What鈥檚 your go-to gift during the holiday season? For a lot of people, the answer to that question is simple: books.
Like a lot of retailers, booksellers do good business in November and December. But why do so many turn to books as presents, and what should you buy this year for the bookworm in your life?
It turns out, the popularity of books as a holiday gift stems from the early 1800s, when Christmas became more family-oriented and commercial, .
At the time, books were a luxury item and therefore made special presents for people who could afford to give them.
Today, books are more commonplace 鈥� but booksellers still try to stock titles they think will be popular gifts during the winter months.
Morgan Moore, who co-owns just outside of Arlington, said her customer base tends to go for romance novels, sci-fi and fantasy.
鈥淥ne I think is going to be pretty big for us (this winter) is 鈥�,鈥�&苍产蝉辫;which is the follow up to 鈥�.鈥� I think that that鈥檚 going to sell pretty well,鈥� she said. 鈥淎lso 鈥�,鈥�&苍产蝉辫;which is a Christmas Notch novel by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. It鈥檚 a very spicy Christmas romance. The first one of this particular series was 鈥�,鈥�&苍产蝉辫;and I could not keep it in stock.鈥�
Moore said she also expects to sell plenty of copies of big memoirs that came out this fall 鈥� including and .
At in Austin, booksellers have a to point customers to new titles. Consuelo Wilder, the buying director for BookPeople, recommended several books, including 鈥溾�� by Mary Beard for history nerds.
Wilder also recommended 鈥溾�� by Michiko Aoyama.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really charming little book, a very simple story about a librarian and the books she recommends to her patrons. And so it鈥檚 simply about friendship,鈥� Wilder said. 鈥淚 think everybody who鈥檚 looking for an easy gift for the book lovers in their life, this would be the one for them.鈥�
Wilder also recommended a rom-com novel called 鈥溾�� by Kate Goldbeck that is being compared to 鈥淲hen Harry Met Sally,鈥� and a book called 鈥溾�� by Kai Cheng Thom.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a nonfiction book about transforming the negative thoughts in your life about the world and the kind of despair that you might have in the world that we live in and turning it into compassion and love for humanity,鈥� she said.
Megan Goel, who is in charge of buying children鈥檚 and young adult books for BookPeople, had some titles in mind for those shopping for the younger crowd. For those who need a picture book, Goel suggested 鈥溾�� by Amy Seto Forrester.
鈥淚t is a 鈥楥hoose Your Own Adventure, pick your own path鈥� guide to finding a giant squid,鈥� Goel said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to find your crew, choose a submersible, learn a little bit about their habits, then take a dive and see what you can find.鈥�
For middle grade readers, Goel recommended 鈥�,鈥�&苍产蝉辫;which tells the true story of the theft of the famous painting. For young adults, she recommended 鈥溾�� by Kayvion Lewis.
鈥淭his is the story of Ross Quest. She is the scion of a legendary thief family and after a heist鈥檚 gone bad, she has to enter the Gambit to save her mother鈥檚 life,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he Gambit is a shadowy international theft competition, and it pulls together elite young thieves from around the world in a quest to win it all.鈥�
More important than picking the 鈥渋t鈥� book of the season, though, is finding the right book for your loved one. That, Moore said, is at the heart of why we buy books as gifts.
鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 a really personal gift. It鈥檚 something that you have to go and really think about someone or try and find a specific title for someone鈥� You took your time to go into a store or buy one online for somebody,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 think just about everyone knows someone who is an avid reader. Maybe it鈥檚 one person or maybe it鈥檚 your entire group of friends because that鈥檚 who you surround yourself with鈥� It is something that is, like I said, really personal.鈥�
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