BOOK LOVERS GIFT GUIDE
NOVEL IDEAS FOR HOLIDAY GIFTING
By Michelle Pierce
NOV-DEC 2021 ISSUE
Nestled in the picturesque Lido Marina Village, an independent bookstore just over the bridge into Newport Beach is defying the era of e-books. Lido Village Books offers something for everyone this holiday season and owner Michelle Pierce has a curated guide for the literature lover on your list. Need a gift for your best friend who binges all the true crime podcasts and television shows? How about your sibling who loves sci-fi and fantasy, or a coworker obsessed with short stories and learning?
“This gift guide has all the hot and popular books that our community has read over the past year,” Michelle says. “And if you're anything like us, when you buy a book for another you also have to buy one for yourself!”
Check out her top 10 recommendations and find them on the shelves at Lido Village Books, open seven days a week in Newport Beach. LIDOVILLAGEBOOKS.COM | IG: @LIDOVILLAGEBOOKS
Photo credits courtesy of Lido Village Books
“Piranesi”
by Susanna Clarke
I fell in love with the world that Susanna created and the wanderings of Piranesi — his innocence and heart, his will to not just survive in this world but live your best life. It was lyrical and beautiful and surprised me at the first paragraph. (Fantasy. Hardback $27, Paperback $17)
“American Sherlock”
by Kate Winkler Dawson
Ever wonder where CSI gets its crime scene protocols or where blood spatter analysis comes from? This is an intoxicating true story of how modern criminal investigations came to be. (Historical true crime. Paperback $18)
“Of Women and Salt”
by Gabriela Garcia
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A heart-wrenching story of the legacy we are born into and how the choices made generations before a birth can affect those that come after. The story centers on the daughter of a Cuban immigrant, bringing readers from 19th-century cigar factories to present-day detention centers while following the tangled roots of five generations. (Literary fiction. Hardback $26.99)
“Parable of the Sower”
by Octavia E. "Butler
Octavia is receiving a well-deserved resurgence. This book is a foreshadowing of a world we have so much potential to move toward — those who have read it this year come back to let me know how foreboding it feels. (Science fiction. Paperback $16.99)
“Peaces”
by Helen Oyeyemi
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If you want an existential, onion-peeling, spell-binding tale of two people who take a train ride to nowhere and everywhere and learn how the past unfolds and often sits within your present; then this book is for you. Helen Oyeyemi is a beautiful writer who is always pushing the envelope of fiction and what it means to tell a story. (Literary Fiction. Hardback = $27.00)
“The Anthropocene Reviewed”
by John Green
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Through short essays and star scale reviews, the bestselling author discusses what makes the "human-centered planet" human in our geologic time frame. It is endearing, witty and, at most times, just funny. (Nonfiction. Hardback $28)
“Animal”
by Lisa Taddeo
Raw and vulgar, intimate and explosive — this book has made readers gasp at the story you are being forced to witness alongside a protagonist who has spent a lifetime enduring the cruelties of men. (Literary fiction. Hardback $27.99)
“Writers & Lovers”
by Lily King
If you've ever lived in a big city during your mid-20s, struggling to make your art and passion more than a hobby, you will love this book. (Literary fiction. Paperback $17)
“The Art of Gathering”
by Priya Parker
A transformative and engaging read, this was most popular among workplace book clubs. More than once, I had people come back to tell me how they have reshaped meetings, dinner parties and other gatherings to bring more heart and present-ness to them. (Nonfiction. Paperback $17)
“Red Rising”
by Pierce Brown
Here’s a popular read to pick up while waiting for “Dune” to finally hit theatres or for the next season of “Expanse” on Amazon Prime. Buyers have been hungry for Pierce Brown's dystopian series that delivers a spectacular, heart-pounding adventure on the color-coded caste society of Mars. (Science fiction. Paperback $17)