The holiday season has arrived and we're here to help you track down the just-right gift for everyone on your list! Our Holiday Gift Guide is filled with handpicked books by our booksellers and is organized by price, so big or small--we've got you covered. Whether you’re searching for that perfect cookbook, an obscure art book, a can't-miss novel or something you never even knew you needed, you’ve come to the right place. Looking for kids books or young adult? Check out our Holiday Gift Guide Kids Edition for more picks. Still don't see what you're looking for? How about a Gift Card or a subscription to our Apple-a-Month Club--new paperback fiction (handwritten review included!) wrapped and mailed to your door every month!
From one of the most exciting contemporary French voices comes the most unsettling and insidious novel I've read this year (Maybe best to avoid this one if you already get creeped out by the fog.) Too spooky to be believed; too real to be merely the stuff of nightmares. -Noah
Playful, insightful, bold, and rhythmic--Silencer is an exciting read for anyone with an interest in poetry with a plot twist, themes of social justice, wit, and humor. -Aya
A wonderful novel for those in their early twenties, a life as we know it. -Maeve
Eve L. Ewing's poetry collection is striking and magical. There are poems about finding home--in place and in the body--and poems about reclaiming the past, reimagining the future, and nurturing one's younger self in order to survive in this world. The accompanying art in this collection is a striking as the poems themselves: they are beautiful disruptions. -Kar
For the nature lover or philosopher on your list. The story--cephalod-based!--of how nature became aware of itself. -Pete
San Francisco is home to more than 800,000 residents and hosts more than 17 million business and leisure travelers each year. But few visitors--or locals, for that matter--realize that there are more than 220 premier parks and 70 miles of hiking trails in the city itself.
From the author of The Architecture of Happiness, Alain de Botton thoroughly explores what about art we find important and divulges a new way of engaging with art. As he states, art acts as a medium that “can help guide, exhort and console its viewers, enabling them to become better versions of themselves.” Alongside beautiful prints, de Botton removes the intimidation of art connoisseurship and provides the accessibility to art we have always wanted. -Mia
This novel is nothing short of poetic. Rowe navigates the story of one family's intergenerational trauma, the complications of love and mercy, the impact of a nation's war, the passing of time, surfaced emotion, and the mysterious landscape of home with a craftsmanship that is elegant and heart-breaking. One of my favorite books of 2017 and one I will think about for a long time. -Kar
For the person on your list who needs a good laugh. Sharp, slightly odd comics for writers, readers, booklovers, and internet haters. -Pete
Basketball (And Other Things) is the perfect gift for the basketball head in your life. Short and beautiful sections, great illustrations and a host of takes on topics ranging from GOAT to a list of the "most disrespectful dunks." This book is great--funny and intelligent. -Nick
Beloved Dog is a heartwarming collection of quirky, brightly-colored illustrations of all kinds of dogs from artist Maira Kalman. Accompanied by bite-sized stories and silly poems, these portraits make a tender appreciation of man's best friend that's sure to charm a dog-lover in your life. -Casey
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Myles' best work yet-- a dog memoir that transcends the form, and then some. -Dana
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Jorge Carrion's Bookshops: A Reader’s History is a must-read for bibliophiles! Carrion traveled the world to visit the hole-in-the-walls, the oddballs, the hidden and the heavy hitters of bookstores (including Green Apple!) and the result is part travelogue, part philosophical inquiry, part love letter. Sink into your favorite comfy chair and follow him into the magical world of books. -Emily
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With the same gentle and reflective voice that made us fall in love with the world of trees, Peter Wohlleben brings us a compassionate glance into the minds of other animals, from the most minute insects to the furry faces we come home to every day. Although a lot of the evidence comes in the form of anecdotes (stories of cross-species friendships abound), by the end it is undeniable how deeply and complexly all animals feel, and that our interactions with them are more meaningful than we can begin to imagine. -Aya
This a book I recommend to everyone in my life: it is that far-reaching and that important. A compilation of writings found in poet Fernando Pessoa's possessions after his death, it's a book you can open to any page and find yourself. This new edition comes with a new translation and a new, evocative cover, which all comes together to make a handsome, illuminating book that would make any good gift. -Kar
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Stephen Greenblatt's long-awaited follow-up to The Swerve, The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve is an incredible investigation into a tale we think we all understand. However, Greenblatt offers new revelations that shed light on the origins of this story and contextualize it for anyone reading in 2017. - John
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Waiting for the Punch is a superb achievement that collects years and years of Marc Maron's interviews with the disparate likes of Louie C.K., Terry Gross, President Barack Obama, and Amy Schumer (just to name a few). Separated thematically, this book addresses subjects familiar to almost anyone: success, addiction, failure, sexuality, etc. -John
Caspar Henderson's follow up to The Book of Barely Imagined Beings is a beautiful examination of wonder in modern life. Drawing on philosophy and natural history, art and religion, neuroscience and nanotechnology, A New Map of Wonders will make you see the world anew. -Emily
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Martin Puchner begins his book with the 1968 Apollo 8 mission and ends his study with Harry Potter. The texts he examines range from The Epic of Gilgamesh to The Communist Manifesto, and with each writing he presents a comprehensive understanding of how that that text shaped the way we think. As Margaret Atwood stated, “Well worth a read, to find out how come we read.” -Mia
Before Google Maps could chart the most efficient route to your local delicatessen, the Soviet Union was busy mapping the entire world. The Red Atlas (courtesy of the folks at the University of Chicago Press) is an aesthetic artifact and a wonder to behold for lovers of history and cartography. -John
More than just another cookbook, this is cooking school between two glorious covers. With clear and lovely illustrations, this is an excellent gift for anyone who wants to improve in the kitchen. -Pete
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Pamela Bannos delves into the life of the elusive photographer Vivian Maier with this fantastic biography that attempts to separate the myth from the reality. A compulsively readable account of one the twentieth century's greatest photographers. -Emily
Fred Lyon's photos of San Francisco in the '40's and '50's capture the city in a way no other photographer has. In black and white, light and shadow, sunshine and fog, his photos of street life show a city long gone, and yet one that is very familiar. -KPR
The closest you'll ever get to time travel. Well, or at least to feeling like a highly trained Medieval scholar. Mostly though this book will recapture your sense of wonder. -Emily
This book is a treasure trove of useful information and gorgeous watercolor illustrations. California is an adventurer's paradise, and Obi Kaufman has expertly captured the state's wild spirit. -Noah
William Blake and the Age of Aquarius is a stunningly illustrated look at how Blake's radical vision influenced artists of the Beat generation and 1960s counterculture. A beautiful gift for art and history buffs alike. -Emily
This is the most gorgeous book of photographs I have ever seen. Spencer renders all of the sublimity, majesty, and heartbreak of the American landscape as he travels - by car, of course - from West to East. From the awe of Monument Valley to the crumbling ruins of Indiana to the primeval islands of Georgia, This Land is truly spectacular. -Noah
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theres no cure for a brilliant mind -Frank