Book Gifts for Friends and Family
Circuit Breaker may be over, but with working from home becoming default and socialising with friends and siblings still forbidden, we’d not have seen many of our friends and family in person for months. It may be a while more before we get to meet them, catch up on birthdays and generally show how much we appreciate them.
But, it doesn’t mean you can’t prepare your gifts in advance.
Presents via postal service is always an option but instead of checking an option to send over a box of chocolates, why not share something more enriching like a book gift? We’ve done the research for you, so check out our proposed book gifts for different personality types. You can even browse borrowing copies from our libraries before placing your order online!
For the Busy Multi-Tasker
This person may be an essential worker who has a long work commute every day. Or they may be on a mobile work scheme, juggling a backpack and a laptop bag. Larger than Life by Jodi Picoult is a novella set in the wilds of Africa about an animal researcher who violates the principle rule of naturalism: observe but do not interfere, and the consequences that ensue. A lightweight read that’s easy to carry around but enticing enough to keep reading between bus stops or train stations.
Larger than Life by Jodi Picoult
Get the eBook here.
For the Creatively Inclined
This friend is full of radical and innovative suggestions, even if they may not be the most practical. Encourage their creativity with Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age by Bohumil Hrabal about an elderly man accosting a group of sunbathing women to unload his life story and the things he has seen throughout the decades. Here’s the clincher: this amazing novel is written entirely in one sentence.
Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age by Bohumil Hrabal
Get the eBook here.
For the Aspiring Entertainer
This person cannot cook to save their life but loves hosting people at home. Last-minute catering usually saves the day after hours of sweating over failed dishes. Food for Friends by Linnea Johansson might just be the lifeline they need with tips and tricks on how to whip up easy, fuss-free dishes on short notice or preparing elaborate showcases in advance so more time can be spent with friends instead of slaving in the kitchen.
Food for Friends: More than 75 Easy Recipes from a Brooklyn Kitchen by Linnea Johansson
Get the eBook here.
For the Cultural Foodie
This friend loves trying out exotic foods and travelling to cities off the beaten track — and if these experiences come with rich, storied history, all the better! Alas, leisure travel is probably not in the cards for many of us this year so why not live vicariously through this hugely engaging memoir by Anya Von Bremzen, an award-winning food writer, on her early childhood in Soviet-era Moscow?
Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by Anya Von Bremzen
Get the eBook here.
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Text by
Joey Chin
National Library Board
