15 books for your best friend to make her holiday merry and bright
It’s official: We’re holiday gift guide crazy. We can’t help it, because we want to shower our loved ones with affection during the holiday season. And if you still need a gift for your BFF, we have so many suggestions. There are affordable beauty gifts under $15, cheap gifts from the most expensive designer brands, and spellbinding gifts for the witchy woman in your life. You can even shop gifts by zodiac sign. Or why not shop these books for your best friend?
Whether your bestie is a voracious reader or more of a coffee table book kind of person, there’s definitely something on this list that she’ll enjoy. Feminist fiction? Well-reported global nonfiction? Inspiring poetry? Music history? A novel that was published on one of our favorite TV shows? A book of life advice from an internet-famous dog? Yep, we covered all the bases.
Every time your BFF sees the title that you carefully selected for her, she’ll smile and think of you. Here are 15 books for your best friend to make her holiday merry and bright.
1How Lovely the Ruins by Spiegel & Grau
2017 was tough. But on days when we felt like hiding from the news, we found strength and inspiration in the words of others. We love How Lovely the Ruins: Inspirational Poems and Words for Difficult Times, and we think your BFF will too.
2Dear Evan Hansen: Through the Window by Steven Levenson
Just a hunch, but does your bestie have Dear Evan Hansen fever? We thought so. This book is filled with interviews, photos, and tons of details about how the Broadway show came to be.
3The Power by Naomi Alderman
You texted each other non-stop while watching Season 1 of The Handmaid’s Tale. And now, you can expect the same when you gift your best friend The Power, the feminist science fiction book that imagines a world where females — and females only — can inflict horrible pain on anyone who crosses them. Why yes, that IS an endorsement from Margaret Atwood on the cover.
4Eat Your Feelings by Lindsey Smith
Your foodie friend will love this guide that’s one part cookbook and one part textbook. Lindsey Smith, aka the Food Mood Girl, will teach you how to make delicious meals and snacks that help boost your mood — and explain why. Feeling overwhelmed? Whip up some sweet potato and black bean tacos for a boost of magnesium. Feeling tired? Easy energy bars contain much-needed iron. Feeling generous? Gift your best friend this book.
5The Last Girl by Nadia Murad
If your bestie loves a good memoir, look no further than The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State. It’s not an easy read, but it’s an important one.
6Bonfire by Krysten Ritter
Yes to suspenseful thrillers, yes to crazy plot twists, yes to Krysten Ritter. All. Damn. Day.
7Women’s Libation! by Merrily Grashin
Does your BFF love nothing more than discussing feminism at happy hour? (Same.) She’ll love Women’s Libation!: Cocktails to Celebrate a Woman’s Right to Booze. It’s a toast to craft cocktail recipes, feminist education, hand-drawn illustrations, and A+ puns. Hear, hear!
8Because I Was A Girl edited by Melissa de la Cruz
Speaking of feminist education, Because I Was A Girl: True Stories for Girls of All Ages is another must-read for your best friend. It’s a gorgeous book filled with stories spanning from the 1920s to today.
9Snow Falling by Jane Gloriana Villanueva
If your bestie is a Jane the Virgin fan, she needs Snow Falling. NEEDS. Yes, you can really own the book that Jane published on the show IRL. From the acknowledgments section (Jane thanks Lina, Mateo, and Rafael) to the reviews (Rogelio de la Vega called it “the best novel of the century”), Snow Falling stays true to the show in every way.
10Worn in New York by Emily Spivack
Your fashionista friend will devour Worn in New York: 68 Sartorial Memoirs of the City. It’s like Humans of New York, but for tees, jackets, and boots.
11A Moonless, Starless Sky by Alexis Okeowo
If your bestie likes educating herself about important — and underreported — global issues, we recommend A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa. Alexis Okeowo interviews citizens in Uganda, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Somalia about their strength in the face of extremist groups.
12The Dirty Book Club by Lisi Harrison
Does your BFF shamelessly love Fifty Shades of Grey? We think she’ll also shamelessly love this story about a secret erotic book club.
13David Bowie Made Me Gay by Darryl W. Bullock
Your best friend doesn’t have to be a huge music lover to appreciate David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music. It offers an in-depth history of how the LGBT community has shaped the music world.
14Norbert’s Little Lessons for a Big Life by Julie Steines and Virginia Freyermuth
Does your BFF constantly tag you in Instagram pictures of ridiculously cute dogs? We guarantee some of those were Norbert’s pics. And we also guarantee that you’ll make her life with this book.
15I Hate Everyone But You by Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin
If you text your best friend these exact words at least three times a day, you’re going to need to gift her this book about two BFFs away at college on opposite sides of the country.
