Grown-Up Reads
2015 Holiday Gift Guide: Grown-Ups
by Devon A. Corneal
For some, the holidays bring a unique combination of exhilaration and frustration. We eagerly anticipate celebrating annual traditions and spending time with friends and family, but gift buying can be stressful and exhausting. Adults are particularly challenging to shop for, so this year, we’ve compiled a list of books for everyone on your list, along with some fabulous, fun non-book gifts for friends and family alike. Whatever your holiday, we hope this list will make gift buying a breeze and give you more time to relax and enjoy this wonderful time of year.
Heading out to do some holiday shopping? You can download the full version of the gift guide below.
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The Cook
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My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life
Also available from:The doyenne of the food magazine world and former editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine shares the recipes she made in the year after Gourmet closed. This is a perfect gift for anyone who uses cooking to get through tough times.
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Baker’s Dozen Wooden Spoon Set
Subscribe to Food 52’s newsletter to get alerts about the most amazing foodie utensils, recipes, and gadgets out there. Gorgeously curated, with an extraordinary collection of everything to make your kitchen unique, including this useful and incredibly fun set of wooden spoons.
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Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food
Available from:We love her for the way she unabashedly loves food, and now Nigella is back, and back to basics. Food should be simple, delicious and soothing, and these recipes are that and more.
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Ampersand Cheese Board
Nothing says the holidays like a tray of cheese and crackers, and this clever ampersand cheese board is a novel way to present both.
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The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime
Available from:Ree Drummond knows how hard it is to make a home-cooked meal after a long day of work — she runs a ranch filled with children and animals, appears on a hit TV show, and writes, you guessed it, cookbooks. So you can trust the 100+ recipes in her latest book will be delicious, nutritious, and easy.
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Electronic Kitchen Scale
Real cooks know that the best way to measure ingredients is by weight. And American cooks trying recipes from other countries are often flummoxed when ingredients are listed in grams. A great kitchen scale solves that problem and ensures your recipes come out perfectly every time.
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The Wine Lover
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The Wine Bible
Available from:If you want to do more than drink your wine, this is the book for you. Revised, updated, and encyclopedic in its approach, Karen MacNeil’s comprehensive look at wine from every angle will change the way you drink this age-old beverage forever.
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Club W Wine Subscription
Now that you’ve got the basics down, it’s time to start drinking! Put your new knowledge to good use and join a wine club. Get ready for unusual and unexpected wines to arrive at your door monthly.
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Wine Folly
Also available from:If The Wine Bible seems too intimidating, Wine Folly might be a better place to start. Sleek, modern, hip, and full of pictures and graphics, Wine Folly makes wine approachable and a little bit fun.
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Canvas Wine Tote
This is a classy wine carrier for a true oenophile. Perfect for holiday parties or a trip to the park. Throw it over your shoulder or crumple it up in your purse when you’re done.
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Le Creuset Wine Opener
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as opening a bottle of good wine with ease. Le Creuset makes sure you’ll never break another cork again.
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The Bibliophile
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Avenue of Mysteries
Available from:The 14th novel from one of the great masters of American storytelling, the author of A Prayer for Owen Meany and The Cider House Rules brings us a new tale of Juan Diego and how his past and future collide.
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Novel Tote
Serious readers need serious book-centric gifts and Litographs.com is the place to find them. The reader in your life will love these tote bags gorgeously decorated using only the text of their favorite novel.
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The Story of the Lost Child
Available from:The fourth and final Neapolitan novel will have book groups enthralled as they discover where the characters they first met in My Brilliant Friend end up. Hailed as one of today’s great novelists, if you haven’t discovered Elena Ferrante yet, now is the time.
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Book Darts
If you’re old school and love to mark your favorite passages without permanently marring your book, this is a great gift. Use book darts to identify quotes or sections for book group, class, or just to share.
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After Alice
Available from:Looking for mixed-up classics for grown-ups? Loved Wicked? Well, Gregory Maguire is back with another retelling of a famous children’s tale, and this time he’s taking on Wonderland.
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Darcy Necklace
Proclaim your status as a book lover in jewelry. Proclaim your love of Pride and Prejudice with this perfect pendant.
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City on Fire
Available from:People are buzzing about this very American novel set in the 1970s that culminates with the famous July 1977 blackout in New York.
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The Geeks
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The Martian
Available from:Technically, this is last year’s book, but the story of a man trapped on an alien planet with no way to communicate with Earth is extraordinary. The science-lover on your list must read this before they see the movie starring Matt Damon.
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Nano Drone
If you’re trapped on Mars, you might need a few of these. And even if you’re not, who doesn’t like flying cool miniature drones around?
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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Also available from:A prequel to the Song of Fire and Ice series, these three short stories may hold eager readers over until Martin releases the next book in his epic saga of Westeros. Maybe.
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Risk: Game of Thrones
If you can’t live in Westeros, you can still try to take over the Seven Kingdoms.
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The Autobiography of James T. Kirk
Also available from:This faux memoir of Star Fleet’s most famous captain (let’s not quibble) will please the Trekkie on your gift list. In creating this biography of one of television and film’s most lecherous and lucky military men, the author treats fans to the seminal moments in "Star Trek" history, while never losing touch with the tongue-in-cheek humor of the franchise.
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Think Board
Need to plan your escape from a hostile planet, sword-wielding giants, or an alien fleet? This stickable, moveable dry erase board is perfect for lists, notes, and escape routes.
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The Artists and the Dreamers
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Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Also available from:Eat, Pray, Love was only the beginning for this big thinker and quintessential dreamer. Gilbert now hopes to help others tap into their own creativity.
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Moleskine Evernote Smart Notebook
Take those dreams and outlines and digitize them! Ensure you never lose a big idea by merging technology with the old-fashioned doodle with the Evernote compatible notebook from Moleskine.
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Knitting Pearls: Writers Writing About Knitting
Available from:If collecting a series of essays about knitting seems unusual, wait until you see the authors included in this group of writers. Enjoy their perspectives on the rhythm and joys of working with yarn.
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Adult Coloring Book
Unleash your inner artist with a coloring book worthy of your years of practice, like Millie Morotta’s Tropical Wonderland. Coloring books aren’t just for kids anymore (although you can share with them if you’re feeling generous).
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Rising Strong
Also available from:The expert on shame and vulnerability, Brené Brown strives to help everyone live their most authentic and heroic life by finding courage in the everyday.
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Mahabis Slippers
When planning your next creative endeavor, you should be comfortable. Try Mahabis slippers — the last pair you’ll ever buy. They’re that good.
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The Parents
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The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed
Available from:Worried that your kids are going to fail? Don’t. They will, and more importantly they should. Hard-earned and invaluable advice from an educator and mother with insight on how parents can help their children best by not helping them so much.
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Hands Free Life: 9 Habits for Overcoming Distraction, Living Better, and Loving More
Available from:A book designed to help parents develop habits to help them connect with the things that really matter to them — and avoid being distracted by the things that don’t.
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Silver Sphere Locket
The perfect locket to hold a child’s picture, a favorite quote, or a lock of hair, Pico jewelry designer Andrea Panico finds the perfect balance between modern aesthetics and a timeless traditional gift.
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Toddlers are A**holes (It’s Not Your Fault)
Available from:If you love Honest Toddler, this book has to make it onto your holiday gift list.
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Mohair Throw Blanket
We all need a little alone time — parents especially. This ridiculously warm blanket may just encourage all of us to sneak away with our favorite book and curl up for an hour.