9 Books to Give as Gifts This Year
Rachel
November 28, 2021
23 min read
Top 9 Books to Give as Gifts This Year
Hidden Shelf Gift Guide 2021
Books are always great options for gifts. Again this year people are spending more time at home, less time traveling, less time socializing; a perfect opportunity to grab a warm drink, a great book, and snuggle up at home.
There are many options to shopping for books safely, without the hustle and bustle of crowded stores:
IndieBound and BookShop both offer options for searching and purchasing books online while supporting local indie bookstores.
And of course you can also shop for books on Amazon (hey, remember when they used to ONLY sell books?)
You can safely browse the Hidden Shelf, virtually read the spines, look at the covers, read the back of the books, and view our recommendations (or ask us!), and give the gift of books this season.
Out of the Water, Ann Marie Stewart
The highly anticipated second novel from the award-winning author of Stars in the Grass
Amazon #1 New Release in Adoption Books
Irish immigrant Siobhan Kildea’s impetuous flight from a Boston lover in 1919 leads her to a new family in an unfamiliar Montana prison town. After a horrific tragedy impacts her children, her land, and her livelihood, Siobhan makes a heart wrenching decision – with consequences that ripple for decades to come.
Interconnected stories that span three continents and five generations, begin to unravel in 1981 when Claire Ellis sets out to find her biological mother.
With puzzling suspense, unforgettable characters and uncanny insight, Out of the Water is an intoxicating novel of motherhood, secrets, and the profound ramifications our decisions have. Readers will be left wondering: ultimately, is it always better to know the truth?
For fans of:
Before We Were Yours, Lisa Wingate
Secrets of a Charmed Life, Susan Meissner
Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly
Stars in the Grass, Ann Marie Stewart
House on Foster Hill, Jaime Jo Wright
For fans of:
House Number 12 Block Number 3
Sana Balagamwala
Pakistani-American debut author, Sana Balagamwala, beautifully delivers a coming of age story that grapples with trauma, culture, love, and loss.
The family’s house, a neoclassical building made of yellow stone situated in an old neighborhood in the city of Karachi, Pakistan, narrates the story. Through its narration and recollection of events past, from 1951 to 1988—against the backdrop of political change and upheaval in the country, the house tries to absolve itself of the burden it feels of being privy to the real reason for Nadia’s “illness” but not being able to do anything about it.
The Days When Birds Come Back, Deborah Reed
The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
For fans of:
The Souls of Clayhatchee
Anthony Todd Carlisle
James Kingsman hated the South.
Raised by parents who had migrated north from Alabama years before his birth, he had heard their personal stories of racism, injustice, fear. At best, he carried a certain disdain for those who stayed behind, no matter how much the South had changed.
When James reluctantly agrees to his mother’s last wish to be buried in her ancestral home, his notions about southern relatives are turned upside down. As are long-hidden discoveries about his parents. His father did not migrate north, he escaped. His mother kept an even deeper secret, one of rage and beauty.
Some ghosts cannot stay buried.
The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead
Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward
Devil in a Blue Dress, Walter Mosely
Milk in my Coffee, Eric Jermone Dickey
A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines
For fans of:
Back to One , Antonia Gavrihel
Catherine Leigh and Kyle Weston have the perfect friendship — deep, lasting, and platonic. Friendship without sex? The world of gossip doesn’t buy it. You see, Catherine is beautiful, trusting, and married. Kyle is single, charming, a handsome movie star with a tabloid reputation.
Their bond may be magical and honest, but will the boundaries they have created to protect their friendship ultimately destroy it?
Antonia Gavrihel’s breakout novel is thought-provoking, beautifully written, and unique.
That Summer, Jennifer Weiner
Before We Were Strangers, Renee Carlino
People We Meet on Vacation, Emily Henry
Legend Keepers: The Chosen One
Bruce Smith
In a perilous place at the roof of the world, an orphaned mountain goat is rescued from certain death by a mysterious raven. Communication between a mountain goat and raven might seem strange. But what becomes more unreachable is Buddy’s realization that she alone can save a band of goats from the great peril foretold in an ancient legend. This brilliant tale with a clever mix of discovery will spark the intellectual curiosity of every reader.
For fans of:
The Silver Arrow, Lev Grossman
Wolf Called Wonder, Rosanne Parry
The Brave Historian, Robert D. Gaines
Toward the end of 1999, as the world anxiously anticipates a new century, John Hammond reluctantly celebrates a childhood goal—to live one hundred years.
Lately, the old man has been oddly energized, fading into dreams that are particularly vivid, strangely real. Also, in these dreams, he is suddenly young again, strong again, and the past so very real again.
When Shelly Kingston is hired to put together a short birthday documentary about John’s life, the young filmmaker is intrigued by the old man’s stories and his unpublished, unfinished writings. John Hammond is intrigued by her.
Another distant dream . . .
For fans of:
A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman
The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
The Midnight Library, Matt Haig
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Helen Simonson
For fans of:
The Warden’s Son, Jerry Clapp
When Jerry Clapp’s father became warden of the Idaho State Penitentiary in 1945, the young boy quickly learned the rules and boundaries of roaming one of the most danger- ous grounds in the West.
Through his school years, Jerry would become the confidante to many a wild tale from friendly inmates—an old man serving life for multiple assassinations, a beautiful teen- ager in the women’s prison, and an incarcerated war hero who became a lifelong role model.
These are the stories Jerry would tell his grandchildren—from chilling recollections of riots, escapes, and hangings to the profound remembrances of inmates, guards, and the warden. This fascinating “family portrait” truly brings the Old Idaho Penitentiary roaring back to life.
Idaho Myths & Legends, Randy Stapilus
Numbered, Todd Shallat and Amber Beierle
For fans of:
Send Judah First, Brian C. Johnson
Amazon and Barnes & Noble Best Seller
Captured and sold into slavery, a young African girl faces a harrowing new life in 19th-century America… Meet Judah in a powerful historical novel that reveals the life of one of the many enslaved people at Virginia’s Belle Grove Plantation. Brian C. Johnson’s important work of historical fiction goes beyond what is recorded to portray the depth, humanity, and vulnerability of a beautiful soul all but erased by history.
The Kitchen House, Kathleen Grissom
The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd
12 Years A Slave, Solomon Northup
For fans of:
Wildflower Girl, Dana Stewart Quinney
2019 Idaho Book of the Year
Growing up in Ketchum, Idaho in the 1950s, Dana Stewart Quinney found magic in the wilds of Idaho’s Wood River Valley — unplowed, unskied, untracked, and unpeopled.
Her memoir, Wildflower Girl, recounts the stories of
an adventurous spirit born for a life beyond the trail, leading to a distinguished career in field biology. From tales of fishing with her father — a fishing guide for Ernest Hemingway and the renowned Sun Valley Resort — to a discovery of new species, each beautifully written chapter takes you on a nostalgic journey of mystery, adventure, and the magic of nature.
Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
Last but not least, grab a book as a gift for YOURSELF!
look for ebook and paperback book sales this season!
Who is the hardest person to buy for on your list? Need a book recommendation? Ask us!
Written by Rachel Wickstrom
Rachel Wickstrom coordinates marketing at Hidden Shelf Publishing house. She’s an avid reader, master party-planner, craft enthusiast, a mom to two young boys with wildly long hair, and is married to a hospital chaplain. As an Oregon native, Rachel’s childhood memories are scented with juniper berries and the crisp mountain air of Central Oregon. She currently lives in Boise, Idaho where her days are scented with lukewarm coffee, and spilled snacks.
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