7 Outstanding Books to Gift This Holiday Season
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Happy holidays, baddies! As we wind down for the year, many of us look forward to some much-needed downtime. We here at SB hope to use our break to reduce our screen time and instead indulge in a good book (preferably with a warm drink). If this sounds like you or your loved one, you’re in the right place. If you have a bookstore near you, books are also great last-minute gifts—and many will gift wrap them for you, too! If not, you can order any of these from our pals at Bookshop!
Fiction
1. Metamorphosis: Climate Fiction for a Better Future - curated by Grist
Theme: Climate-optimism | BIPOC author(s) | Queer author(s)
For fiction lovers (and sustainable baddies), there’s no better collection to dig into this holiday season than Grist’s collection of climate-positive short stories, Metamorphosis. Featuring authors from all walks of life, this curation of stories imagines a harmonious future world where we operate in tandem with the environment and each other.
Spirituality
2. Tarot for Change by Jessica Dore
Theme: manifestation, self-understanding | woman author
In Tarot for Change, Jessica Dore brings Tarot and divination traditions together with concepts from psychotherapy and modern understandings of mental health to cultivate this new-age guide to Tarot. This book will open a new dimension to how you see yourself, especially if you (or your loved one) are interested in finding a spiritual path.
Environment
3. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Themes: abundance, environmental harmony, resource-sharing | Indigenous author(s)
We’re entering the age of Aquarius, so upheaval abounds. Now is the time to learn how to operate in community with each other. The SB team stans author Robin Wall Kimmerer, an Indigenous botanist known for her landmark work Braiding Sweetgrass. In this brand-new release, Kimmerer uses the story of the serviceberry to illustrate how we can re-conceive capital and resources in abundance instead of scarcity, and heal from our society’s wealth-hoarding mindset.
4. Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science
Themes/topics: decolonial studies, conservation science | Indigenous author
Author Jessica Hernandez grapples with modern capitalism’s reliance on pillaging Indigenous ecosystems, and presents a treatise on how Indigenous science can help combat the evils of ecoterrorism and climate displacement. This is one of the best guides to land stewardship you can find today.
Fashion
5. Second Chances by Macy Eleni
Themes/topics: thrifting, sustainable style | SB staff pick | woman author
Thrift queen Macy Eleni’s recent release, Second Chances, is one of our fav fashion books of the year. Eleni’s years of curating a sustainable closet make her a veritable guide to cultivating the wardrobe of your dreams. Wanna know more? Check out our cutie interview with Macy here.
Activism
6. Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne maree brown
Themes: pleasure, reclaiming the self from capitalism | QTBIPOC author + voices
adrienne maree brown is an activist, organizer, and coiner of the ideas of emergent strategy. Their guide to finding revolution through pleasure is groundbreaking, especially for those of us who’ve been discouraged from seeking and prioritizing our own joy. Pleasure Activism is a great restorative read to kick off the new year.
7. (Bonus!) Bookshop Gift Card
Running late? Don’t have a bookstore nearby? Still not sure what to get the reader in your life? There’s an easy solution to all of these problems: the Bookshop.org Gift Card! Choose your balance and deliver it straight to your loved one’s inbox on Christmas morning.