Books Authors Want (and Plan to Give) for the Holidays

Penguin asked its stable of writers what books they plan to give friends during the holidays, and what books they’d hope to receive. Here’s a quick sampling. And if you want to list your own gift ideas, feel free to add them to the comments below.

Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, is giving The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. And so, too, is Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma). It won the Pulitzer after all.

Michael Lewis (Liar’s Poker) not so secretly hopes to wind up with a copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s new book Outliers: The Story of Success. He’s not the only one, to be sure.

Friends of Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) will be getting The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman. And, in turn, they may be giving her biographies of great adventurers like Captain Cook and Ernest Shackleton. (Personally, I’d recommend Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage. Great read.)

Lastly, Nick Horby (High Fidelity) is offering up Mark Harris’ Pictures at a Revolution.

For more book ideas, visit the full list and also see our reader-created list: Life-Changing Books.

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