The books and book-adjacent things I'd gift my friends
Not exactly a gift guide.
Gifting books is an exercise in intimacy, at least the way I do it. It's an expression of my understanding of my recipient's likes and dislikes, evidence of how closely I pay attention. When picking books for other people, I try to factor in the other media they already like and consume— the podcasts they listen to, the shows they're binging, the stuff that makes them laugh or cry. If they're already into books, I think about what they love and why. For example, Carrie, who I write about later, loves the novel Family Meal (and Bryan Washington more generally). It's about a man finding his way back to himself after loss by moving home and working in a bakery. The writing is spare and beautiful. I also know it made her cry, another thing Carrie loves (even if she won't admit it). It meditates on human existence and there’s an emotional journey, two things she gravitates toward. With all that in mind, I think through books that fit that criteria and go from there.
For people I don’t know as well, I gift timeless, important books like Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lorde or Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin—or books that excited me in one way or another like Seven Days in June (really cute stuff happening there) or The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois. All of the above are crowd-pleasers.
To flex my gifting muscle, I picked four of my book-loving friends and created book-themed gift bundles for them. These are simply theoretical because I paid for a wedding this year, tariffs are on the way, and (for now) words are free, but it was fun nonetheless. Onto the post!
For Alex
For my Virgo sister who is just as likely to read bell hooks as she is Hannah Grace and has impeccable style. All stuff I’ve read before because I would never give her something I heard was good.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones - Alex loves a good story and loves love, so I would gift her a love story that had me crying on the train in broad daylight and missing my stop. There’s something hypnotic about An American Marriage, which came out in 2018 and has haunted me since. It’s about a couple, Roy and Celestial, who are newlyweds when Roy is imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. It’s a book about the enduring nature of love and the way it changes, too, and as two literary lovergirls, I think she’ll be into it.
For a long flight, because she’s always on the move, and because she said Icebreaker by Hannah Grace was a 10/10 book—Black Silk, a collection of Black erotica that contains stories from writers like Jacqueline Woodson and Eric Jerome Dickey.
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, which I would recommend to anyone, but especially to her. It’s charming in an unexpected way and asks big questions about life and death, finding the answers in the mundane. She’s a poet too, so I think she’ll appreciate reading a novel by a kindred spirit.
She also appreciates a theory book—on our book date, she mentioned she made someone read bell hooks Race and Class, so I’d give her bell hooks lesser known book, Yearning, a collection of cultural criticism writings. In it, hooks makes the case for Black criticism (specifically of Black books), and as two Virgos who get together to chat about how most everything is bad or annoying, I think she’ll enjoy it.
Something to put it in
In lieu of wrapping the books I’d put everything in this Studio Nicholson tote, a very dark navy that looks almost black.
And a Spiderman Lego keychain so people know it’s hers.
Other bits and bobs
For padding around the house, these leather slippers from Leny’s. I have them in blue velvet, but Alex almost-exclusively wears black so here we are. The Leny slippers are almost sold out, but these Moroccan babouche-style slippers from Etsy are just $40 and nice-looking.
Highlighters for lines she wants to remember
And clear post-it notes for anything she wants to keep pristine
For Carrie
Carrie and I are always trading book recommendations and are in a friendly competition to see who can read more in a year. If I was leaning into my competitive spirit I would gift big books to slow her down. But I am better than that! Carrie has also been in a reading slump and on the hunt for plot-driven books that move quickly so I’d gift her some of those alongside things I know she’d love.
We very rarely buddy read, but I’d like for us to try The Coin by Yasmin Zaher, which is about a Palestinian woman and the story of her unraveling. She gets caught up in a Birkin bag reselling scheme and also teaches middle school? It sounds fun and I’ve been meaning to get to it.
The Rachel Incident was a surprisingly delightful book. It’s well-written with a lot of heart, doesn’t get too heavy but still packs a punch. Real get-out-of-a-reading-slump material.
Evenings and Weekends by Oisin Mckenna — when I told Carrie i hated Normal People (the show) she said she’d watched it twice, subsequently read the book and enjoyed both. The elements of Normal People I was compelled by, the weird intimacy, the friendships, are present in Evenings and Weekends but in a less frustrating way. I also like that the novel is polyphonic, bouncing between different perspectives to make a bigger point about how people interact.
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson because Carrie appreciates beautiful writing and Nelson writes beautiful prose. It was also just announced that it’ll be a miniseries on the BBC (with Nelson writing!) and it’ll be even more fun if we can watch together.
She’ll also do an essay collection if the mood strikes, so I’d gift her Dancing on My Own by Simon Wu. Wu’s writing is unreal—I recently read an essay of his about bags in The Paris Review and came away from it wondering if anyone had ever written anything interesting about bags before or since. I’d read 1000 essays of his and I’m almost certain Carrie would too.
Something to put it in
This red Baggu is nicely structured and functional for book carrying. Carrie travels a decent amount so i think she’d get good use out of it and there’s enough space for a couple books in case she’s feeling indecisive.
Other bits and bobs
Carrie is the queen of cool socks. I gifted her a pair from Comme Si a few years back and she seemed happy about it. I like these from Marni and these. I’m also interested in these matcha green socks from Organic Basics, which have good slouch factor and look comfy. These striped ones from Etsy shop Irish Tweed Store are also very cute.
A clip to put her hair up while she’s reading. The color combination feels Missoni-esque.
This cute figurine she can stick on her bookshelf.
This bookmark, even though she’ll probably never use it.
For Yaminah
Of all my bookish friends, Yaminah is the most open-minded. She reads widely. For her, I’m taking a cue from the shows she likes to watch, namely Sex Lives of College Girls, and podcasts she listens to like Maintenance Phase (she has the absolute best taste in podcasts). Recent books she’s read and liked include Colson Whitehead’s Crook Manifesto and True Biz by Sara Novic so I thought of books with strong characters and a clear sense of place.
The first book that came to mind was Lazarus Man by Richard Price. It’s about a community in the aftermath of a building collapse uptown but it’s also a snapshot of New York. I’m currently reading this and loving the writing. I think she’d enjoy it too.
I haven’t read this one yet, but Yaminah loves magazines and writing so I’d gift her The World She Edited which is about The New Yorker’s first fiction editor Katharine S. White. It’s one we can read together and discuss during our three-hour long Facetime sessions.
I just finished The God of the Woods and I think she’d like it! She mostly enjoyed Bright Young Women and this is also about complex women with an element of mystery.
Something to put it in
One of the OG cool book bag people (I bought my Tulipano because of her), I’d stay in that world and gift her a nice bag like this tote from Wandler, which fits exactly one book or this fun Proenza Schouler bucket bag. Yaminah also loves the library, so this tote could be a fun option too.
Other bits and bobs
I can’t remember if she has a book light. If not, I’d gift her my favorite one from Amazon. I’d been using the Hooga one for awhile, but after buying this one last year I’ve switched. It has a proper on/off switch (the Hooga is so sensitive and turns on in my bag all the time) three light settings—cool, warm, a balanced neutral—and adjustable light levels so you can control the brightness. It also tells you how much charge is left, a convenient feature.
As a fellow writer, I’d gift her a copy of The Elements of Style, a handy reference guide that also makes for a good procrastination tool. Whenever I don’t feel like focusing on writing it’s easy enough to read this instead and feel like I’m still being productive.
A candle to burn because it adds to the ambiance. For something clean smelling, the Maison Louis Marie in No. 04—for something spicy and herbal, my current favorite, Cece by Homecourt.
Yaminah mentioned a Kindle in her gift guide, so I’d gift her a Popsocket to make it a more comfortable reading experience. They’ve gotten cuter in recent years—I like this one, and this, and this, and this. There’s also lots of cute options on Etsy.
Yaminah introduced me to the concept of a reading cardigan (she has a fabulous striped duster) so I like the idea of adding to her collection. This one from Babaa looks extremely cozy.
For Siraad
Siraad is resistant to picking up anything published after 1990 (she maintains that most new books aren’t worth the read)—so I’d gift her backlist titles I love and newer novels that I believe are so spectacular they’d clear her bar of literary excellence.
Francisco by Alison Newman - I read this book last year and loved it. It was republished after slipping into anonymity in the 70s and follows this woman trying to figure out what she wants while in a relationship
The Days of Afrekete by Asali Solomon - I don’t hear people talk about this book enough. It’s sharp, observant, funny, and a quick read.
The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans is a perfect collection of short stories. I have zero notes. In the vein of short stories, I’d also gift her Lost In The City by Edward P. Jones, an iconic short story collection about people living in DC. On that same note, Training School for Negro Girls by Camille Acker, one of my favorite books of all time.
Siraad is also a cinephile—she hosts a film club with Reparations Club out in LA—so I’d gift her a copy of Rockers, a coffee table about the making of the movie with the same name. It’s also a snapshot of 70s Jamaica and an overall vibey reading experience. I love my copy.
Something to put it in
A Pleats Please bag for impromptu trips for the bookstore. It’s very flexible and can be easily folded into her Row crossbody bag. Alternatively, I like this big ITA Leisure tote for beach days.
Other bits and bobs
For curling up and reading—maybe post-surf (Siraad’s a surfer!), this oversized hoodie from Ebony Beach Club.
And then Black Crossword, a book of cultural crossword puzzles. I’ve also been trying to get people into Murdle, a murder mystery logic puzzle game.
An orb lamp for a theoretical reading nook.
Until next time.
Here reading this again because it’s the most thoughtful read on Substack.
tell me why I nearly burst into tears reading this? (maybe I really do love to cry)