It’s that time of year again, when we all rack our brains for the perfect gift ideas for our loved ones. Do you have a book lover in your life who might like one of my books for Christmas? Check out this guide to determine which series starter is the best fit!
My books are available as ebooks and audiobooks and in Kindle Unlimited, but there’s nothing like unwrapping a gorgeous paperback.
Your reader: likes to watch The 100 and ’90s disaster movies like Armageddon and Deep Impact. They’ve read The Martian, and they lived and breathed the YA Dystopian craze. Wake Me After the Apocalypse is the book for them!
Pair it with a friendly desk plant or splurge on wilderness survival lessons.
Bonus: The sequel, Meet Me at World’s End, will be out soon!
Your reader: likes to rewatch A Knight’s Tale and can quote all the best lines from The Princess Bride. They’ve read every book in their favorite Sarah J. Maas or Tamora Pierce series, and they’re looking for their next big series to binge. They need Duel of Fire.
Pair it with a fantasy-themed bookend or splurge on fencing lessons at your local club.
Bonus: This series doesn’t have any explicit content if you’re worried about recommending Sarah J. Maas to your younger teen or your mom ;).
Your reader: has always wanted Mystique’s powers and thinks if Arya Stark went to work for Margaery Tyrell, they would Get Stuff Done. They live for spies and characters in disguise. They like a good, complicated female friendship, and they believe princesses can be a lot more formidable than people think. Get them The Spy in the Silver Palace.
Pair it with temporary hair dye or splurge on an acting class to help prepare for future spy work.
Bonus: The covers for this completed trilogy make particularly beautiful paperbacks.
Your reader: loves dragons. They’ve read all of Steel and Fire and want to continue the adventure, or they want to jump headfirst into a vivid fantasy world. Some of their other favorites include Rachel E. Carter’s Black Mage series, Sarah K. L. Wilson’s Dragon School serial, Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes, and the Avatar: The Last Airbender TV show. Grab them a copy of The Watermight Thief!
Pair it with a dragonfly pendant or splurge on the complete Steel and Fire series in paperback.
Bonus: The audiobooks of this series are narrated by Caitlin Kelly, who also narrated Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince and its sequels.
Your reader: likes fast-paced YA adventures but wants to read about slightly older characters. They’ve watched all of Battlestar Galactica and chuckled through Waterworld. They loved Wool, and the idea of a floating city sparks joy in their little land-bound heart. Check out my first book, Seabound.
Pair it with a cool filtered water bottle or splurge on a cruise on your nearest body of water (be sure to spend the whole time imagining what it would be like to live on that ship after an apocalypse).
Bonus: You can read the complete series for free with Kindle Unlimited (which also happens to make a great gift for the book-lover in your life).
And finally, if your reader also wants to be a writer, you can’t go wrong with the following books. I didn’t write any of these, but they’ve all helped me in my writing journey.
On Writing by Stephen King (for inspiration)
Save the Cat by Blake Snyder (for outlining)
Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland
How to Write Dazzling Dialogue by James Scott Bell
You could pair these books with a cool notebook and fountain pen, but I believe in using cheap ballpoint pens and forgettable notebooks (often free swag my husband picks up at conferences). I don’t want to worry about only writing perfect things in pretty notebooks. Using cheap writing materials for brainstorming and outlining helps my creativity run wild!
This gift guide is designed to spark ideas for the reader in your life (or for yourself). With the exception of my own books, I don’t receive any money from these recommendations. I hope they will help you with your holiday shopping!
You can find all my books in all formats on my Amazon page, or get the Audible links for my audiobooks here.
Now, it’s your turn: what’s the best book-related gift you have ever received? I think mine is a fully illustrated special edition of The Princess Bride from my author group Secret Santa or my Kindle Voyage, which was a Valentine’s Day gift from my husband.
Jordan Rivet 