15 fiction books that follow their own rules — and make great gifts for that someone special
From the author of What If She Liked Me? to the person who always knew the perfect gift for someone you love but never really thought to give, we’ve gathered our favorite fiction books that make us laugh, cry, and sometimes just think a little too hard.
“The first real gift I give to my daughters is The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” says Mary Pipher. “It is a novel with a great premise, but few true characters.”
“A. A. Milne’s poem ‘The Little Engine That Could’ is a great gift. I’d read it to my children and they loved it and would repeat it to their teachers,” writes Elizabeth Gilbert.
“I always give short stories with a few of my favorite characters as their own gifts to family and friends,” says Kate Thompson.
“I always give my husband copies of the books that made me laugh the most,” says Sarah O’Brien. “If I’m really lucky, it’s a ‘Top 10 Book-of-the-Book’ with more than one selection under each number, so we’re always reading the same book twice.”
“I recommend The Gift of the Magi by L. Frank Baum and The Book of Joy by C.S. Lewis,” writes Karen S. Thompson. “I like to give them to my kids, and my friends and family love them too.”
“I really like giving a book as a gift every year. It’s an investment and the book is always at the end of the year anyway, so it makes a good gift, but my favorite gift for anyone is the book I bought my husband as a gift,” says Mary Pipher.
“I prefer to give my kids books to read, either as a gift or at events like school play bingo,” she says.
“To celebrate the anniversary of my daughter’s birth, I buy her a book every year. She always asks for the same book, and that book is usually a favorite, like The Hobbit or Charlotte Gray,” says Sarah O’