12 Books for Friends to Strengthen Bonds and Enrich Lives

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For dedicated readers, books are a form of love. Those bound pages on your shelf (or bits of digital data if that’s what you’re into) signify part of who you are, and when you gift books, it’s a sign of what you think of the recipient.

If you’re a book nerd like me, then you also know how hard it is to gift books. There’s a lot to consider when choosing a book for someone. Their personalities and interests can be a good start, but a lot of people don’t really follow their own defined molds. For example, I’ve got an overly serious friend who’s into romance-comedy, and a mild-mannered one who likes to read true crime. When choosing books for friends, you have to dig deep.

Books for Friends

You need to be careful in choosing books to gift your friends. The right book can bring a positive impact and enrich their lives, while the wrong book might be a burden or time-waster.

If you’re planning to buy your friend a book in the near future, this list of books might be a good start for you.

1. Different Seasons by Stephen King

For the friend who loves drama and suspense.

This is a collection of four of King’s more famous novellas: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body, and The Breathing Method. A blend of King’s writing prowess in drama, horror, and mystery, this book is notable for having almost all of its novellas turned into movies. If your friends have watched the films, then these are definitely for them.

2. Atlas Obscura by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras, and Ella Morton

For the friend who loves adventure.

Atlas Obscura guides you through the weird, the mysterious, the unexpected and overlooked, and the hidden places on Earth. Complete with charts, photographs, vivid descriptions, and maps, this book offers a comprehensive view of almost everything travel-worthy on earth. From the die-hard adventurer to the book-flipping daydreamer, this is the ultimate go-to book for anyone with wanderlust.

3. For Small Creatures Such as We by Sasha Sagan

For the friend who is in the process of self-discovery.

The meaning of life is probably the most sought out answer in human history. Sasha Sagan (yep, her father is that famous Sagan), looks to the reason why we treasure some occasions, from birth to deaths, holidays and weddings, and so on. Part memoir, part handbook, this book is a blending of scientific and religious thinking in an attempt to understand the beauty in our natural world and the lives we lead.

4. Modern Love by Daniel Jones

For the friend who is a romantic.

Taken from the New York Times’ widely popular “Modern Love” column, Jones showcases 42 of the most popular essays that have been featured in the column over the past 15 years. From the unconventional to more traditional love, the stories contained within will pull at everyone’s heartstrings. This is a book about the complexities of love, and is suitable for anyone who has loved, lost, or yearned for romance.

5. Stardust by Neil Gaiman

For the friend who loves fantasy, or wants to try the genre.

Stardust’s prose is a complicated beast that reads like a children’s story. This is a feel-good book for fantasy veterans, and an easy yet compelling read for our friends uninitiated to fantasy. Here we follow the adventures of young Tristan Thorn’s quest to fetch a star for a woman who has a cold heart. Never did he imagine that beyond the old stone wall of his village lies a world very different from his.

6. Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat

For the friend who loves to cook.

Learning should be fun, right? And Samin delivers with her slightly sciencey, slightly silly instruction book for mastering the four key principles she’s found to be any chef’s fallback in making their food taste good: salt, fat, acid, and heat. This is a love letter to cooking that’ll bring out passion in even the most amateur cooks.

7. The Future of the Mind by Michio Kaku

For the friend who loves science.

In this book, Kaku tackles actual research that may soon turn science fiction technology into reality. His discussions, while heavily scientific, are clear, engaging, and sometimes even include cinematic references for the not-so-sciencey people. Read about artificial intelligence, digitally storing memories, reading minds, and telekinesis in this book.

8. The Great Grisby by Mikita Brottman

For the friend who loves dogs.

Take a leisurely stroll through the history of humanity—er, doggity?—with this book composed of 26 alphabetically arranged human-canine relationships. Read about Bill Syke’s Bulls Eye from Oliver Twist, Alexander the Great’s Peritas, Piccaso’s Lump, and others. This is a book on the joys of dog ownership set in historical, literary, artistic, and philosophical backgrounds that bleed into Brottman’s celebration of her own pet, the eponymous Grisby.

9. Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace

For the friend who is creative.

Straight from the mind of one of Pixar Animation’s founders, this book is for all who strive for originality, as well as managers who want to guide employees to new heights. Part history book, part manual, Catmull extracts what it takes to be creative and to manage a creative company. If you want a behind-the-scenes narrative of Pixar and their most beloved movies, then this it.

10. The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama, Desmund Tutu, and Douglas Abrams

For the friend who is in search of happiness.

Judging by the authors, you’d expect this book to be deeply religious, but it transcends religion, race, politics, and ethnicity. This is a book that speaks to us as human beings. Distilled into this book are the ideologies, thoughts, and viewpoints of two of the most joyous people in the world, hoping to inspire us to embody humility, compassion, kindness, courage, and joy in order to be our better selves.

11. Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz

For the friend who has a sweet tooth.

Saffitz’s claim to fame was in the hit YouTube series Gourmet Makes, where she attempted to recreate some of our most beloved junk food from scratch. Here, though, are her own tried and tested baking recipes that even the most novice baker can make. Saffitz outlines common baking problems and solutions, step-by-step photography, and foundational know-how for baking. From sweet snacks to decadent cakes, it’s all here.

12. Isola by Brenden Fletcher, Karl Kerschl, and Msassyk

For the friend who loves graphic novels.

Largely inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s works, Isola is an ongoing fantasy series chronicling the adventures of Rook, Captain of the Queen’s Guard, who is on a quest to reverse the evil spell cast on her queen, which turned the queen into a tiger. All their hopes lie in one place: Isola, the mythical island of the dead.

Choosing the Right Book For Your Friend

Choosing the right book for your friends requires some thought. Here are a few things to keep in mind so you’ll have a better chance of findings books they’ll like.

1. Find a book that includes their interests.

It’s easy to think about what you like when finding a book for your friend. Take a mental step back and remind yourself who the book is for and ask yourself if they’ll enjoy the book you’re considering.

Check out books that involve their interests, preferences, and experiences. To get an idea, look through their bookshelves or ask close friends and relatives. A book about things they love will tell them that you value their friendship, and that you pay attention to the personal things they share with you.

2. Base it on what they’re currently experiencing.

Is your friend going through a difficult time? Give them a book that’ll be of help in getting them through it.

Matching the book you give to them with what they’re currently experiencing is a way of saying that you see what they’re going through and that you’re there to help and be a witness to their growth.

3. Check out their to-be-read/watch/listen list.

If your friend is a voracious reader, then this is going to be easy. Give them a book that they’ve already decided on reading but never got to yet.

Your friend’s not a reader? Go through their list of things to watch, listen to, or try. This will give you an idea of what kind of book to give them. If they’re a huge fan of a particular movie or series, check out if they were inspired by a book or find one that’s similar. Do remember not to give them something too heavy and complex. That’ll just scare them away from reading.

4. Ask them directly.

Sometimes the best thing to do is ask them directly. You don’t actually need to tell them you’re buying them a book; keep it casual and work it into your daily conversations. The key thing is to do it way before you actually give them the book. They’ll forget you asked, and it’ll seem like a great surprise!

Cultivating Relationships that Last

Relationships have always been an integral part of humanity, and friendship is one of the most common (and important) types of relationships there are. We spend significant effort cherishing and cultivating these kinds of relationships because they have a positive impact on us.

Gifting your friends books is a thoughtful task with a lot of effort. Finding the right books that go well with their personalities, interests, emotions, and current life situations is daunting. But when you do find the perfect book to gift them, it will definitely enrich your friendship.

Do you have any books you want to introduce to your friends? Share them on the comments below!

 

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