We’re less than two weeks out from Christmas, and if you’re still searching for gift ideas, you can stop right here. Everyone loves getting books, right? Right? Check out my list of the top 10 fiction books to gift this holiday season!
If you have any kiddos in your life that you’re shopping for, check out my previous list geared toward them!
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1. Billy Summers by Stephen King
It’s hard to go wrong with one of the most prolific writers of our generation, right?
This story follows the title character in his attempt to leave his job as a hitman behind after one more hit.
“So what could possibly go wrong?”
I think you can guess where that might go.
2. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
This very well-received novel covers the events of a mere ten days in nearly 600 pages.
Set in 1954, its plot follows an eighteen-year-old freshly out of juvie after serving time for involuntary manslaughter. He returns home to find life nothing like how he left it, and takes his little brother with him as they move away to start a new life… Only, two other workers from the juvenile work farm had stowed away and crashed his homecoming.
3. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Fans of The Martian will be thrilled to get this one for Christmas.
Andy Weir is such a wonderful storyteller. In this novel, one space mission held the fate of humanity and Earth on its shoulders, and only one member of the team survives. Ryland Grace wakes up without a clue as to what his mission was though, and it seems a long time has passed… And are his crewmates dead?
4. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
This best-selling novel tasks daring leaps through vastly different settings, culminating in a beautiful coming-of-age story.
If you don’t feel like gifting this one to anyone, why not gift it to yourself?
5. Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
I mean, come on. The appeal is right there in the title. What wouldn’t you give for a second chance at a first impression?
This one follows a woman trying to live her life seriously until a man who doesn’t understand the meaning of the world is thrust into her life. Hijinx ensues. Instant hit!
6. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Another silly love story— many of us share this guilty pleasure, and so there’s a solid chance there’s someone on your shopping list who does too!
7. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
This highly acclaimed novel follows two identical twin sisters who grew up in a tiny black community in the Deep South. In their teenage years, they ran away from home together and have lived extremely different lives since then.
Filled to the brim with family drama, relationship drama, and hard truths, and explorations about racial issues and influences, this should be on many TBR lists.
9. The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
I can’t be the only one who loves novels about novelists, and the publishing industry.
It feels wrong to even relay any hints about “the plot” of The Plot… just trust me, either pick it up for yourself or for a friend. You won’t be disappointed.
10. Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
If you’re wondering whether any part of this list is a hint to my own family and friends, you’d be… well, right. I have been dying to read this one but I haven’t gotten around to picking it up!
After reading TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, I’ve been itching to read another work of his!
This one follows the protagonist trying to figure out whether or not he’s dead, and if he’s not yet dead, what can he do until then? I’m honestly so intrigued.
Final Thoughts
There you have it! You may be cutting it pretty close to the wire to get your shopping done, but you could probably find any of these novels in your favourite locally-owned bookstore! If not, however, Amazon’s Prime delivery should be able to help you out!
Giving books as gifts any time of the year is always a good time, but at Christmas, it’s nice to show someone you care and listen to their opinions by curating a great recommendation for them. And even if it’s not their next favourite read, reading is never wasted time.
So what are you waiting for? Get shopping! The clock is ticking!