Books for Christmas make great gifts. This, of course, depends on the book. I’m going to share with you a list of the best books as gifts according to my list of books I’ve read and enjoyed, as well as what Amazon readers suggest. Because we’re always searching for good gift ideas, books seem like an easy solution. Keep in mind that a book you give as a Christmas gift should be a book that will be cherished and want to be re-read.

My personal book list recommendations:

Keeping the House by Ellen Baker. I think this is a wickedly compelling novel steeped in nostalgia and a little bit of mystery.
Between the Tides by Patti Callahan Henry. This is a book I picked up at the library because I liked the title and cover. And I turned out to really enjoy reading it. I love being immersed in the seaside life presented in the novel. There is a lot to devour in this book.
Transformation Soup: Healing for the Splendidly Imperfect by Sark. A self-help book that does not resemble a self-help book. Bright, vibrant, and something worth owning.
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. The most lovely novel, highly recommended!
The Best Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis. Poetry is meant to be owned and loved.

Amazon Editor’s book recommendations I think are worth reading and have added to my own ‘to read’ lists:

Let the Great World Spin: A Novel (Hardcover) – Colum McCann. I really like the idea of seeing things from several different perspectives. This seems like the kind of book you’d have to own just to rediscover it anew with every read. The kind of book that has words you simply must own.

Beautiful Creatures (Hardcover) -Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I was going to easily write this off as a book with a pretty cover but nothing more. A modern day fairytale about outcasts? That worries me, because Twilight was a horrible book to read. But the reviews for this book sound very promising. Holly Black (NYT Bestselling author of Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale) says, “A lush Southern gothic whose memorable, eccentric characters draw you into their captivating world.” Boom, I’m sold. I want to give this book a read.

Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival (Hardcover) by Norman Ollestad. Whatever this book is, the fact that it’s a memoir of survival seems to speak of a hopeful outlook. Which is nice. We all need more hope. Reading the customer reviews convinces me that I’d want to read this book.

Stitches: A Memoir (Hardcover) by David Small. It’s hard to believe this is a memoir. David Small had parents who gave him cancer by having a radiologist father who put him under x-rays for no reason, and never took care of the problem. That’s unfamilar terrain for most of us (or hopefully all of us) but reading this book is supposed to remind of of how your own child-eye’s memories feel. They’re sketched, mostly wordless. “Early memories (and difficult ones, too) often seem less like words than pictures we play back to ourselves. That is what’s recognizable and, somehow, ultimately delightful in the midst of this deeply sad story: it reminds us of our memories, not just what they are, but what they look like.” – Amazon. I can’t tell you how many of my early childhood memories are simply images that flash in my mind and are full of emotions, colors and feelings – but seem to diminish with words.