Sunday Special: Gifting Books for the Holidays
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What are the best books to gift for the holidays?
This is Andrew Ross Sorkin, the founder of Dealbook. Every year, I interview some of the world's most influential leaders across politics, culture, and business at the Dealbook Summit, a live event in New York City. On this year's podcast, you'll hear my unfiltered conversations with Gavin Newsom, the CEO of Palantir and Anthropic, and Erica Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk. Listen to Dealbook Summit wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome, everyone, to the Sunday Special. I'm Gilbert Cruz. Thanksgiving has come, Thanksgiving has gone, and that can only mean one thing. The holiday season is fully upon us, and it's time to start thinking about gifts for your family and friends. I know, I get it, this can be a stressful activity, but do not despair. because I am here to tell you that books are the best gifts. You can literally find a book for every single person on your list, no matter what they're into, no matter if they even read books. So that is what we're going to talk about today. With me today are two of my colleagues who I often pester for gift ideas for people in my life. Both are editors at The Book Review, Jumana Khatib.
Welcome, Jumana. Hi, Gilbert. And Sadie Stein. Thank you for having me. Okay, before we dive in, you both read books for a living. Amazing job.
How do editors choose their favorite books of the year?
But what does reading for pleasure look like for both of you?
Okay. I know myself well enough that this is going to sound like parody, but I will read any book that doesn't have a plot. I will read any book about a narrator in some kind of lowercase d distress. Okay. I don't like true crime. I think left to my own devices, I tend to read mostly fiction. I salivate at translated fiction. I think that's very exciting. And I like a book that really surprises me. Oh, and also the dialogue can't be bad. That is something that will make me put down a book, is really bad spoken conversation.
All right, Sadie, you were on the Sunday special earlier this year when we talked about going back to school, things that we read when we were younger. However, I sit next to you and I know that particularly when it comes to nonfiction, although you're one of the most well-read people I know, the sort of the range that you possess is absolutely insane. What are the type of things that you go to, you know, when you don't have to read a ton for work?
Yeah, my tastes are pretty Catholic. I guess I do like eclectic books. I like anything about dolls and ghosts, of course. But that's really the same thing. That's just about absence and humanity, right?
What unique categories of books can be recommended for gifts?
So basically, anything to do with that. I like things about crafts. I like interiors. I like books with really good rooms described in them. I like fiction with good food. That's very important. I don't love apocalypses, but, you know, I'm learning to love them. I... don't tend to love novels about mothers and children.
Oh, do not say that to Jumana, by the way.
That's all I read.
She loves a book about a mom.
Especially a single one.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I don't know why.
Very fair. And... But yeah, as you know, looking at my desk, it's stuff I'm interested in. It's stuff I in real life will never do, like gardening.
What are the top translated books recommended for holiday gifts?
It's museum exhibits I won't get to. It's things that remind me of when I was five years old. It's random books my grandparents gave me. There's no rhyme or reason to my reading. I think I can break an algorithm.
Yeah.
All right. Well, I think that is a great transition into what we're here to talk about, which is some of the best books of the year. We, as a group, over the course of a year, read hundreds and hundreds of hundreds of books. And at the New York Times Book Review, somehow we distill that down to 100 books, which we call our 100 notable books. The two of you, in addition to many of our other editors, are involved in this process. You are reading a lot of these books. Before we get into... incredibly specific category recommendations, which we're going to do in the second part of this conversation. I would love for the two of you to reflect on the things that you loved from this year most, because we read so many.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the best books to gift for the holidays?
0:00–1:35
2
How do editors choose their favorite books of the year?
1:35–3:08
3
What unique categories of books can be recommended for gifts?
3:08–3:55
4
What are the top translated books recommended for holiday gifts?
3:55–5:19
5
Which novels are perfect for the foodie in your life?
5:19–6:50
6
What cozy mysteries should you consider for gift-giving?
6:50–8:27
7
How can books enhance the holiday gifting experience?
8:27–9:23
8
What are the most memorable book recommendations from the episode?
9:23–51:36
Speakers
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