Archives: Gift Guides

Combining diaries, archives and newly released intelligence reports, Larson weaves together an intimate and nuanced depiction of one of Britain’s most historical leaders during one of his most historical moments. This one has it all: scandal, courage and suspense. Get this for the family member who always has a World War II book in hand (we know you have one).

We’ve heard a lot this year how we’re living in ‘unprecedented times.’ The Great Influenza, however, unpacks history’s most lethal influenza and offers us some perspective, advice and warning. If history is our best teacher, then this book is lesson #1.

This was NPR’s Best Book of the Year, and we can see why. A Woman of No Importance follows Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who becomes the first Allied woman behind enemy lines during World War II. Espionage, heroism and a strong female character: this one has it all.

We all know the Kennedy’s as political royalty. James Patterson, the world’s bestselling author, goes behind the curtain of Camelot. The Kennedy Family untangles a family we seem to know both everything and nothing about.

David McCullough brings his signature energy to The Pioneers. This book covers the settling of the Northwest Territory (today’s Midwest.) Gift it to the historian in your life: they’ll love the ambition and courage at the heart of this incredibly American story.

If you’ve missed this bestseller, use this extra time at home to savor it! All the Light We Cannot See (a KCM favorite!) is the best kind of historical fiction. Heartbreaking, inspiring and beautifully crafted: you’ll be talking about this one for awhile. We still are.

David Michaelis’s latest biography offers an incredible portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt, America’s longest-serving First Lady. The bestselling author explores Roosevelt’s agency as a diplomat, activist and humanitarian. It’s a lengthy read — about 700 pages — but the perfect book for those who don’t know much about the greatest First Lady in history.

Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste is a must read. The bestselling author explores how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system. It’s been called ‘an instant American classic’ by The New York Times  and won the Goodreads Choice Awards Best History & Biography category.

Meet Clemantine Wamariya. She was just six years old when she and her fifteen-year-old sister fled the Rwandan massacre and spent the next six years migrating through seven African countries, searching for safety. In The Girl Who Smiled Beads, Clemantine looks beyond the label of “victim” and recognizes the power of the imagination to transcend even the most profound injuries and aftershocks.

This is more current events than history, but we just love how Native New Yorker, Nicole Freezer Rubens, takes us deep inside the pandemic bubble of New York City through the lockdown, the endless sirens, the protests and more. The Long Pause and the Short Breath is a stunning collection of poems and photography that will make you pause and take your breath away.

We loved this beautiful yet heartbreaking story about loss and grief by Jayson Greene. Once More We Saw Stars recounts the traumatic accident and death of Jayson’s daughter, and how he and his wife move forward and survive what seems unsurvivable. This one offers valuable perspective, as well as a reminder of how strong and resilient we can all be.

A modern day Lolita! Deep, complex, conflicting. This student-teacher relationship (the one we’ve heard and seen a million times) is not the straightforward narrative you expect.

Acclaimed essayist T Kira Madden’s debut memoir is what Chanel Miller calls “the book I wish I had growing up.” Writing her memories of being a queer, biracial teenager growing up in Boca Raton, Florida, Madden creates a work that is equal parts a eulogy and a love letter.

Staff writer, Amanda, loved The Nix because it delves into 1960s activism in Chicago — where she’s from. You don’t have to be from the Windy City, however, to love this novel. It combines modern media with 20th century nostalgia, and throws in Norwegian ghosts for good measure.

Let us be the hundredth person to recommend Normal People to you. A KCM favorite, most of us read this in one sitting. The novel follows Connell and Marianne through high school and college and in and out of love. The complex characters and delicate descriptions of everyday life will make you feel seen.

We promise you’ve never read anything like this. The Book of Longings is set in first century Galilee, where Ana is wife to Jesus, sister to Judas Iscariot. This work of historical fiction gives a feminist retelling to the stories at the heart of Catholicism, yet stays grounded in research and respect. Even after you finish, you’ll be thinking about it for days.

More than anything, we were reading to escape this year. Wow, No Thank You was the exact type of laugh-out-loud funny we needed.

Pachinko is a familial epic — tracing four generations of a Korean immigrant family as they create their lives in Japan. Complex characters, deep love and bitter sacrifice: check, check and check. KCM recommends this one to savor over the holidays.

If you aren’t familiar with Twitter character @DuchessGoldblat, she’s a self-described 81-year-old author of royal blood. This book is part memoir and part a joyful romp through the fields of imagination. It’s the perfect escape for 2020.

The New Yorker’s Jia Tolentino shares a collection of nine essays focused on the way self-delusion surges just beneath the surface of our lives.

Tom Brokaw has called Once a Warrior, “the book that America needs right now.” Author Jake Wood provides a gut-wrenching account of the true cost of our Forever Wars — and more importantly, a glimpse of what might become of America’s next greatest generation.

This is by far one of my favorite business books. Danny Meyer, the award-winning restauranteur of Union Square Cafe and founder of Shake Shack, shares the lessons he learned in building his restaurant empire. It’s the perfect book for business leaders and will deepen your understanding and appreciation of a job well done. I loved it so much that I sent a copy to all of our staff at KCM.

In his latest book, the Robin Hood Foundation’s CEO Wes Moore shares a kaleidoscopic account of five days in the life of a city on edge, told through eight characters on the front lines of the uprising that overtook Baltimore and riveted the world. I spoke with Wes Moore about his book and the incredible work he does at the Robin Hood Foundation here.

I loved reading Michael J. Fox’s fourth memoir, No Time Like the Future. The actor and activist offers a moving account of resilience, hope, fear and mortality, and how these things resonate in our lives. Reading this incredible memoir was like having a private conversation where Michael shares stories about his illness and health, aging and the strength of family and friends. It’s a great book, and I highly recommend it.

The Blue Sweater tells the story of Jacqueline Novogratz, who left her career in banking to spend her life on a quest to understand global poverty and find powerful new ways of tackling it. She talks about how traditional charity often fails, but how a new form of investing called ‘patient capital’ can help make people self-sufficient and can change millions of lives. It’s an inspiring story that I highly recommend.

If you know me, you know I love reading about business leaders. In Bob Iger’s A Ride of a Lifetime, he shares the lessons he learned while running Disney and leading its 220,000-plus employees. He explores the principles that are necessary for leadership, which include optimism, courage, decisiveness and fairness. A great book for anyone navigating their professional life.

This one is for any golf enthusiast. My friend Luke wrote this hilarious and poignant memoir about his fascination-turned-obsession with golf. One for the Memory Banks captures the give and take of competition and the beautiful friendships forged by a mutual love of the great game played on great courses.

You may not know his name, but you definitely know the brand he created. Meet Ben Weiss, the founder and former CEO of Bai Beverages. Ben started Bai out of his basement in Princeton, New Jersey and just seven years later, he sold the popular low calorie drink for a whopping $1.7 billion to Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. Basementality is a story about old-fashioned door-to-door hustle and a powerful mindset proving that the classic American entrepreneur is alive and living in Princeton, New Jersey.

Written by David Koepp, screenwriter for Jurassic Park, comes his debut thriller about a Pentagon bioterror operative who was sent to investigate a suspected biochemical attack. If you’re a fan of The Martian or Dark Matter, this book is for you.

Julie Yip-Williams’ The Unwinding of a Miracle is a beautiful memoir about life and death — and everything that comes after. As a young mother facing a terminal diagnosis, Julie Yip-Williams began to write her story. What began as the chronicle of an imminent and early death became something much more — a powerful exhortation to the living.

Thomas Friedman’s Thank You for Being Late is about the tectonic movements that are reshaping the world today. His thesis: to understand the twenty-first century, you need to understand that the planet’s largest forces — Moore’s law, the Market, and Mother Nature — are accelerating all at once. It’s a guide to both the present and the future, and it’s a book I highly recommend.

A Goodreads’ Book of the Year! This novel-in-verse will keep your young reader hooked. Camino and Yahaira are half-sisters who only find out about each other after their father dies in a plane crash.

The beloved Twilight saga has returned. The long awaited publication of Meyer’s beloved novel (retold from Edward’s perspective) was a highlight of 2020. Pick this up for your teenager reading the series for the first time, or grab it for yourself to relive an old favorite. Trust us, we already did!

This sequel takes readers on another imaginative, action-packed adventure through Ernest Cline’s virtual universe. This tech adventure story is perfect for the gamer in your family.

The inspiration behind the Netflix series all of your friends are talking about! The book follows the life of eight-year-old orphan and chess prodigy, Beth Harmon. This coming-of-age novel — full of chess and feminism — will be a family favorite.

This honest and layered story about identity and falling in love will catch young reader’s hearts. Felix, a Black, queer and transgender teenager, navigates falling in love and finding himself.

A 5-year-old murder still haunts the town of Fairview, but protagonist Pip thinks there’s more to the story. This crime thriller feels like Serial or Making a Murderer turned YA fiction. Your teen will love it.

Yadriel summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him. Cemetery Boys is heart-rending, romantic, vibrant, energetic, enlightening, the list goes on. This book balances captivating fantasy with important conversation about a trans boy finding acceptance in his traditional Latinx family.

Linus Baker is a case worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, and must decide whether magical children are likely to end the world. Enter Arthur Parnassus, master of the orphanage, who will defend the children at all cost. This enchanting love story about magic and family is a perfect long read for the holiday break.

In the kingdom of Silverkeep, seventeen-year-old Basil Avington is accustomed to his opulent life as a prince. That is, until the king’s unforeseen death. Now, he faces his twin brother, older by seven minutes, taking the throne. A selfish mission ensues. This magical adventure story will grip your young reader’s attention.

This is by far my favorite book light, and I have tried many. It’s rechargeable and even doubles as a bookmark!

What’s worse than cold feet? Try these super cozy UGG socks to keep your feet warm and toasty for when you curl up with a good book.

When I am reading, the snacks are just as important as the book. Treat someone with a book and some Baked By Melissa bite-sized cupcakes. Easy to eat while you read and so delicious!

I have been a fan of style journalist Elizabeth Holmes (@eholmes) royal insights on Instagram for a while. This book makes a great gift, because it’s got great pictures and it’s a mix of royals, style and history.

Hanukkah starts this week and a babka from NYC’s Breads Bakery makes a great addition to any table! Everything they make is amazing, but the chocolate babka is my favorite.

Everyone needs a tote bag to carry all their books! I love this Ruth Bader Ginsburg tote for it’s message — and also that it supports the New York Public Library.

You can never go wrong with a Bookshop gift card. Even better? A portion of every sale goes to support local independent bookstores.

In June, Brit Bennett gave us an inside scoop about her novel, and we haven’t stopped thinking about it since. It’s a stunning novel about twin sisters inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one Black and one white. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires and expectations.

You will fly through this novel. A young black babysitter is accused of a kidnaping, and her white employer steps in to ‘help.’ Such a Fun Age makes you consider race, privilege, and the shortcomings of good intentions.

From the award-winning author of Station Eleven, an exhilarating novel set at the glittering intersection of two seemingly disparate events — a massive Ponzi scheme collapse and the mysterious disappearance of a woman from a ship at sea.

In All Adults Here, Emma Straub’s unique alchemy of wisdom, humor, and insight come together in a deeply satisfying story about adult siblings, aging parents, high school boyfriends, middle school mean girls, the lifelong effects of birth order and all the other things that follow us into adulthood, whether we like them to or not.