The 18 Best Books to Gift, According to Best-Selling Female Authors

"I'm giving Abbi Jacobson's I Might Regret This, her memoir of a road trip she took at a turning point in her life, which is out in paperback now. It's been a year since I read it and I'm still feeling the effects of its superpower—the more vulnerable Abbi's observations got, the braver I felt reading them. And it's perfectly timed, as a gift, since it's the ultimate new year resolution read—it's all about being a little gutsier, wiser and better to yourself than you used to be." —Megan Angelo, author of the upcoming novel, Followers

“Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. You likely fell in love with Samin Nosrat through her Netflix show with the same title of her cookbook; now it’s time to buy this marvelous cookbook for everyone you know, and you’ll all love her even more. It’s that rare cookbook that’s great for beginning and experienced cooks alike — everyone will learn something new and life changing (not an exaggeration!) as they read it, look over the incredible illustrations, and, of course, cook. Recipes and pages I love: Green Goddess Dressing; Cherry Tomato Confit; Cacio e Pepe; Ideal Salad; Knife Cuts to Scale; Tomato Vinaigrette; and I especially love hearing from friends and family members I've given this to about what their own favorites are.” —Jasmine Guillory, author of the novel Royal Holiday

“This Christmas, I'll be handing wrapped copies of Karen Dukess's The Last Book Party to all the book lovers on my list. This slim, breezy, beautifully written novel follows 25-year-old Eve Rosen, a budding writer who's struggling to find her voice, over one eventful summer in late 1980's Cape Cod. There she falls in with the hip literary crowd, where boho parties, juicy beach outings, and some achingly real coming-of-age moments ensue. It's smart, snappy, and just the right amount of sexy, with a strong sense of place—perfect for those cold winter nights when you ache to feel sand on your feet and the sun on your face. It's also infused with witty banter about literary classics, so it's a real treat for bookworms. I tore through it in one day and can't wait to watch my friends fall in love, too.” —Andrea Bartz, author of The Lost Night and the upcoming novel The Herd 

"A stunning and timeless portrait of motherhood and grief and politics; it simply teaches one the idea of how to live. How a human being can live with complete self-awareness, humility, and grace. We all forget that at times, but this slim little book helps us to remember.” —Lisa Taddeo, author of Three Women

“When I give a book as a gift I want to be sure the recipient doesn’t already own it and also won’t see it as an obligation. It has to be short, delicious, and basically unheard of. Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility Diaries tick all those boxes. It’s just a description of what her experience of making this movie was like; some editions also include the script. She is a hilarious and oddly poignant writer in a very casual offhand way. There is gossip (she had just divorced Kenneth Branagh and would later marry the actor who plays Willoughby, but none of that is explicitly mentioned!) but mostly there are just comforting descriptions of what the process of making art is like: damp, uncomfortable, and sometimes there are problems wrangling the sheep.” —Emily Gould, co-owner of the online bookstore Emily Books, and author of the upcoming novel Perfect Tunes

“I love giving a big, glossy coffee table book called In The Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists and Entrepreneurs edited by Grace Bonney. It's a radical text offering daily treks into a successful woman's brain. One of my favorite quotes from the book is ”I'm never worried about having enough inspiration. I'm worried one lifetime will never be enough to execute them all." I savored it and know you will too." —Erin Lee Carr, author of All That You Leave Behind: A Memoir

"These 99 stories are peculiar and fantastic, and the characters are wonderfully flawed. Even the Lord makes several appearances, and it's a delight to see him deal with being invited to a fancy party, or wait in line at the pharmacy for a shot. There's a push in these stories to find comfort in the unknown. It's the perfect gift and book to keep next to your bed.” —Kiley Reid, author of the upcoming novel Such a Fun Age

“I love giving Mary Oliver’s Devotions. Her poems offer a little something for everyone. For me, they never fail to startle with me their intensity, fill me with longing, and remind me that the natural world is fundamental to our humanity.” —Adrienne Brodeur, author of Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me

“I’ve given Cheryl Strayed’s stunning book Tiny Beautiful Things to many people I love (and to others I‘ve just met!). Cheryl’s compassionate prose and perspective—so full of grace, strength, and hard-won wisdom—are nothing short of extraordinary.” —Megan Phelps-Roper, author of Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church

"Safia is a genius, her words are an offering. When I read her I know that writing indeed has the power and possibility to evoke such powerful resonance. I love witnessing myself in her work.” —Fariha Roisin, author of How to Cure a Ghost

“The Book of Changes is a collection of interviews conducted and edited by the genius interlocutor Kristine McKenna. There's another volume called Talk to Her, too. Ray Charles, Lou Reed, Al Green, George Clinton, Joni Mitchell, Yoko Ono, Neil Young, Pete Townshend, Iggy Pop, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsburg, Jacques Derrida... The list goes on. One of your creative heroes speaks in this book, so it's a perfect gift for everyone. Plus, it's out of print, so it's a very special find.” —Ottessa Moshfegh, author of Death in Her Hands

“The book I’ve gifted most often and re-read countless times over the years is My Family and Other Animals by the wonderful Gerald Durrell. It’s the true story of a mother and her four children who up-sticks from dreary London to live on the sun-drenched Greek island of Corfu. Told by Gerald, the youngest of the children, it’s utterly charming and genuinely funny. A warm blanket of a book; its gentle, vintage feel makes it my go-to read whenever I feel in need of comfort and escape. Can I be greedy and also offer a very quick recommendation of The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow? My favourite read of 2019, this fabulous, unique, beautiful on the inside and outside book is being gifted to lots of my loved ones this year! I truly adored it.” —Josie Silver, author of the upcoming novel The Two Lives of Lydia Bird

On Writing by Stephen King. I keep a stack of these in my house and I pass them out to anyone who considers themselves a artist. No matter where a person is in their creative life Stephen King’s On Writing will inspire; everyone from the casual artist to the seasoned writer will have something to learn. And while you’ll learn plenty about Mr. King you’ll also glean his invaluable knowledge of the craft." —Tarryn Fisher, author of the upcoming novel The Wives

"The poems in Kiki Petrosino’s breathtaking collection Fort Red Border are about Robert Redford (the title is an anagram for his name) but they are also about so much more: how our fantasies construct us and expose us and disarm us; how our longing shapes us and animates us; how our loneliness and our hunger beat like second and third hearts within us. These are poems about race and wealth and American daydreams. Also snack foods! “For what is love, my darling, but a bower built from Pop Tarts,” Petrosino writes. I love to give this book as a gift not only because Kiki and I became close friends in our early twenties, when we were both coming-of-age as writers (and watching a lot of Redford movies) but because these are poems written for people who don’t yet know they love poetry, and because they batter and console my heart at once." —Leslie Jamison, author of the collection of essays Make it Scream, Make it Burn

"The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel is a book I've given to many friends and students over the years. The reason is simple. Her short stories are funny and sad in equal measure. This is much more difficult than it looks and I admire how she moves from one to another with grace and lucidity." —Jenny Offill, author of the upcoming novel Weather

"I've been pressing Poets in Their Youth, Eileen Simpson's quietly devastating memoir of her marriage to the poet John Berryman, on unsuspecting friends ever since a friend first pressed it on me several years ago. Simpson, who went on to earn a graduate degree in psychology and practiced as a psychotherapist, sketches the young Berryman and their circle of friends—Robert Lowell, Jean Stafford, Delmore Schwartz—with candor and sympathy. And if the narrative path her poets tread is a well worn one—the brilliance of early success shadowed by hints of tragedy to come—Simpson's perspective—that of the art wife who found she could no longer feed her art monster—remains fresh and freshly relevant." —Miranda Popkey, author of the upcoming novel Topics of Conversation