Dear readers, In a recent letter I invited you to send in any vexing gift-giving queries. To my delight, I heard from many subscribers with all manner of recipients in mind. Today I answer a handful of reader conundrums. If you’re looking for more gift suggestions, my colleagues have put together a list of books for every kind of reader. No shame in browsing with yourself in mind, by the way. Let’s dive in! Historical nonfiction for a father who loves David McCullough, Erik Larson and David GrannI think we all have readers like these in our lives! Luckily, there’s plenty to choose from. A natural recommendation is Rick Atkinson’s “The Fate of the Day,” the second book in his trilogy about the American Revolution. “The Beast in the Clouds,” by Nathalia Holt, was popular in our department — it tells the story of Theodore Roosevelt’s eldest sons and their hunt to find the giant panda (and impress their father). Something tells me he’d appreciate “Family of Spies,” by Christine Kuehn, which offers a wild new perspective on World War II. And I’d be remiss not to mention the latest entry in books about maritime disasters: The “Gales of November,” by John U. Bacon, about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. An adult daughter who loves smart romance and queer charactersErring on the tamer side of romance here, because does any kid, no matter what age, really want to receive smut from her parents on Christmas morning? Our resident romance expert suggested a few: Cat Sebastian’s “We Could Be So Good” and “You Should Be So Lucky,” for starters, or Casey McQuiston’s “One Last Stop.” If she’s open to stories with some fantastical elements, too, she might like the work of TJ Klune, particularly “The House in the Cerulean Sea” and “The Bones Beneath My Skin.” A boyfriend who loves Chinese history, sci-fi, cozy fiction and “hopepunk”An anti-algorithmic reader if there ever were one! My first thought was “The Poppy War,” by R.F. Kuang, an award-winning fantasy novel that pulls from the Second Sino-Japanese War. This might be stretching the definition of science fiction ever so slightly but something tells me he’d like Marie-Helene Bertino’s “Beautyland,” about an alien sent before she was born to life on Earth. (We have plenty more science fiction recommendations here.) I’d never heard of “hopepunk” before — it’s a term that refers to stories of defiant optimism — but something tells me “Archangels of Funk,” by Andrea Hairston, might fit the bill. The writer Veronica Roth said this dystopian novel “reminds us that, even when the world is crumbling, we can still find joy.” A pick for the inaugural meeting of a book club of men in their 50sI’ll take any chance I can to recommend James McBride’s novel “Deacon King Kong.” It follows Sportcoat, the church deacon of the title, in late 1960s Brooklyn in the wake of his shooting a local drug dealer. It’s a mystery, a crime story and a deeply funny look at a rather colorful neighborhood. Other novels to consider: Vijay Khurana’s “The Passenger Seat,” about two friends on a cross-country road trip, or Denis Johnson’s classic “Train Dreams.” If fiction is a tough sell, you can’t go wrong with a proper swashbuckling adventure — try David Grann’s “The Wager” or Hampton Sides’s “The Wide Wide Sea.” These men might appreciate John Ganz’s political history of the 1990s, “When the Clock Broke,” too. Someone who loves women’s sports, and prefers audiobooks“All In,” a memoir by the tennis star Billie Jean King, would be a great fit, and she narrates the audiobook. Or try a recent book about Caitlin Clark, “On Her Game.” There’s also “Good for a Girl,” by Lauren Fleshman, a memoir and rallying cry to improve conditions for female athletes. As far as fiction: “Headshot,” by Rita Bullwinkel, is a real gem about a group of young female boxers, while “We Ride Upon Sticks,” by Quan Barry, follows a high school field hockey team in 1980s Massachusetts, and is as funny and offbeat as they come. Like this email? We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
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