Our 2023 Holiday Gift Guide Explained

Written by Aatia Davison

These are the books to buy for the people you love this holiday season! Look at us, making it easy for you! And if a book just doesn’t make sense for the folks in your life, scroll all the way down for more fun stuff from us! Love you!

Nonfiction for the person in your life who doesn't really read

You know them, you love them, and it probably drives you a little crazy that for all of your love of reading and your eagerness to share it, this person just doesn’t seem to get it. This year, give them a book that finally makes them get it.

When Crack Was King, Donovan X. Ramsey - This deep dive into the Crack Epidemic was so illuminating. It paints a picture of poor urban life in the 90’s that is rich and fascinating. My personal favorite anecdote was the story of a superstar journalist Janet Cooke, and her meteoric rise to fame after writing a fabricated story about a “crack baby.”

Stay True, Hua Hsu - This memoir has been everywhere this year. It’s a coming of age story about an unlikely friendship between Hua, the son of Taiwanese immigrants who prefers to spend his days trolling record shops and creating zines, and Ken, who, in Hua’s view, represents conformity. When tragedy strikes, their friendship is cut short. It’s touching!

Black Friend: Essays, Ziwe - Lastly, give them something that will make them laugh. Ziwe is that girl.

Books for your brother who isn’t a mobster, but wishes he could be

We could have named this category “books for the people who still swear that The Wire is the best show in TV history.” If there’s someone in your life who gets excited about crime, doing it or uncovering the truth of it, give them one of these books.

The Bandit Queens, Parini Shroff - I don’t condone murder, unless the victim is your no good husband. If that’s the case… go off.

Crook Manifesto, Colson Whitehead - Set in 1970’s NYC, we see the seediness, the crime, the counter-culture, all in a kaleidoscopic view.

Chain Gang All-Stars, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - Chain-Gang All-Stars is a carceral nightmare for our entertainment hungry age. Prisoners compete in death matches for bloodthirsty audiences. It’s twisted, but this book has been on every shortlist and yearly wrap up for a reason. It’s just really, really good.

Books for someone taking a long trip over the holidays

These books run from long to short, contemporary to historical, fiction and nonfiction! A long journey is simply a perfect excuse to read anything, to read everything!

The Fraud, Zadie Smith - Smith’s latest novel is the exact sort of massive brick that you should pack on a long trip. It’s historical fiction about a housemaid, her author cousin/employer and the mayhem surrounding the Tichborne case which is, at its core, about fraud. It’s smart, with wonderfully developed characters, and Smith’s wit shines.

Opinions, Roxane Gay - Opinions collects a number of her essays from the past decade on subjects like mass shootings, the fate of women’s rights and social etiquette. Roxane Gay, author of Hunger and Bad Feminist is simply the best.

Family Meal, Bryan Washington - When Cam’s partner dies he is haunted and desperate to escape Los Angeles. He goes down to Houston, his hometown, and finds himself reconnecting with an old friend, TJ, who runs a bakery. There are a number of unspoken emotions, hopes and disappointments between them. This book is so whole and hearty, just like a good meal.

Books for the gourmand in your life who is obsessed with The Bear

I love shopping for foodies and the people in my life who love to cook. There is always a kitchen gadget that they need to get their hands on, or a trendy ingredient that’s their current fixation. And cookbooks (do you know Books Are Magic offers a quarterly cookbook subscription??) make for INCREDIBLE GIFTS. Here are some of the cookbooks/food writing that we adore.

Tenderheart, Hetty McKinnon - A cookbook about vegetables and unbreakable family bonds, a veggie cookbook for the soul by Brooklyn author Hetty McKinnon. Hetty’s also featured in our 2024 Author Calendar, enjoying tasty treats in Ban Bè, a beloved local spot!

My Everyday Lagos, Yewande Komolafe - Yummy recipes from Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city. These recipes are colorful, hearty and the flavors are complex.

Start Here, Sohla El-Waylly - The fact that these recipes have already made it to my Thanksgiving menu is a testament to just how good these recipes are.

Books for the New York Lover

A mix of fiction and nonfiction all taking place in the greatest city in the world. Recent transplants, expats and everyone else will love these reads.

Witness, Jamel Brinkley - ten stories about a changing New York from National Book Award finalist Jamel Brinkley.

The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop, Jonathan Abrams - The first thing that you need to know, hip hop was born in 1973 at a house party in the Bronx. From there, we take a wild and twisty journey through hip hop’s beginnings. The 50th anniversary of hip-hop was huge for New York City this year, and hip hop is a major part of the city’s legacy. Read up on its origins!

Our Laundry Our Town, Alvin Eng - Eng paints a picture of New York City in 1970’s and 1980’s and his life as the child of Chinese immigrants. Eng’s parents ran a Chinese laundry. He connected with New York’s theater scene and that brought him on a pilgrimage to Hong Kong and China.

YA and MG for the boys in your life

Fact for you—as of June 2023, boys lag behind girls in reading. This is true of every US region, across all school age groups. Why? One working theory is that boys and men tend to read for information, applicable skills. If a kid is really into Dungeons & Dragons and he wants to master the game, most likely a book on D&D hacks will do the trick. However, there’s some real character building that happens when a child connects with fiction. Give the boys in your life a book about someone who’s into the same things he’s into!

True True, Don P. Hooper - Wicked smart and unwilling to compromise who he is, True True’s hero Gil is a kid we can all look up to! Gil is a seventeen year old who makes the trek from Brooklyn into Manhattan everyday to attend private school. It’s a challenge, and when an incident leaves him questioning his place in their buttoned-up world, Gil takes action.

Stuntboy 1 & 2, Jason Reynolds - Much love to Jason Reynolds, who carries the ‘boy book’ genre with grace and style! Stuntboy is Books Are Magic favorite, following a kid named Portico with a super imagination!

Mabuhay, Zachary Sterling - This book has it all, a family-run Filipino food truck, two siblings, Althea and JJ who are polar opposites and folklore come to life! I love Mabuhay!

Books for the most stylish kid you know

Etta Extraordinaire, Roda Ahmed - This one is about a little girl, destined for stardom. But between her and Hollywood is her school’s talent show. Is she ready to step up in front of a big audience?

Marya Khan and the Incredible Henna Party, Saadia Faruqi - When Marya’s neighbor waltzes into school with fancy invites for her birthday, Marya, tired of being upstaged, invents a big party of her own. In order to make this party a reality, Marya has to enlist the help of her family. It’s a chapter that will really hit for that 7 to 10 year old range!

Daddy Dressed Me, Michael Gardner - Ava and her dad are both undertaking new challenges in this precious picture book.

Books for the teen or tween missing their friends over break

The Queens of New York, EL Shen - This story follows three very different Asian American girls growing up in Queens. The one destined for Broadway, the STEM prodigy, and the responsible one who is bound to her family’s small business.

Curlfriends, Sharee Miller - Oh, Charlie! She’s the girl at the center of Curlfriend—new in town, in her first year in middle school, trying to shake off her childish preoccupations and reinvent herself. The girls she befriends are who we all needed in those weird, challenging years.

School Trip, Jerry Craft - I am such a sucker for an ensemble of misfit kids! In School Trip, we follow a ragtag group of tweens on a school trip to Paris! Hijinks ensue, it’s such a good time.

Friday I’m in Love, Camryn Garrett - Penned by Books Are Magic bookseller Camryn Garrett, Friday I’m in Love is funny, touching and wonderfully nostalgic for this grown-up reader. Mahalia is sixteen, and, having missed the chance to have a sweet sixteen, hatches a plan to host a massive coming out party, but of course, it’s not smooth sailing! The girl at the center of this story has a deep hunger for more, more freedom, more cash, more love. To me, she is perfect.

For the new baby in your life

Board books and picture books are for the littlest kids you know!

This Is Music: Voice, Rekha S. Rajan and Tania Yakunova- Introduce your baby to a love of music! This series takes on different instruments, why not start with the voice?

One Day, Joanna Ho and Faith Pray - Look at this little baby on the cover!! About a mother’s dreams for her baby’s bright future.

Ode to a Bad Day, Chelsea Lin Wallace and Hyewon Yum - Odes to the silly little inconveniences with all must live with everyday. For kids (and adults, too, at times, let’s be real!) this little things can feel HUGE and overwhelming. Ode to a Bad Day reminds us to take it all in stride.