Reading is a far more personal, solitary hobby than, say, playing hockey or gushing over the MCU with your closest friends. Just because you’re a reader, doesn’t mean you’ll automatically devour anything handed to you over the holidays, and just because you prefer fiction over nonfiction (represent!), doesn’t mean you like all types of fiction. If you’re scrambling at the last minute to find a gift for the bookworm in your life, or if you just want to treat your shelf, take a look at our gift guide below:
For the armchair detective: Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan
Lydia Smith and Joey Molina don’t have anything in common, besides the Bright Ideas Bookstore, where genteel Lydia works as a bookseller and eccentric Joey wiles his days away as a customer. Their paths cross on a professional, daily basis, and a genuine affection develops— but their friendship is shattered when Joey commits suicide in Bright Ideas, and Lydia discovers his body— with a picture from her own violent past stuffed in his pocket. Lydia is reluctantly pulled into the mystery of who Joey is, why he killed himself, and how their lives really intersected, an investigation that forces her to confront the truths of her own horrific childhood, and the trauma it left behind. I read this one a couple weeks ago, and I gave it five stars (I would’ve given it more if Goodreads had that option). An unexpected, atmospheric read, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is the perfect present for anyone who loves solving mysteries.
For the literary lover: The Book of M by Peng Shepherd
When a man in India lost his shadow, the world was fascinated; when he lost his memories, the world was horrified. When everyone else started losing both— the world as we know it ended in a matter of weeks, invisible lines drawn between the Shadowed (those with their memories and basic human function) and the Shadowless (those who have lost their memories and are losing skills like eating, speaking, and breathing at varying rates). The Shadowless are terrifying, able to bend the physical world around them to what they believe it should be— trees can have real faces, familiar streets are suddenly spiralling death traps, the Statue of Liberty is a heedless monster who crushes New York with her giant green fists and feet— and it gets worse by the day. No one knows what’s going on, and losing your shadow is a nondiscriminatory process that affects the rich and the poor, the young and the old, entire countries which are then forced into quarantine, their borders closed. Years into this chaos, married couple Ory and Max have sequestered themselves in an abandoned hotel, surviving by the skin of their teeth— and then Max loses her shadow and takes off. Max is on the hunt for herself, and Ory refuses to give up on Max, chasing after her as they both look for answers in a scary world that no longer makes sense.
I’m going to be real with you: I almost gave up on this book around 50 pages in, because I wasn’t a huge fan of Ory, but I loved the rest of the characters (the book eventually delves into more stories than just Max and Ory’s. Max by herself, as well as everyone else, is why I kept reading). But I’m glad I pushed through. If you enjoy apocalyptic fiction that leans heavily on human emotion and experience, The Book Of M is a fantastic read.
For the domestic drama fan: The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson
Cutthroat divorce attorney Paula Vauss likes her men the way she likes her life: straightforward, uncomplicated, let’s-not-make-this-a-thing-you-can-go-now. Her particular brand of emotional dysfunction can be traced back to her transient, unstable childhood with a free-bird mother, Kai, who was more interested in chasing dick and reinventing herself to fit a new persona than her daughter’s wellbeing; a lifestyle that eventually smacked her in the face when Paula tried to step up and fix things for them— severing their intense bond for the rest of her life. Paula’s used to paying for her grave mistake (seriously, she sends out cheques regularly to make sure Kai can afford whatever she wants), but nothing can prepare her for the unearthing of her mother’s most closely-guarded secret literally dropping into her lap: Paula has a younger half-sibling, who has lost everything and wants to reclaim some sense of family. Unfortunately, he’s too little too late, as Kai has already died. The truth of her younger brother sends Paula on a frenzied investigation to poke and prod at the corners of Kai’s messy, destructive life, opening up
old wounds as she adjusts to becoming a big sister, and learning to love with no strings attached. But even in death, Kai has a few more tricks up her sleeve, tricks that turn Paula’s world upside down. With her typical warmth and grace, Jackson renders a portrait of a heavily fractured family, exploring the power of stories and the nature of love in all its forms.
My Best Friend’s Recommendation: The Lightning-Struck Heart by T.J. Klune
I have a confession to make: my best friend loves The Lightning-Struck Heart by T.J. Klune so much that she randomly bought me a copy— and I still haven’t read it. I meant to get around to it, but with a TBR of over 200 books and more popping up each week, I just haven’t. Woops. But she assures me that this male/male fantasy romance is riotously funny (as in: she was cackling aloud while listening to the audiobook), and I swear, I’ll get to it in 2019. If I do say so, my best friend is pretty funny herself, so I’m gonna trust her judgement on just how essential this book is.
An Old Favourite: The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman
I read this book in less than a day, and I’m always shocked when people say it didn’t do anything for it. Then, when they tell me why, I completely understand. In The Two-Family House, readers are sucked into Brooklyn, 1947: brothers Abe and Mort share a brownstone house as they raise their respective families. Gregarious, warm Abe lives with his lively, strong wife Helen and their brood of rowdy boys upstairs; on the lower floor, rigid brother Mort lives with his mousy wife Rose and their three daughters. Helen is happy with her life but longs for a mother-daughter bond, Rose is desperate for a son to earn Mort’s approval. When the sisters-in-law become pregnant at the same time, and then go into labour on the night of a fierce blizzard, they make a choice that will forever alter the course of their families’ harmony, creating a ripple effect of consequences that will shape the lives around them for better and worse.I think a lot of people dislike this book because of the way it’s marketed— as if it’s supposed to have a twist you won’t see coming. Let’s be honest: the twist isn’t really a twist, it’s something that’s obvious but delicately-handled right from the start. The Two-Family House isn’t about the twist; it’s about the choice Rose and Helen make, and the way family changes, self-destructs, and pulls itself back together again.
If you’re ready to gift these books, or even read them for yourself, shop our affiliate links here: Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore,
The Book of M, The Opposite of Everyone, The Lightning-Struck Heart, and The Two-Family House.
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