Doing Christmas right this time
Your annual holiday gift guide
2024 is finally coming to a close.
It’s been a hectic year, to say the least. I feel like I’ve been too busy to actually get anything done. For example, I moved into my house in August and still haven’t hung up any artwork. But what have I been doing that’s kept me so busy? Truly, I have no idea. I barely have time to read, let alone write any book reviews. I’ve been trying to get through this non-review for over a month.
I was looking forward to putting together a holiday gift guide this year, until I realized I’d only read a third of the amount of books I managed to get through last year, and then I found myself hoping I had enough recommendations to put together a decent enough list. But, all that being said, I do think I managed to scrape together something pretty good for you. So here’s everything I’ve read and loved that I think will make a great gift for anybody on your shopping list.
For the person who is constantly on the go: XOXO, Cody, First Lie Wins, Moorewood Family Rules
pair these titles with a skinny margarita, hold the salt
For the person who desperately wants to get the flu just so they can have a break: Tom Lake, The Cliff House, The Black Bird Oracle
pair these titles with a hot toddy
For the person still talking about the election: Evicted, Blessed Water, The Rabbit Hutch
pair these titles with a classing New Orleans Hurricane
For the horror movie enthusiast: I Was A Teenage Slasher, Home is Where The Bodies Are, The Villa
pair these titles with Something Sinister
For the sports fanatic: Fangirl Down, The Au Pair Affair, The Hunter
pair these titles with an Old Fashioned Amber
For the person who overthinks every decision: Funny Story, None of This is True, The Enigma of Room 622
pair these titles with a French 75
For the person who loves a good cry every once in a while: A Little Life, All The Colors of The Dark
pair these titles with your favorite bourbon or that fancy bottle of red wine that’s been sitting on your shelf for a while
For the person still praying for a femininomenon: Bright Young Women, The Women, The God of The Woods
pair these titles with a gin gimlet
For the person who needs a break from reality: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries, The City of Stardust, A Novel Love Story
pair these titles with a blackberry bourbon smash
For the person who just needs 2024 to end: Happy Place, The Midnight Feast, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
pair these titles with lots and lots of Champagne
That’s a wrap for 2024, y’all! Thanks for sticking with me through a very dry period of both reading and writing, and for continuing to support this little passion project of mine. Hopefully 2025 will bring more posts than this year has.
Quick reminder: if you use the links in this newsletter to purchase a book, Books & Booze will receive a commission. You can also find links to books I’ve previously reviewed in my new affiliate storefront on Bookshop.org. And if you don’t purchase through these links, please support your local independent bookstore and buy through them.
To find a brick-and-mortar store near you, IndieBound.org has a very helpful bookstore finder tool, or you can support some of the places I like to shop by popping in or checking out their websites. Main Point Books in Wayne, PA, is a favorite, as is Phoenix Books in Vermont, and my old stomping grounds in La Jolla, CA, Warwicks, is also a great option. And until next time,
Happy reading and happy holidays,
Sam