The Bookworm’s Holiday Book Giving Guide: General Non-Fiction (2 of 3)

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

General Non-Fiction

Someone on your gift list will love reading “Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic” by Tabitha Stanmore (Bloomsbury, $29.99). Not only is this a history of magic and the magical arts, but it’s a bit of a mini-biography about people who practice the arts.

If you know your giftee well and this year is going to mean big changes, then carefully give “Divorce Matters” by Kathy Criscuolo Boufford (Square One Publishers, $18.95). Wrap it up with “I Do (I Think) by Allison Raskin (Hanover Square Press, $28.99), a book about marriage in the modern world. Together, they’re perfect for the person you know needs them, now or in the near future.

On the other hand, “Somehow: Thoughts on Love” by Anne Lamott (Riverhead Books, $22.00) is a book filled with hope and words on love. why it irritates us, and why we need it. Wrap it up for the romantic in your life. Wrap it up with “Vows: The Modern Genius of an Ancient Rite” by Cheryl Mendelson (Simon & Schuster, $28.99), a surprising look at the things we say at a wedding, and why we say them.

Is there a lover of Shakespeare on your gift list? Then you absolutely can’t go wrong when you wrap up “Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent” by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea (St. martin’s Press, $32). Here, Dame Judi writes about the Bard and the various roles she’s played through the decades, audiences, critics, and more. Your giftee will want it “to be” under the tree, along with “The World in Books: 52 Works of Great Short Nonfiction” by Kenneth C. Davis (Scribner, $29.99), a whole book full of suggestions to carry your giftee into the new year.

The runner in your life will be delighted when “In the Spell of the Barkley” by Michiel Panhuysen (Bloomsbury, $24.00) is unwrapped. This story of the ultimate ultramarathon challenge is a read as wild as the race itself. Wrap it up with another book about a big sport: “Everest, Inc.: The Renegabes and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World” by Will Cockrell (Gallery Books, $29.99). Wrap it up with a warm pair of gloves and a long scarf.

Is there a reader on your gift list who loves history but who’s tired of the same old thing? Then wrap up “Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York” by Tyler Anbinder (Little, Brown, $32.50). Why did more than a million of Ireland’s citizens come to America in the mid-1800s? What did they find here, and how did Americans think of the sudden influx of new immigrants? Historians will devour this book; anyone concerned about immigration will, too.

No doubt, the history lover on your list will want “The Handy World War II Answer Book” by Richard Estep (Visible Ink Press, $29.99). In an easy-to-read, easy-to-browse format, your giftee will get a nice extra peek inside and around the world at the Second World War.

The science-minded person on your gift list will want “Turning to Stone” by Marcia Bjornerud (Flatiron Books, $28.99), a book about rocks but also about geology and the wonders of our planet. Wrap it up with “Subpar Planet” by Amber Share (Penguin Random House, $30.00), a hilarious book of reviews and ratings of planetary wonders from real people who probably didn’t quite get the whole “nature” thing.

Your proud HBCU grad will love reading “A Forgotten Migration” by Crystal R. Sanders (UNC Press, $27.95), a book about racism, segregation, Black colleges & universities, and what American society owes them for decades of education.

Is there an activist for justice on your gift list? Then they’ll be happy to open “Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul” by Aran Shetterly (Amistad, $28.99), It’s a story of the Klan, white supremacy, racial conflict, and how it fits in with what’s going on in America today. Pair it with “Sidney Poitier: The Great Speeches of an Icon Who Moved Us Forward” complied by Joanna Poitier, edited by John Malahy (Running Press, $29). Bonus: This inspiring book is packed with photos.

If there’s a person on your list who’s concerned with ecologically-minded things, check out “The 15-Minute City” by Carlos Moreno (Wiley, $28). It’s a book about a radical way of planning a new city so it’s walkable, not congested, and greener. Pair it with “Atlas of a Threatened Planet” by Esther Gonstalla (Island Press, $35), a book of infographics that make being greener easier to understand.

Everybody – including your giftee – loves a good treasure hunt, and you don’t have to hunt far for “Lost Loot: Cursed Treasures and Blood Money” by Jim Willis (Visible Ink Press, $22.95). It’s a sometimes-swashbuckling, sometimes just plain fun look at booty, true crime, and possibilities of riches. Wrap it up with “The Heirloomist: 100 Treasures and the Stories They Tell” by Shana Novak (Chronicle Books, $27.99), an absorbing book about random objects, collectors, and the hold that things hold on us.

Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez