimi’s account, her memories of her father, and how she discovered his manuscript. Wildly fascinating, He Wanted the Moon is perfect for a friend that loves history, medicine, and memoirs.

Content advisory: Abuse/controversial treatment of patients in mental institutions.

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The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

I read this book at the recommendation of a friend and adored every page. It’s quite long, so it’s one of those books to gift a friend that loves getting lost in a story for days on end. It’s about two supernatural creatures that find themselves in historical New York City. A golem, a creature made from earth, and a jinni, a being of fire, navigate their new existences on the American continent. There are several intertwining storylines in the book and everything that happens affects something else. It’s one of those complex fantasy books to gift a friend who is a voracious reader and loves obsessing over stories.

Content advisory: Semi-descriptive sex and some violence.

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The Witch’s Daughter by Paula Braxton

I downloaded this book on impulse from Amazon when it was on sale. I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did! But I’ve gone on to read all of the author’s other books as well. It’s spooky and creepy as well as romantic, so if you love that kind of thing you’ll enjoy it too. It’s about a young woman who embraces witchery out of necessity and spends hundreds of years playing cat-and-mouse with a powerful (and evil) male witch. The Witch’s Daughter is captivating, creepy, and utterly entertaining. Gift this book to a friend that likes history and magic and doesn’t mind books with a little bit of grit.

Content advisory: Sex, rape, violence, executions, and language.

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Enchanted, Inc by Shanna Swendson

While The Witch’s Daughter is for people that enjoy grittier stories, Enchanted, Inc is the exact opposite. It’s basically Harry Potter for adults. It’s about a woman who moves from Texas to New York City and gets recruited to work at a magical company because of her unique immunity to magic. There are several books in this series and I’ve read most of them. They’re lighthearted, romantic, and completely charming. These are the perfect books to gift a friend that loved Harry Potter as a kid or anyone that adores fun and magical stories set in New York.

Content advisory: Very mild action/perilous situations, innuendo, and language. Totally PG.

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What books are you gifting to friends this year? Tell me about them in the comments!

11 Books to Gift a Friend Who Loves to Read