musing

Books Under the Tree: The BIG Holiday Gift List

Posted on November 30, 2015 Updated on February 15, 2016

Great news: We’ve made your gift list for you. Well — truth be told, this list is just a start. So come by and browse! Our booksellers would love to make custom recommendations for your friends, family, colleagues, significant others, neighbors, kids, teachers…

Not in Nashville? No worries. Just click any title below to read more about it or toss it into your online shopping cart. We offer fast shipping and FREE gift-wrap — and we always throw in a little something extra, like a shop dog postcard or Parnassus bookmark. Let’s get started:

Looking for nonfiction? Here you go:

For smart, driven, creative types who get energized reading about the same: M Train  By Patti Smith A signed copy of Patti Smith’s collection of musings is the perfect gift for the literary music lover or hardworking, lifelong artist. – Karen Hayes More memoirs by women at the top of their game: Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris My Journey by Donna Karan (foreword by Barbra Streisand) Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs by Sally Mann (signed copies available)

For your friend who hordes old vinyl and/or works in the music biz: Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll By Peter Guralnick This biography of the man who believed in “perfect imperfection” is as multi-layered as the music he recorded. – Rae Ann Parker The music-lover might also like: Don’t Suck, Don’t Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt by Kristin Hersh, (foreword by Amanda Petrusich) Dust & Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting by Eilon Paz Sound Man: A Life Recording Hits with the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, Eric Clapton, the Faces . . . by Glyn Johns You name the band, Glyn has recorded them. He remembers all the fun stories, too. – Bill Long-Innes

For the civic-minded history buff: Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush By Jon Meacham A thorough look at a man who spent most of his life in service to his country, this new biography by Pulitzer Prize winner and Nashville resident Jon Meacham illustrates that leadership goes beyond ideology. – Andy Brennan

For dad, especially if he grew up in the 60s; or for anyone with a hobby that has shaped their life : Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life By William Finnegan

For teachers, parents, or anyone in a position to discuss sensitive issues of race and culture with young people:  Between the World and Me A letter from a father to a teenage son about history and humanity, fear and the future, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

For your really smart kid who asks a lot of questions (or your less-smart adult friend, who does the same): Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words By Randall Munroe This beautiful book explains a lot of things in simple terms. – Ginger Nalley

For your friend who’s always writing things down on old receipts and Post-it notes and then wondering where they went: Handmade Leather Journals Crafted by Linen Laid & Felt (available in-store) Locally made leather journals are soft, gorgeous, luxurious. – Sissy Gardner

For your sister, who’s totally into the Nashville food scene: Nashville Eats: Hot Chicken, Buttermilk Biscuits, and 100 More Southern Recipes from Music City By Jennifer Justus This beautifully illustrated collection of recipes and anecdotes from (and about) local chefs and personalities makes a perfect gift. – Karen Hayes We have signed copies of that one, plus these… while they last! Southern Cooking for Company by Nicki Pendleton Wood Soul Food Love: Healthy Recipes Inspired by One Hundred Years of Cooking in a Black Family by Alice Randall, Caroline Randall Williams

For the master-level chef (or the person who thinks they are) in your house:  My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life By Ruth Reichl If you believe in the healing power of words and food, Reichl’s delicious new book is the perfect prescription. (Signed copies available while they last.) – Karen Hayes See also: The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt 100 Recipes: The Absolute Best Ways to Make the True Essentials by America’s Test Kitchen (signed copies available)

For the person who can do 20 push-ups, school Scalia, brunch with Gloria Steinem, and legalize gay marriage before most people even start their workday: Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg   By Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik A celebration of the Supreme Court’s biggest celebrity. – Lindsay Lynch

For anyone who’s a little stuck and needs inspiration: Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear By Elizabeth Gilbert Give this book to the most creative people in your life and the people you would most like to see become creative. It gives the reader permission to bloom, whether that’s writing a novel or painting a porch or making a cake.(Signed copies available.) – Ann Patchett   More to cheer you up and cheer you on: Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed I didn’t intend to buy this book, but once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down — it’s all the things you underlined in her other books, packed into a little volume you can open again and again and say, “Yes,  that.” (Signed copies available.) – Sissy Gardner

For the grownup’s stocking: The Little Miss/Mr. Parodies Contemporary characters such as Mr. Humblebrag by humorist Dan Zevin Mr. Selfie: A Parody Little Miss Basic: A Parody Little Miss Overshare: A Parody Grab a stack of these smart laughs, too: Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Disney Little Golden Book by Diane Muldrow Pocket Dolly Wisdom: Witty Quotes and Wise Words from Dolly Parton by Hardie Grant Books, Dolly Parton The Deleted E-Mails of Hillary Clinton: A Parody by John Moe Penguins with People Problems by Mary Laura Philpott  (Signed copies. Each comes with a free holiday card, while supplies last!)

For the go-getter who likes to talk work at the dinner table: The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath By Ben S. Bernanke Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family By Anne-Marie Slaughter

For the book-obsessed individual to whom a book about books doesn’t seem too bookish at all: Last Night’s Reading: Illustrated Encounters with Extraordinary Authors By Kate Gavino Bookstore-lovers will dig it. Check out these illustrations and quotes! – Kathy Schultenover   And furthermore: Plotted: A Literary Atlas by Andrew Degraff, Daniel Harmon By the Book: Writers on Literature and the Literary Life from the New York Times Book Review by Pamela Paul (Editor), Scott Turow (Foreword)

For the armchair traveler: Metropolis: Mapping the City By Jeremy Black From skyline profiles, bird’s-eye views, and panoramas, to the schematic maps of transport networks and road layouts, this enlightening and fascinating book illustrates the inner-workings of some of the oldest, youngest, and liveliest cities in the world. – Andy Brennan

For the gardener: What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses By Daniel Chamovitz How does a Venus Flytrap know when to snap shut? This fascinating paperback guide is the best at showing how plants experience the world. – Bill Long-Innes And a beautiful view of gardens as outdoor living rooms:   At Home in the Garden by Carolyne Roehm

For anyone overcome with nostalgia for days gone by: Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story By David Maraniss The auto industry, Motown, the UAW, and visionary leaders showing the way to a brighter tomorrow… In 1960s Detroit anything seemed possible; but Maraniss reveals that even in its heydey, there was evidence that the glory days wouldn’t last. – Andy Brennan See also: The 50s: The Story of a Decade by The New Yorker Magazine The 40s: The Story of a Decade by The New Yorker Magazine

For someone facing a challenge who could use an example of brave people doing hard things: Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania By Erik Larson You might also consider: The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy by William Doyle

For 20-somethings and 30-somethings (and 40-somethings…) still figuring life out: Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget By Sarah Hepola A funny, honest, and thoughtful account of coming to terms with alcoholism (including many tales of “cleaning up after an evil twin”) by a great writer and longtime Salon editor. – Mary Laura Philpott   Also fabulous: Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari, Eric Klinenberg Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: A Memoir by Carrie Brownstein Essential reading for creative types young and old, and for any girl who refuses to make a sandwich for anyone but her own damn self. – Lindsay Lynch

For the person who has read every John Le Carré book twice: John Le Carre: The Biography By Adam Sisman

For the teacher: It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going! By Chelsea Clinton While it would be a lot of information for kids to take on by themselves, this book would be inspiring for teachers at any grade level. Kids want to make the world a better place, and this is the book to show them how to do it. (Signed copies available.) – Ann Patchett

For all pilgrim souls and soccer moms yearning to breathe free: Deep Lane: Poems By Mark Doty Doty explores the strange beauty of grieving, its potential to transfigure suffering into hope, and the pain of emptiness when it doesn’t. In other words: this is a book with pretty words that made me feel things. – Margy Roark Also for poetry-lovers: Felicity: Poems by Mary Oliver

For the abstract art enthusiast: The Essential Cy Twombly By Nicola Del Roscio (Editor), Simon Schama, Kirk Varnedoe A feast for the eye and the mind. – Nathan Spoon

For the hostess, mother-in-law, or anyone else you’re nervous about giving to (tip: a beautiful coffee-table book is always a safe bet): John Baeder’s Road Well Taken By John Baeder This local painter is nationally recognized as a chronicler of the vanishing landscapes of  America.(Signed copies available.) – Karen Hayes Two By Melissa Ann Pinney A fantastic choice for anyone who loves literature and photography, this is a combination of both — photographs on the theme of “two,” plus accompanying short texts by great writers.(Signed copies available.) – Catherine Bock The Southern Rustic Cabin By Emily Followill, Frederick Lisa These photos will especially appeal to anyone who pores over interior design magazines (where Emily Followill is a regular photographer) — or your friends who run off to the mountains every chance they get. – Mary Laura Philpott

For that friend who’s always getting lost, sometimes on purpose:  Slow Roads Tennessee: A Photographic Journey Down Timeless Byways By Jerry Park Folks who love exploring backroads will be enthralled by Jerry Park’s collection of Holga photographs (made with a low-fi plastic film camera). Every county in Tennessee is represented! Signed copies available. – Karen Hayes Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads by Paul Theroux

For dog-lovers: Dogs as I See Them By Lucy Dawson (signed by foreword author Ann Patchett) This book is perfect for anyone who likes dogs, and really, why would you want to give a present to someone who doesn’t like dogs? It’s been out of print since the 1940s, and it’s a joy to have it back again. – Ann Patchett   The Dogist: Photographic Encounters with 1,000 Dogs By Elias Weiss Friedman The right gift for anyone with a soul. Who doesn’t love beautiful photography of adorable dogs? – Niki Coffman Beloved Dog By Maira Kalman Kalman wittily annotates and illustrates how these beloved animals enrich our lives in this illustrated volume that differs from the typical photos-of-cute-pups book. – Karen Hayes Plumdog By Emma Chichester Clark The cover is gorgeous (seriously, could I get this as wallpaper for my powder room?); the illustrations are equal parts hilarious and mesmerizing (look at the facial expressions on that pooch!); and the “journal” of Plum, the author’s dog, is just what you’d hope a dog would write if a dog could. – Mary Laura Philpott

And as always, we’re happy to choose the books for you. Simply sign your book-lover up for a pre-paid gift membership in one of our book-of-the-month clubs (ParnassusNext for young adult fiction; or the Signed First Editions Club for regular adult fiction/nonfiction), and they’ll receive a brand-new, hardcover, first edition book every month. The best new releases, selected by our expert booksellers, always autographed by the author. Easy!

Don’t miss part two of the BIG gift list, right here on MUSING: The super-spectacular, extra-huge list of books and gifts for young readers — including picture books, early readers, middle-grade novels, and YA!