From awesome art and fab fiction to dishy memoirs and delicious cookbooks, there’s a great read everyone on Santa’s list.
Art
Hannah Shaw and Andrew Marttila (Plume), $45
Marttila’s “Shop Cats of New York” showed off Gotham’s cutest cats. Now he and his wife Shaw — known as The Kitten Lady on social media — have turned their lens on kitties around the globe, from Turkey to South Africa.
Winnie Au (Union Square & Co), $25
Dogs of all shapes and sizes don highly unique, high-fashion cone collars in this gorgeous, charming book from NYC photographer Au.
A portion of proceeds benefit Animal Haven’s Recovery Road Fund.
Disco: Music, Movies, and Mania under the Mirror Ball
Frank DeCaro (Rizzoli), $55
Decaro traces the rise of disco from a New York City loft party to a global phenomenon with spellbinding photos and interviews with the likes of Grace Jones and Donna Summer.
Randal Ford (Rizzoli), $40
A blacknose sheep, dappled Texas longhorn, Arabian horses, longcrower rooster, and many more are captured in stunning repose by an award-winning animal portrait photographer.
The Arctic: A Darker Shade of White
Sebastian Copeland (Rizzoli), $85
Copeland nabbed Photographer of the Year honors at the International Photography Awards for this stunning look at rugged northern landscapes. The esteemed Jane Goodall provides the foreword.
Tiqui Atencio Demirdjian and Jean-François Jaussaud (Rizzoli), $95
Photographer Jaussaud and interviewer Demirdjian provide peeks into the striking residences of well-known creatives, from painter Julie Mehretu’s Harlem home in a former rectory to French conceptual artist Not Vital’s castle in the Swiss Alps.
Jason Coles (Rizzoli), $75
Sneakerheads will thrill at this behind-the-scenes look — including Peter Moore’s early concept sketches — at the creation of Nike’s Air Jordan I and several other iconic kicks.
The Tennis Court: A Journey to Discover the World’s Greatest Tennis Courts
Nick Pachelli (Artisan), $40
Two hundred courts — from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens, to the Faroe Islands — around the world are spotlighted in this winning book. It finds beauty in both the unique settings of the courts and the lines and dimensions they all share.
Fiction
Miranda July (Riverhead Books), $29
This sexy, compulsively readable tale of a mother’s midlife ennui is one of the year’s most talked — and texted — about books. A finalist for the National Book Award, it’s a must-read for any woman who could use a meticulously decorated hotel room of her own, just like the book’s protagonist.
Danzy Senna (Riverhead Books), $29
The author of “Caucasia” has written a darkly comic tale about a biracial creative couple struggling and striving to make it in Hollywood while house-sitting in the tony hills of Los Angeles. It explores serious themes while never failing to be entertaining and amusing.
Michael Crichton and James Patterson (Little, Brown and Company), $32
“Jurassic Park” creator Crichton was working on a new book when he passed away from cancer in 2008. His wife, Sherri Crichton, eventually enlisted another blockbuster author, Patterson, to help finish the manuscript, which centers around a volcanic eruption that’s about to destroy the big island of Hawaii — and a military secret that’s even more explosive.
Liz Moore (Riverhead Books), $30
A 1970s summer camp. A missing teen girl. A long dead boy. A wealthy family with secrets. This acclaimed bestseller from the author of “Long Bright River” is the definition of a page-turner.
Percival Everett (Doubleday), $28
This retelling of “Huck Finn” through the point of view of the enslaved Jim is one of 2024’s most critically acclaimed books — it just won the National Book Award — and is already in development as a feature film set to be produced by Steven Spielberg.
Lee Child and Andrew Child (Delacorte Press), $30
The latest Jack Reacher thriller finds the ex-military investigator waking up injured and handcuffed to a bed after a car accident. His unwitting captors have plans to make him talk.
Tana French (Viking), $32
The great Irish crime writer has penned a spellbinding revenge tale. A retired Chicago police officer moves to a quiet Irish village and finds love and contentment with a local woman. But then her daughter’s absentee father returns, disrupting the peace.
Tóibín’s “Brooklyn” was a bestseller and the basis for the Oscar-nominated 2015 Saoirse Ronan film of the same name. This sequel, set in 1976, continues to follow the life of Irish immigrant Eilis Lacey. She’s now married with two teenage children and living in Lindenhurst, and one day a man shows up at her door with some surprising news about her husband.
Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Random House)
Brodesser-Akner follows up her acclaimed “Fleishman is in Trouble” (and its great Hulu adaptation) with a novel set in one of Long Island’s wealthiest enclaves. A businessman is kidnapped, beaten, and held for ransom for a week in 1980. Decades later, he and his family struggle with the lasting effects.
by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s Press), $30
This sweeping story of a San Diego debutante-turned-Vietnam combat nurse has topped The New York Times bestseller list for no less than a dozen weeks this past year, with good reason. Hannah skillfully weaves historical details, melodrama, and romance, paying tribute to the war’s oft-overlooked female veterans while taking readers on a gripping, epic ride.
Nonfiction
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
Erik Larson (Crown), $35
A Larson book always makes a great gift for history buffs. His latest spent several weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list — of course — and portrays the five months between Lincoln’s election and the start of the Civil War with the author’s irresistible cinematic flair.
The Driving Machine: A Design History of the Car
Witold Rybczynski (W. W. Norton & Company), $29.99
Acclaimed design writer Rybczynski traces the evolution of automobile, from Carl Benz’s three-wheel motorcar in 1855 to modern EVs. On the journey, he stops to focus on various icons, such as Ford’s Model T, the VW bus, the Mini Cooper and even, gasp, a Chrysler minivan.
Bianca Bosker (Viking), $29
The bestselling author of “Cork Dork” claws her way into NYC’s snootiest galleries and opening parties in a quest to better understand art. Determined, intelligent, and unassuming. Bosker is the perfect guide to the city’s cliquish art world, and her journey is at once hilarious, insightful, and oddly touching.
Heartbreak is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music
Rob Sheffield (Dey Street Books), $27.99
For the Swiftie on your list: A longtime Rolling Stone columnist — and Swiftie himself — looks at the superstar’s rise and examines what has made her such an unprecedented cultural force.
Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers
Ian O’Connor (Mariner Books), $29.99
This dishy sports biography provides a seat at the 50-yard line to the life of the polarizing but fascinating Jets quarterback. O’Connor scores interviews with Rodgers’ close friends and family and covers everything from his Achilles injury and comeback to dating Olivia Munn, dropping Ayahuasca, and cutting off his parents.
Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), $29
The acclaimed novelist, who won the Pulitzer Prize for “Gilead,” gives a surprising, thought-provoking analysis of The Bible, focusing on it as a piece of literature.
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering
Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown and Company), $32
It’s been 24 years since the publication of Gladwell’s seminal bestseller “The Tipping Point.” He initially intended to simply update it but instead found a host of new phenomena to study — including corruption in Miami, a suicide cluster at an elite school, and the resurgence of Hush Puppies shoes.
Memoir
Be Ready When the Luck Happens
Ina Garten (Crown), $34
As if we needed another reason to love the Barefoot Contessa, she’s plated up a delightful memoir about her journey to Hampton’s happiness. But it wasn’t always so ideal. For the first time, Garten talks about her temporary separation from her beloved husband Jeffrey.
Alex Van Halen (Harper), $32
The rocker worked with New Yorker writer Ariel Levy to pen this memoir and tribute to his late brother and bandmate Edward. He recounts their childhood in the Netherlands and Southern California, their formal Indonesian-born mom, and Van Halen’s rise to fame.
Cher (Dey Street Books), $36
The year’s most anticipated autobiography just hit shelves. The icon dishes on her mothers’ eight marriages, her own “loveless marriage” to Sonny Bono that made her consider suicide, and much more.
Al Pacino (Penguin Press), $35
The 84-year-old actor recounts both his personal and professional highs and lows, from his mischievous boyhood in the South Bronx and starring in “The Godfather” trilogy and “Scarface,” to going broke at various points in recent decades despite raking in millions.
Cookbooks
Di An: The Salty, Sour, Sweet and Spicy Flavors of Vietnamese Cooking with TwayDaBae
Tue Nguyen (S&S/Simon Element), $35
Nguyen has attracted more than 684,000 followers on TikTok with her vibrant, doable takes on Thai dishes. With recipes for pho, shaking beef, and fish sauce wings, this book is sure to spice up the lives of both current fans of Nguyen’s cooking and those new to her food.
Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes
Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson (Clarkson Potter), $35
Kramer and Hymanson made waves with their bright Mediterranean fare at Greenpoint’s Glasserie, then headed to Los Angeles where they became food world It girls with their veggie-focused hot spot Kismet. Their new cookbook is full of wholesome, exciting-but-doable recipes — slow-baked salmon with oranges and Aleppo pepper, roast chicken with schmaltzy potatoes — to level up both weeknight meals and entertaining.
Life’s Sweetest Moments: Simple, Stunning Recipes and Their Heartwarming Stories
Dominique Ansel (Harvest), $35
With his latest cookbook, the Cronut creator offers up recipes inspired by some of his favorite customers — from a famous actor who wanted a profiterole recipe for a rare “cheat” day to the burnt-sugar ice cream that even a hardened Anthony Bourdain, who wasn’t a dessert person, couldn’t resist.
Martha: 100 Favorite Recipes, with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen
Martha Stewart (Clarkson Potter), $40
Know someone hungry for more Martha after the Netflix doc? The domestic diva serves up beloved recipes from her archives, including the blueberry muffins she’s loved since she was married to Andy to the green juice that’s part of her “quest for aging gracefully.”
Matty Matheson: Soups, Salads, Sandwiches
Matty Matheson (Ten Speed Press), $35
Matheson is always a bright spot on the “The Bear,” playing Neil Fak. Here, the star/executive producer and chef offers up bold twists on classics such as Cubano sandwiches and chicken soup.
Tom Colicchio (Artisan), $35
The James Beard Award-winning toque and “Top Chef” head judge shares memories of growing up in New Jersey and rising up through the ranks of New York’s restaurant world, along with simple seasonal recipes such as green shakshuka and spring chicken meatballs.
Children
Cece Bell (Walker Books US), $19.99
The alphabet is presented as a collection of beautifully designed fictional album covers — from Arnie Dillow’s “Accordion Americana” to the Barbershop Beagles “Blame it on the Baloney” — that’s sure to delight both preschoolers and music-loving parents.
Katherine Rundell, illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie (Knopf Books for Young Readers), $19.99
Suitable for anyone over 8 or 9, this charming and beautifully packaged fantasy novel has drawn comparisons to C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Two kids embark on an adventure, hopping amongst unmapped islands where magical creatures have lived for centuries but are suddenly dying. Dragons, sphinxes and kraken come into play.
Small Stories of Great Artists
Laurence Anholt (Taschen), $40
Suitable for both elementary school children and adult coffee tables, this lovely tome walks readers through the lives and works of noteworthy artists with both beautiful reproductions of their artwork and original watercolor illustrations by Anholt of the artists themselves.
