Authored by Nickie Fleming in Gifts
Published on 03-28-2009

The very best gift for a book lover is – of course – a book! Depending on the reader’s taste, you can buy a book from various genres. If you are not sure which book to buy, I can give you a few recommendations.

How-to-books: the right gift for everyone who loves to make things himself (or herself). There may be subjects like ‘How to improve your grammar’, ‘How to pass your exams’, ‘How to build a cabin”, … Need I continue?

Cooking books: recipes from all over the world, or just recipes for pasta, shrimp, … You will also find books here on diets used by famous people, or books written by famous chefs.

Fiction: in fiction we have various subgenres, like:

1. Thrillers/suspense: in this genre, my favorite authors are Jeffery Deaver (especially his books around paralyzed detective Lincoln Rhyme and his helper/fiancée Amalia Sachs); Val McDermid (who writes psychological thrillers with clinical psychologist Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan); Paul Doherty (especially his novels set in Ancient Egypt); John Connolly (dark and psychological thrillers but very well written); Harlan Coben (the Myron Bolitar series and the stand-alone titles which are even better – with a Harlan Coben, you won’t be able to tell who did it and why before you turn the last page!)
2. Detectives with humor: one of the best reads here is Janet Evanovich, with her Stephanie Plum books. Stephanie is a bounty hunter (before that she sold lingerie) who never finds her prey, but constantly wrecks her car and cannot choose between Joe Morelli and Ranger.
3. Adventure: here my all time favorite is Clive Cussler. His books about Dirk Pitt and NUMA are just great reads. Together with his friend Al Giordino, Dirk manages to save the world from many disasters, and at the same time you get to know a lot about the sea and underwater vessels.
4. Romance: it is the genre that appeals to many women (and some men). Again there are subgenres here, like historical, contemporary, time travel, futuristic. A couple of my favorite authors are Karen Hawkins (she’s written a couple of series, the latest one being about a family that has power over the elements); Sabrina Jeffries (amongst others: school for heiresses series); Kathryn Caskie, Teresa Medeiros, Barbara Taylor Bradford. But my all time favorite is the novel by Eloise McGraw, titled “Mara, Daughter of the Nile”. I don’t know how many times I’ve read this book, and it still captures my imagination.
5. Children’s books: again many great titles and lots of authors. To my definition, a good children’s book is one that an adult can read as well. The best example here are the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling. They are meant for children, but how many adults haven’t read them too?

A great idea when giving a book as a present, is that you try to make it a bit special. Find a first print, for instance, or a copy signed and personalized by the author.