Readers, we know the power of books, and when gift season rolls around we’re eager to find the right ones to give to friends and family. So break out the wrapping paper, because our yearly WSIRN holiday recommendation episode is here! Listeners wrote and called in to let us know who they wanted to give the gift of reading to this Winter, and today, my friend Holland Saltsman of The Novel Neighbor in St Louis is here to help recommend the perfect titles for your distractable teens and tweens, reluctant-reader spouses, impossible-to-buy-for parents, and that friend who seems to have already read everything.
If you’re not normally a podcast listener but still want the scoop on recommendations, you can read the letters and list of recommendations from me and Holland below or check out the episode’s full transcript for descriptions details of our conversation.
Let’s get to the gift matchmaking!
Click here to read the full episode transcription (opens in a new tab).
Click here to read Traci’s full post about Talking to Strangers.
Click here for the lowdown on The Novel Neighbor’s fabulous book subscriptions, available for adults, teens, elementary/middle school readers, and picture books.
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My son is 17 and interested in visual arts. He does not read often, so I’m hoping you can recommend something based on his favorite movies! A book for him would need to be fast paced and funny with a sci-fi or fantastical element for him to get into it. A graphic novel would be good! He likes Neil Gaiman, sci-fi and fantasy, the Star Wars movies (not the 3 prequels), Thor from the Avengers franchise and really loved Into the Spiderverse.
– Laura
Recommended:
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane illustrated edition, by Neil Gaiman
• Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir, by Stan Lee
• An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, by Hank Green
• Loki: Where Mischief Lies, by Mackenzi Lee
I’m hunting a book for my 12 year old daughter, Rebecca. She’s an avid reader at that in-between phase where middle grade is not enough and young adult (in her opinion) is all too “romance-y”. She loves historical fiction, mystery, fantasy that is more fairy tale based but not a direct retelling, and “not too spooky” thrillers. She has checked out Anna Karenina and Pride and Prejudice but hasn’t read either. I think she wants to prove she CAN read them but fears ruining a classic by reading them too early (did I mention she’s 12 going on 30?). In the past few months she has read and loved One of Us is Lying, The Book Thief, The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh, Salt to the Sea, and all of The Hunger Games series.
– Joy
Recommended:
• The Fountains of Silence, by Ruta Sepetys
• Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster, by Jonathan Oxiae
• The Renegades trilogy, by Marissa Meyer
I’m shopping for my teenage niece. Some of the things I’ve given her that she’s liked are The Ms. Marvel graphic novels (I think I gave her the first three or four over the years), Hyperbole and a Half, and In Other Lands. When she reads, she reads a lot of graphic novels – she’s read through my entire collection and my brother’s entire collection, including all of Neil Gaiman, lots of Marvel and DC superheroes, the ElfQuest series, the Books of Magic series…. No stories that are focused on romance, though slipping in LGBTQ characters/plots without making a big deal of it is great.
– Amy
Recommended:
• We Are Okay, by Nina LaCour
• The Wayward Children series, by Seanan McGuire
• I Kill Giants, by Joe Kelly
• Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir, by Jenny Lawson
• Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things, by Jenny Lawson
• The Rat Queens series, by Kurtis J. Wiebe, Roc Upchurch, and Fiona Staples
• Grimoire Noir, by Vera Greentea
I’m looking for a recommendation for my 16-year-old granddaughter. She and I do share books so I think she’d prefer fiction geared toward adults. Her favorite author is Kristin Hannah and her favorite Kristin Hannah book is Magic Hour. She also loved A Man Called Ove and Fingersmith. A book she disliked was No Exit. Another favorite book was The Miseducation of Cameron Post.
– Maudeen
Recommended:
• Author Nina LaCour
• Pulp, by Robin Talley
• Ramona Blue, by Julie Murphy
• Huntress, by Malinda Lo
• Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, by Mariko Tamaki
I would love to have some book buying advice for my 8-year-old son, Logan. He’s a voracious reader and he blows through books as fast as I can bring them in the house. He loves the Spy School series, the Nanny Piggins series, the Story Thieves series, and the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series. He loves science, animals, and learning new things.
– Liz Manning
Recommended:
• Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, by Carlos Hernandez
• Mac B., Kid Spy, by Mac Barnett
• Loot and Sting, by Jude Watson
I am looking for book gift recommendations for my almost 14, year old daughter. She is a “reluctant reader”, and would much rather spend time creating something or dancing. As an avid reader and English major myself, I am encouraging her to give reading a little corner of her life as well. She loved The Selection series and the Ruby Red trilogy. Most of the time she abandons a book after she begins it. I recommended the Matched trilogy, but she felt that was too slow. She was likewise recently bored by The Book of a Thousand Days and abandoned that as well. I struggle to find books that engage her enough that she will stick with them. For reading encouragement, I have started a mother-daughter book club with her where we take turns choosing the book every other month. I read aloud while she follows along. I find that she sticks with books better when we are reading them together. For example, right now we are finishing up Dreamland Burning, which has a bit of a mystery element, and she has really enjoyed that.
– Mary Liddle
Recommended:
• Internment, by Samir Ahmed
• Piecing Me Together, by Renee Watson
• Life in Motion, by Misty Copeland
I’m writing for a recommendation for my fourteen-year-old daughter a couple of books. She loved: A Mango Shaped Space , Counting by 7s , and Out of My Mind. Based on those three books, last year for Christmas I got her Turtles All the Way Down. Unfortunately, she did not like it and when I pressed her about it, she said she just didn’t like the way John Green wrote. Recently she has been so busy in school, and she’s told me that reading has felt like a real chore for her. Based on that information, I went to my local bookstore and got the recommendation of the graphic memoir Spinning. I brought that home and she devoured it in one night and totally liked it. I think realistic fiction is the way to go.
– Andrea
Recommended:
• Are You Listening?, by Tillie Walden
• No Ivy League, by Hazel Newlevant
My husband is definitely the reader in the family and I’d love to surprise him. One of his favorite books is 11/22/63, along with Ready Player One. After the holidays with short days, he likes the company of characters in a long book to keep him out of any winter blues. All of these books have a romantic couple or gang of friends working together to overcome something and I think he likes to feel like he’s part of this fictional group until he can get back out with his people in the spring. He also really loves mysteries and crime fiction with well developed characters, at least one he can root for.
– Claire
Recommended:
• Kill the Farmboy, by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson
• A Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers
• November Road, by Lou Berney
I am looking for book recommendations for my dad this holiday season! First off, he is impossible to buy gifts for because he says he doesn’t want anything, and when I do find a gift for him, he doesn’t give a strong reaction about his feelings on the gift. The one time I have really found exception to that is when he receives a good book. He is a HUGE fan of the Mitch Rapp series. He also really enjoyed reading Daisy Jones and the Six, which was a recommendation I gave him because I know he loves This Is Spinal Tap. He seems to be open to trying most genres of books, but I can say for sure he would not enjoy anything where the focus is romance or relationships. He also probably would not love dramatic family sagas.
– Maggie
Recommended:
• One Rough Man, by Brad Taylor
• The New Girl, by Daniel Silva
• The Deserter, by Nelson DeMille
• Just Kids, by Patti Smith
• Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc, by Jeff Tweedy
• The Beautiful Ones, by Prince
I’m interested in getting some recommendations for my hard to please hubby. Good luck! Books he loves: The Paper Magician series, The Alchemist, Where is Joe Merchant? (I will say he is/was a Jimmy Buffett fanatic and this probably influenced this choice), and Looking for Alaska. He says he loves good coming of age stories. He does not love nonfiction books/memoirs; historical fiction.
– Jessica
Recommended:
• Kids of Appetite, by David Arnold
I’m looking for a book suggestion for my dad. He’s a huge reader! Some of his favorites are Stephen King, John Sandford & Louise Penny, with Penny at the top of that list! One book he didn’t enjoy was In the Woods. He didn’t love the style, I think because he was really comparing it to Louise Penny’s books. I’d love to find him something in a series or an author who has multiple books – that’s what he enjoys best!
– Maria Zandri
Recommended:
• This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger
• Ordinary Grace, by William Kent Krueger
• Iron Lake, by William Kent Krueger
• A Share in Death, by Deborah Crombie
• A Bitter Feast, by Deborah Crombie
My husband Robin is a stay-at-home dad and he often listens to audiobooks. We buddy-read Recursion this year and we both loved it. In the past we’ve also buddy read Ready Player One and equally loved that. I’m looking for something in the same genre with the same length of a fast-paced twists and turns that he can devour during the holidays at home bonus points if it has a great audio audiobook narration.
– Diana
Recommended:
• The Sleeping Giants series, by Sylvain Neuvel
• The Red Rising series, by Pierce Brown
I am looking for book recommendations for my fiance Tyler. He loves fantasy. That is his genre of choice. I really think he just loves being able to escape into a different time and place, and he loves the world building aspect. Some of the books that he loved were The Lies of Locke Lamora, The Name of the Wind, and anything Brandon Sanderson at this point. A book that didn’t work for him was The Three-Body Problem. I’m not sure if it was a translating issue, but he did not enjoy that book.
– Chloe
Recommended:
• Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
• The Raven Tower, by Ann Leckie
• The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell
My sister Shanna is the person I am looking for help with in buying books for. She is a prolific reader, and that makes it difficult to shop for her. Her Goodreads lists are HUGE. She has traveled to Asia a handful of time and does enjoy reading books from Asian authors or about Asian culture, but also likes things based in the wild (she is a big hiker/tent camper). Books listed as her favorites are H is for Hawk, The Cider House Rules, and The Lotus Eaters. She didn’t finish The Wild Places by Robert McFarlane due to “drab writing and subdued atmosphere”. She is currently reading one of the Masie Dobbs series by Jaqueline Winspear.
– Breanne
Recommended:
• Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata
• The Far Field, by Madhuri Vijay
• The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century, by Kirk Wallance Johnson
I’m looking for books for my sister Karen. She’s very conservative in her reading tastes, and I think she’s rediscovering reading after a couple of decades of being a mom. She recently loved Before We Were Yours and also loves Karen Kingsbury books, but I think she’s read them all. I just recently pressed into her hands The Language of Flowers because I really think she will like that one. She likes emotional stories. I think she like historical fiction and maybe some closed-door romances.
– Sarah
Recommended:
• Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis, by Patti Callahan
• Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, by Judy Christie
• Necessary Lies, by Diane Chamberlain
• The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah
Hey an I am looking for a book recommendation for my mom Nancy. I try to get her a book every year for Christmas because she’s the one who instilled a love of reading in me, but I’m kind of drawing a blank this year. The last couple of years I’ve given her The Shoemaker’s Wife which she loved as well as Lots of Candles Plenty of Cake, which she also loved but the wild card is at some of her favorite books are Robert Ludlum, which is throws kind of a wrench in my bookish search. She doesn’t like anything that moves really slow. Although The Shoemaker’s Wife is kind of an outlier cuz it’s pretty meandering.
– Leah
Recommended:
• Roar, by Cecila Ahearn
• Her Royal Spyness, by Rhys Bowen
I’m looking for a book for my cousin. We have similar reading tastes but not exactly the same and she is very up to date with new/recent releases which makes it challenging to find something she hasn’t read. I’d love a good backlist pick to surprise her. She likes “literary fiction” (Little Fires Everywhere and A Gentleman in Moscow), “women’s fiction” (Evvie Drake Starts Over), classics like The Great Gatsby and the unclassifiable The Night Circus. A book I know she really disliked was Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win because she “didn’t find out if she won”.
– Meagan
Recommended:
• The Girl He Used to Know, by Tracey Garvis Graves
• The Starless Sea, by Erin Morgenstern
• The Course of Love, by Alain de Botton
• The Family Man, by Elinor Lipman
My 67 year old mother is a reluctant reader. Right now she reads whatever I recommend but it takes her years (she is currently reading the Discovery of Witches trilogy, but is early in book two and started over a year ago!). She also read and liked The Kitchen House, plus its sequel, Glory Over Everything. Before I had any influence on her, all I remember her reading was Danielle Steel novels. Please help! I would love to surprise her with a book for Christmas.
– Christine
Recommended:
• Red, White, and Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston
• Author Nora Roberts
• Lovely War, by Julie Berry
• Author Beatriz Williams
I am looking for a recommendation for my sweet mother-in-law. Recent books I know that she has loved: Where The Crawdads Sing, The Nightingale, and The Gown. She loves hand crafts (quilting, crocheting, sewing, etc.) so anything that ties these in would be an added bonus. I know she loved The Gown partly because of details of the intricacies of making the dress. She doesn’t particularly enjoy dark reads (murder mysteries, dark suspense thrillers, etc).
– Elaine
Recommended:
• Girl in Hyacinth Blue, by Susan Vreeland
• Clara and Mr. Tiffany, by Susan Vreeland
• Luncheon at the Boating Party, by Susan Vreeland
• The Guest Book, by Sarah Blake
I struggle to find good reads for my 23 year old daughter, who has a degree in English and Global Liberal Studies from NYU, and is going to graduate school for film. She loves feminist writing and a good classic. She loves anything Joan Didion or Toni Morrison, other books she loved are Black Leopard Red Wolf, Children of Blood and Bone, and Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype.
– Tricia
Recommended:
• Grand Union, by Zadie Smith
• Feel Free, by Zadie Smith
• Swing Time, by Zadie Smith
• An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir
• Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, by Kathleen Rooney
I am looking for recommendations for my immediate families book swap. A few years ago I suggested this for the adults so people wouldn’t feel obligated to buy gifts. We do it as a white elephant exchange so stealing is involved! I would love finding a book that can appeal to an age range of 30-67, preferably fiction. Last year I took News of the World and it reached its stealing capacity!
– Liz
Recommended:
• My Reading Life, by Pat Conroy
• The Clothing of Books, by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Meet Me at the Museum, by Anne Youngson
• Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
***
What books are YOU gifting this year?
46 comments
I’m hoping someone will give me some suggestions for books for an almost three year old. His parents likely already have all the ones they enjoyed as a child (Good Night Moon, Maurice Sendak, etc.) so I’m looking for newer additions to this genre.
The Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems is excellent for this age. They are fun and easy to read. Not painful for parents who might be asked to read them over and over again. We also like the Charlie and Lola series by Lauren Child.
Elaine some of these are older, hopefully you can still find them in print. Obviously there are the traditional that the parents may not have purchased like A Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats or A Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats. The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone. Also, songs made into books like: Down By the Bay by Raffi Cavoukian or Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Chistelow. Is Your Mama a Llama by Deborah Gaurino was a great hit at our house. Here are some lesser known ones that I have given over the years:
Little Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs.
There Was a Coyote Who Swallowed a Flea by Jennifer Ward.
White Rabbit’s Color Book by Alan Baker.
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet Ahlberg.
Picasso the Green Tree Frog by Amanda Graham.
Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy E. Shaw.
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson.
Dinosaur Roar by Paul Strickland.
Prince Cinders by Babette Cole.
Owen’s Walk by Karen Hill.
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner.
Imogene’s Antlers by David Small.
When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach.
My Penguin Osbert by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel.
Bunny’s Book Club by Annie Silvestro.
This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers.
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.
My 3 year old grandson’s favorites right now are all of the Pete the Cat & all of the Mercer Mayer Little Critter books
The Man in the Moon by William Joyce. Illustrations are amazing and story can grow with the child. An epic adventure.
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt. Great pictures and silly story. And there are additional books for both of these. Good luck!
My boys both LOVE Train Man, Digger Man and Fire Engine Man (three different books) by Andrea Zimmerman. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson is also a winner. And finally Kitten’s First Full Moon, Waiting and Egg (three different books) by Kevin Henkes are delightful books for that age.
How about Dunrea’s fun Gosling books and Diary of a Wombat.
You recommended Susan Vreeland for Elaine for her Mother-in-law. I think they would be good, but I would also add Sandra Dallas. Many of her books involve quilting – especially The Persian Pickle Club and Prayers for Sale.
I am a Junior High School teacher-librarian. Please remind your readers that librarians can be the best sources of suggestions. We (typically) LOVE connecting readers with our favorite books–or books that we think will be their favorite books. Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions. Keep up the good work and Happy Reading!
Debbie,
Do you have any ideas for my 14 year old daughter? She likes realistic fiction books that deal with teens and hot button issues, such as racism or immigration (anything with a justice theme). If the book doesn’t make her feel passionately about the topic, she’s not interested. I’d love any ideas you have! Thank you!
On the Come Up, The Hate U Give, The Sun is Also a Star, Tell Me How It Ends, The Poet X, The Best We Could Do, Turtles All the Way Down
Some other ideas that aren’t quite a perfect fit: Homegoing, The Moment of Lift, Americanah, Dear Ijeawele, We Should All be Feminists, Becoming, Molokai, Genderqueer.
Thanks, hooray I can shop for the book swap now!!!!
Liz, I loved both News of the World and Meet Me at the Museum. I think it’s a great suggestion. I love the idea of a book swap.
For the person who’s mother-in-law loves handcrafts and enjoyed the Gown – I would recommend The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trennow. My mother and I love to read and we love handcrafts and we both really enjoyed the Forgotten Seamstress and I gave my mum The Gown for Mother’s Day this year – I still need to read it.
I would also add the Emilie Richards quilting series and Jennifer Chiaverini (I am certain I misspelled that) books about quilting.
I’m hoping someone can give me recommendations for my eight year old son, who used to love reading, until he entered kindergarten and he had to keep a reading log as part of his homework, then it became “work” something he HAD to do, not something he did for fun anymore. Recent books he has enjoyed are the Dogman books, and Captain Underpants, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and the Who Would Win books. He keeps gravitating toward books on gemstones and rocks at the Scholastics book fairs, though it might be because they tend to include rocks.
Has he tried the Who Is/Was/Are series? They’re interesting, and good, biographies, and there’s a Netflix (or Amazon?) series that spins off of the books. My 2nd grader, who also loves DogMan, has also really liked the Stink Moody series, as well as the series with Judy Moody, Stink’s sister, and the books that are about both Stink and Judy. And lately he’s also gotten into the Bad Guys series.
He actually loves that show on Netflix. He read one, Who Was President Obama? for a school project for 2nd grade but hasn’t read others. I’ll look up the Stink Moody Series and Bad Guys. Thanks. 🙂
My nine year old reluctant reader is really into graphic novels. In addition to Dogman and Captain underpants, series he likes include Squish (Jennifer L Holm and Matthew Holm), the Lunch Lady series (Jarrett Krosoczka), ahd Mr. Wolf’s class (Aron Nels Steinke). He also likes the 13-story Treehouse books (Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton) and Dragon Master books (Tracey West).
Adding these as stocking stuffers, thank you so much for the recommendations.
Neil Gaiman wrote a book on Norse Mythology that would be perfect for the 17-year-old! He narrated the audiobook himself and he is a FANTASTIC narrator. I’m not even interested in Norse mythology and I loved the audiobook!
For Maggie, I like both Nelson DeMille and Daniel Silva very much and have read most of their work. I think DeMille’s best days are (long) behind him. I’d check out his Plum Island, which was original, fast-paced and well-written and/or The Charm School (The Americans before The Americans!).
I think Silva is still at the top of his game and liked The New Girl quite a bit. If you want to go back in his catalogue, The Fallen Angel is my favorite Allon book. Art, history, and bad guys! Last year’s The Other Woman is my favorite of his newer books. Old-fashioned LeCarre-esque moles and tradecraft and stuff. He’s got a lot to choose from, and shifts his focus from the Middle East to Europe to Russia almost every book.
The recommended book by Patti Callahan is about JOY Davidman and C.S. Lewis (not John Davidman).
Anne, what is on your bookish Christmas wish list?
Looking for a fun-read. I love the Spellman Files series by Lisa Lutz and have read all twenty-six Janet Evanovich books featuring Stephanie Plum. Enjoy having a book every so often that isn’t emotionally tugging on my heart or brain. Help!
Jalane, you might enjoy the Southern Sisters books by Anne George. There are, sadly, only eight of them due to Ms. George’s unexpected death, but they are hilarious. (Even my 69-year-old, retired policeman dad is a fan. He re-reads them every year.) And if you’re from the South, you just might know some of these characters- or even be one of them! Her writing was that spot on.
Agree! I should have mentioned these too. Read them as well. You’re correct in understanding the type of fun-read I am searching for. Thank you!
Jalane, I have been enjoying the Angela Marchmont series by Clara Benson this fall. It’s been a hectic semester of teaching and these books take me away to 1920s England. Angela is a bit of a mysterious character, with a background of helping the British government during WWI and then moving to America for a time. She left a husband she never talks about there. And she solves crimes that happen when she’s around. I hope you pick up one to check them out.
Lucinda, I’ve never heard of this series so will get started! Thanks for the tip.
Additional reco for Maria – her dad might like The Shetland Island series by Ann Cleeves and the Lincoln Perry series by Michael Koryta.
I’m looking for books for my middle grade daughter who loves graphic novels like the Smile, Sisters, and Guts all by Raina Telgemeier
and Real Friends by Shannon Hale. She enjoys the Mr. Terrupt book series and would like to read more humorous chapter books.
Anne and Holland, I wish I could stay home and read all the time. What a great list of suggestions.
I’m going to suggest a “cozy” mystery series I discovered recently, the Angela Marchmont series by Clara Benson. They all take place in the 1920s in England. Angela’s got a mysterious background, a stint working for the British Government during WWI, some time living in America, leaving an unknown husband behind when she came back to England. And she solves crimes that just happen when she’s around. They’re light reading and have helped me this fall when my life got really complicated.
Just had to comment how surprised I was to hear The Sparrow come up today. I don’t remember hearing of it until a couple weeks ago when my brother picked it for the third installment of our family book club.
I love the idea of a family book club!
THANK YOU for sharing Traci’s review of Talking to Strangers. I had started reading it and felt it was a really sterile treatment of situations such as Bland’s tragic death. After hearing your rec for the audio book, I thought maybe the format was the problem. Now with Traci’s take, I am just going to take it off of my TBR.
Recommendation for the craft loving mother in law, a Fall of marigolds by Susan Meissner.
I’m so happy to hear “Becoming Mrs. Lewis” was a recommendation. We read it for book club in October, and I think it’s the favorite selection for 2019.
Elaine from the episode! I have 2 more recommendations for your sweet mother-in-law! Check out The Sewing Machine by Natalie Fergie and
Mademoiselle Chanel: A Novel by C.W. Gortner.
For Diana and her husband, my husband and I also buddy read, on audio, and we both loved Ready Player One and Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter and are looking forward to Recursion – just waiting on our Overdrive hold to come in. If you haven’t read Dark Matter, I highly recommend it. Also older titles he loved is Station Eleven(me too) and Ender’s Game. Those seem obvious to me but just in case. Maybe a lesser-known one is All Our Wrong Todays by Elon Mastai. He loves the Sleeping Giants books and is just about to start Red Rising so I bet they would be a good match for your husband too.
For Liz’s son Logan, I highly recommend the Land of Stories series based on the Story Thieves. He might also enjoy the Mysterious Benedict Society and Fog Diver and its sequel by Joel Ross. And The Menagerie Series by Tui T. Sutherland. She wrote the super popular Wings of Fire series but I think this one is much better. 8 is a hard age I found b/c they want more from their books without being too scary yet. Some of these we read aloud which helps ease that so they might be too much for your son.
Thank you, Gloria! I appreciate the recommendations for Logan. I have Land of Stories on the list for him soon. (I read the whole series as a preview for him and I really enjoyed them!). I will add the others to my list to check out as well. Logan loved the Wings of Fire series, so I’m sure he would be interested in another Tui Sutherland series. Thanks!
Hi all,
I’m hoping someone can help me give some different books to my dad. He’s a huge fan of John Grisham and James Patterson. I was thinking of maybe going with Nelson DeMile this year. Does anyone else have any ideas?
Thank you Ann & Holland for your recommendations! I am so excited to be included in an episode. My son Logan (age 8) has read (and loved) the Mac B., Kid Spy series. The other recommendations are new to me and I will be excited to give them to him. Thank you and merry Christmas!
Looking for some book recommendations for my husband. His recent favorites have been The Martian, the Last Kingdom series, and Ready Player One. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you!
Thank you so much for the suggestions! My daughter has read most of Zadie Smith’s but I didn’t know about Grand Union being out now. 🙂 I will also check out the other suggestions! So excited to give her something that wasn’t on her list that she might love! Thank you so so much!
Joy – maybe your daughter would enjoy the Dealing With Dragons Trilogy. They’re fantasy, with a strong Princess lead and fun magical additions. https://www.amazon.com/Dealing-Dragons-Enchanted-Forest-Chronicles/dp/0544541227/ref=nodl_