Books can make wonderful last-minute gifts. You can find them at all kinds of stores, and your local bookstore is often open late during the holidays for last-minute shoppers. All the books released in the last few months of the year are just waiting to be given as gifts. They also make great first-choice gifts, especially for those who are hard to buy for. And buying a book that also interests you is a great way to create a connection that you and the recipient can share for months to come. I love giving one of my favorite books to a friend so they can join me as part of a two-person book club! If it is a book that is especially meaningful to you, it is certain that they will feel a special connection to you when they read it.
- Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Sadie is a 34-year-old secret agent, working freelance for the U.S. government who’s assigned to infiltrate a group of environmental radicals in France. Utilizing her seductive skills, she hooks up with Lucian, an old friend of the group’s leader. As she becomes more involved in the group, she grows to admire their guru Bruno. Alas, Sadie the Seductress may have met her match. - Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
We are introduced to two brothers, estranged for years, who come together at their father’s funeral. Peter, a successful lawyer in Dublin, is in his 30s. His younger brother Ivan is a 22-year-old competitive chess player. Both have issues with the women in their lives and as they manage their grief, their lives start to intertwine again. They find that these changing dynamics may bring them healing — or crush them — in new ways. - Lazarus Man by Richard Price
In Richard Price’s novel, a five-story tenement in East Harlem collapses in 2008 and the surrounding area descends into chaos. At least six people are killed with many others missing. Richard tells the story of several of the survivors who are permanently touched by the tragedy — how the neighbors get through their days after the collapse is truly moving. - To Die For (6:20 Man) by David Baldacci
The 6:20 Man comes back in his third book in David Baldacci’s series. Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine works on clandestine operations for the government, where he has become highly successful at his assigned missions. He is asked to accompany a 12-year-old orphan, Besty Odom, to meet with her uncle who is under federal investigation. As Travis gets to know Betsy, questions about the death of her parents arise, and he finds himself confronting a conspiracy even bigger than he could imagine. - The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri
In 1939, with Adolf Hitler in power, Alina Strauss lives a peaceful life working in her uncle’s bookshop. She spends time with her friends and her fiancé, and all seems well. But once she learns that her birth mother was Jewish, she’s in jeopardy as the Germans invade her village. She is forced to work in a state-run baby factory, and “she becomes both witness and participant to the horrors of Heinrich Himmler’s ruthless eugenics program,” according to the book’s blurb. Struggling to keep her “secret,” Alina strives to save herself and the children in her care. - The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Author), John Burgoyne (Illustrator)
What can a shrub teach us about gratitude, reciprocity, and community? The serviceberry, also known as shadblow, shadbush, juneberry, or saskatoon in different areas of the United States, is grown as an ornamental in the spring and admired for its colorful fall foliage. Their berries are loved by many species of birds and can also be eaten fresh by humans or baked in pies, canned, or prepared into preserves, jams, or wine. Robin Wall Kimmerer is an Indigenous scientist who harvests serviceberries alongside the birds who eat them. While doing this, she explores the idea of reciprocity in the natural world, where we are all interconnected with our needs and abilities to provide for each other.
Read CityView magazine’s “Home for the Holidays” December 2024 e-edition here.
