Books! Whether you’ve constantly got a book in progress (or two or three) or you read several books a night to your kids, books have a heavy presence in our lives. We can use them to learn, to imagine, and even to escape, and they always make great gifts. You can gift your favorite books to your loved ones, or perhaps your loved ones have asked for specific books. In any case, there is a book out there for everyone. Here are some of our favorites this year.
Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links. This means that the GeekDad/GeekMom contributor may make a small amount of commission if you click through and purchase the item at no extra cost to you. We may have also received the item for review from the manufacturer.
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Collector’s Edition, curated by Barbara Heller
Suggested By: Jenny Bristol
Mfg: Chronicle Books
Price: $60
Purchase: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Collector’s Edition
Description: If you, like me, can’t get enough Jane Austen, this newest, fanciest edition of Pride and Prejudice is a great gift idea, for yourself or for your favorite Austen fan. Building on the quality and success of the 2020 version with all of its handwritten letters and bonus material (and check out the Persuasion version from 2022 too), this Collector’s Edition has five additional inclusions and new bonus content, along with higher quality materials, gorgeous endpapers, a more sturdy build, and an included slipcase for the two-volume set. If you want to feel immersed in the Regency era, this is a fun way to do it. Read my full review on GeekMom. JB
The Traitor of Sherwood Forest by Amy S. Kaufman
Suggested By: Sarah Pinault
Mfg: Viking Penguin
Price: $18
Purchase: The Traitor of Sherwood Forest
Description: As a fan of alternative reality fiction, I was delighted to come upon this first novel by renowned medievalist Amy S Kaufman, The Traitor of Sherwood Forest is her reworking of the myths of Robin Hood, form the perspective of one of his merry men – or merry girl as it were. The story follows Jane Crow as she works for the Lord of the Greenwood, being drawn further into his world with every work and whisper. She must ultimately carve a path for herself as player or prize. The story feels rich and vibrant like only a medieval scholar could create, but with a passionate tale that keeps pushing you through the story. Great for fans of British mythology. SP
The Binti Trilogy
Suggested By: Mariana Ruiz
Mfg: The Folio Society
Price: $100
Purchase: The Binti Trilogy
Description: Neddi Okorafor is the best science fiction writer alive. She has a powerful voice, a mighty blend of African roots and outer space imagination, and Binti is one of her most respected works. The first novella of the trilogy won her both the Hugo and the Nebula. The Folio Society collects the three novels of this young Himba girl, an expert mathematician, who faces alien creatures that kill her entire crew on her way to Oomza University. Facing the Medusae is the bravest thing she has ever done, and her bond will forever alter the interspecies war between them and the human Khoush race. The luxury set has all-new illustrations by David Palumbo, a box case, and dark blue metallic endpapers. MR
The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand
Suggested By: Z.
Mfg: Edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene
Price: $20.91
Purchase: The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand
Description: An expansive collection with a little something for everyone, The End of the World As We Know It is a veritable love letter to Stephen King’s The Stand, chock-full of names you’ll recognize. In its weaker moments, contemporary authors try to ape King’s style, from his effortless wit and the turn of a phrase to his penchant for injecting magical realism into even the most mundane prose. At its best, though, it moves the spirit of The Stand through otherwise uncharted waters, taking Captain Trips to Puerto Rico, Pakistan, and even the multiverse of the Dark Tower. —Z.
Levenger Master Class Writing a Novel Circa Workbook
Suggested By: Dakster Sullivan
Mfg: Levenger
Price: $59.50
Purchase: Levenger Master Class Writing a Novel Circa Workbook
Description: Everyone talks about writing a novel, and the Circa workbook is basically the friendly shove that helps you go from talking the talk to walking the walk. The step-by-step exercises make figuring out genre, theme, characters, and plot feel fun instead of intimidating. It reads like having a gentle writing master right at your desk, guiding you from dreaming to accomplishing. DS
Return to Sender by Vera Brosgol
Suggested By: Jonathan H. Liu
Mfg: Roaring Book Press
Price: $18.99
Purchase: Return to Sender
Description: Oliver discovers a weird mail slot inside his new apartment, and is delighted to find that it can grant wishes, usually by way of a Rube Goldberg-like series of events. But if getting what he wants also means that somebody else suffers a little, is it still worth wishing? This is Vera Brosgol’s first middle grade novel (after many graphic novels and picture books), and it is absolutely delightful. JHL
Codex Regenesis
Suggested By: Jenny Bristol
Mfg: Chronicle Books
Price: $40
Purchase: Codex Regenesis
Description: If you like the book-as-puzzle genre with an occult theme, the new book Codex Regenesis will be a fun one this holiday season. Mystery, mystical elements, and story drive the content. This Codex is not just a simple book with pages—it’s a journey, an artifact, with built-in puzzles and devices that you solve and use as you navigate five different tales and solve the mysteries, then use those answers to solve the final mystery. There is a ribbon bookmark to keep your place. A tad on the creepy and gruesome side, the book is filled with carefully crafted art and even a custom typeface. With flaps to lift, letters to read, and clues to uncover, this book will keep you and/or your loved ones engaged for quite a while, and then be something fun to turn back to over time. This is one to savor. JB
The Viscount St. Albans by Natania Barron
Suggested By: Sarah Pinault
Mfg: Solaris Nova
Price: $16.99
Purchase: The Viscount St. Albans by Natania Barron
Description: It is a truth universally acknowledged that the imagination of Jane Austen has inspired many a continuance, spin off, and expansion of her universe. Former GeekMom writer Natania Barron has done just this with her Love in Netherford fantasy series, taking beloved settings and themes from Austen’s works and creating a wonderful fantasy adventure with just the right amount of romance, and a perfect amount of supernatural. Book 2, The Viscount St. Albans was released this year, and discovering the world of these gentle witches and regency vampires is a wonderful way to spend the last reading days of 2025. You can see a full review of the first book in the series on GeekMom here. SP
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
Suggested By: Z.
Mfg: Stephen Graham Jones
Price: $24.28
Purchase: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
Description: When academic Etsy Beaucarne is contacted about the discovery of a journal penned by an unknown great-great-grandfather, she thinks the manuscript might be just the shot in the arm that her flagging career needs. Instead, she uncovers a startling tale packed to the rafters with generational trauma, cold-blooded murder, and hot-blooded vampirism. Vicious and visceral, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is Stephen Graham Jones at his best. With all his influences on display—from slasher cinema to Louis L’Amour’s frontier tales to the Native American Renaissance—Jones winks at more conventional undead narratives (like that other novel about interviewing a bloodsucker) while simultaneously decolonizing vampire lore. —Z. [Review materials provided by Saga Press.]
Levenger Master Class Master Your Life Circa Workbook
Suggested By: Dakster Sullivan
Mfg: Levenger
Price: $39.50
Purchase: Levenger Master Class Master Your Life Circa Workbook
Description: This 90-day Circa planner is like giving your brain a roadmap instead of letting it chase every squirrel in its path. Dr. Kristen Race mixes neuroscience-backed goal setting with practical rituals. I really like using her monthly goal planning worksheets, daily pages, and a “Three for Me” self-care check to stay focused without feeling stuck in a routine. I also like that it’s only for 90 days, so I’m not committed to carrying a full year around in my bag. DS
Reissued! The Cave of Time and Other Choose Your Own Adventure Books
Suggested By: Jenny Bristol
Mfg: Choose Your Own Adventure
Price: $8.99
Purchase: The Cave of Time and Other Choose Your Own Adventure Books
Description: Whether you’re a nerd of a certain age, like me, and remember Choose Your Own Adventure books yourself, or a parent of a ‘tween who is looking for some agency in their fiction, it’s a great time to circle back to these choice-based books that many Gen-Xers know and love from our childhood. The Choose Your Own Adventure folks are reissuing The Cave of Time and quite a number of other early titles, and it’s time to revisit them. See how many different stories you can experience! Read my full review of The Cave of Time on GeekMom. JB
Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
Suggested By: Sarah Pinault
Mfg: Bramble
Price: $28.99
Purchase: Swordheart
Description: About a paragraph and a half is all it took for me to be fully invested in this story and in our protagonist Halla. Her world is quickly upended when she inherits her Uncle’s fortune and finds herself in a race for her freedom against an unhappy family, that would trap her in an unhappy marriage to control that fortune. She finds herself the wielder of a magical sword that unleashes a full bodied knight from a previous age and the two set of on a journey to claim Halla’s agency in a world that would deny it. Halla’s quest is strange, silly, and fully captivating. Swordheart is the first of a planned trilogy, with the sequel, Daggerbound, projected to be released in August 2026. I for one, cannot wait. SP
Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature
Suggested By: Z.
Mfg: Edited by Becky Siegel Spratford
Price: $18.00
Purchase: Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature
Description: Why I Love Horror asks the single enduring question posed to all fans of the genre, and the myriad answers provided by a veritable who’s who of contemporary horror visionaries attest to its undeniable importance. Full of familiar names like Tananarive Due (The Reformatory), Josh Mallerman (Bird Box), Hailey Piper (The Worm and His Kings), Grady Hendrix (My Best Friend’s Exorcism), and Stephen Graham Jones (My Heart Is a Chainsaw), Why I Love Horror explores the simple functionality of horror fiction, and it will likely help the gorehound on your holiday gift list better understand their own love affair with the macabre. –Z. [Review materials provided by Saga Press.]
The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson
Suggested By: Sarah Pinault
Mfg: Ace
Price: $29.00
Purchase: The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson
Description: A society in fear of a magic they were once in thrall of. A mysterious commander in charge of his enemy’s armies. A halfling who may hold the key to reconciling, or annihilating, the kingdom she thought she didn’t belong to. In the world of Anwyvn Julie Johnson has created a beautiful and haunting magical realm that is bursting at the seams to become something other than it’s population is trying to make it. The Wind Weaver is the first in a new series of hidden magic and romance, combing familiar elements with broad new storylines that will sweep you up within the first few pages. SP
The Geographer’s Map to Romance by India Holton
Suggested By: Sarah Pinault
Mfg: Berkley Publishing Group
Price: $19.00
Purchase: The Geographer’s Map to Romance by India Holton
Description: India Holton lives in New Zealand where she enjoys wandering around forests, and that is abundantly evident in her prose. Julia Quinn describes the book as a cozy romantasy with a “splash of Indiana Jones,” which is a perfect description of how I felt going along on this journey with Professors Elodie and Gabriel Tarrant. This book further fed my addiction to Fae academic stories with a hint of romance. In this tale the pair follows an eruption of magic in a small Welsh village. Just as in The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love, Holton takes pieces of our reality and blends them with magic to create an alternate reality that is just slightly off in another delightful historical parody romcom. SP
