Best Books to Gift a Book Lover

Shopping for a reader? Jim knows what book lovers actually want on their shelves. These are the gorgeous editions, beloved classics, and universally praised titles that make perfect gifts — no gift receipt needed.

Published March 27, 2026

1

The House in the Cerulean Sea

by TJ Klune

4/5

Linus Baker is a by-the-book caseworker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. When he's sent to a mysterious orphanage on a remote island to evaluate six dangerous magical children and their enigmatic caretaker Arthur, Linus must decide whether to follow the rules or follow his heart.

2

Piranesi

by Susanna Clarke

5/5

Piranesi's house is no ordinary building. Its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls lined with thousands of statues. Within it are an ocean, clouds, and tides. Piranesi lives there, cataloguing its wonders. But when messages begin to appear, he must unravel the mystery of who he is and how he came to be there.

3

The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern

4/5

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped tents awaits an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. Behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway between two young magicians trained since childhood to duel.

4

The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexandre Dumas

5/5

Edmond Dantes, a young sailor falsely imprisoned, escapes and discovers a vast treasure. Reinventing himself as the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, he orchestrates an elaborate and ruthless revenge against those who destroyed his life. The ultimate revenge tale and one of the greatest adventure novels ever written.

5

The Song of Achilles

by Madeline Miller

5/5

A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a profoundly moving retelling of Homer's Iliad. Exiled prince Patroclus befriends golden Achilles, and their bond deepens as they grow into young men and are called to fight in the Trojan War.

6

A Man Called Ove

by Fredrik Backman

4/5

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon — the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. But behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. When a boisterous young family moves in next door, Ove's well-ordered solitary world turns upside down.

7

The Midnight Library

by Matt Haig

4/5

Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, where she can live as many other lives as she wishes.

8

Project Hail Mary

by Andy Weir

5/5

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission — and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself are finished. Problem is, he doesn't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment.