Holiday Gift Picks from Chevalier’s Books

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‘Tis the season!! Booksellers at Chevalier’s love recommending books, especially last minute. Here are some great gift picks for those on your list…plus helpful insights on what makes these books uniquely “gift-able”…

Board Books for Babies.

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Coloring Books for Adults:
– Bun B’s Rap Coloring book
– Game of Thrones Coloring book
– “All Men Must Draw”
– Harry Potter Coloring book
– Mandala Coloring book…and more!

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Pop-up Books for Everyone!!!

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For All Larchmontians:
– Larchmont by Patricia Lombard
“The PERFECT gift for everyone in the neighborhood, and our bestselling book of the season! A stunning history in photos of Larchmont Boulevard.”

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For the Fiction-Loving Literati:
– A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
“Brutal, harrowing, tender – Liz’s favorite book of the year.”

– Bluets by Maggie Nelson
“A sure-fire recipe for wet cheeks. Maggie Nelson, struggling with romantic failure and artistic roadblock, finds herself falling head over heels in love with the color blue – a Tommy favorite.”

– City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg
“NYC in the wild punk rock ‘70s, Dickensian, oodles of characters and 900+ pages!”

– Beatlebone by Kevin Barry
“A wild and crazy re-imagining of John Lennon on a pilgrimage to his island off the coast of Ireland; hilarious, rich in wordplay, highly unusual.”

– My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard, Volumes 1-4
“Brilliant, odd, tragic, funny; a global bestseller, and this present should last for a long, long time or at least until Volume 5 comes out in April.”

– The White Swan by Michael Cunningham
“Brilliant twisted re-tellings of classic fairy tales that will send goosebumps down your arms – beloved by Riley.”

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For Those Who Won’t Touch a Novel:
– Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
“Coates’ letter to his teenage son, a meditation on what it means to be black in America today. ‘…as profound as it is revelatory. This is required reading’ – Toni Morrison.”

– M Train by Patti Smith
“An exploration of Patti’s life, ruminations on the places that have inspired her; for everyone who loved Patti’s Just Kids.”

– Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World’s Superpowers by Simon Winchester
“A provocative biography of the Pacific Ocean and its role in the modern world by a great storyteller; a paean to the magnificent ocean that is transforming our lives.”

– The White Road: Journey Into an Obsession by Edmund de Waal, bestselling author of Hare With Amber Eyes
“A passionate, poetic and elegant memoir of the renowned ceramicist’s obsession with porcelain, absolutely mesmerizing and astounding.”

– Killing a King: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel by Dan Ephron
“A riveting story about the murder that changed a nation – the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin; tense, gripping, insightful, and one of Bert’s favorite books of the year!”

– The Edge of the World: A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe by Michael Pye
“Illuminating, challenges all our ideas about the Dark Ages and pre-Renaissance accomplishments, scholarly yet engaging – historian Darryl’s pick of the year.”

 – On the Move: A Life by Oliver Sacks
“A moving memoir by the great neurologist and author, about his intellectual, physical and romantic passions.”

– Sidewalking: Coming to Terms With Los Angeles by David Ulin
“As the rare walker in Los Angeles, Ulin’s meditations and observations on his adopted city from a sidewalk view; thoughtful and profound.”

– Woodie Guthrie L.A. 1937 to 1941 edited by Darryl Holter and Bill Deverell
“A gorgeous book of 12 essays, richly illustrated by photographs of the era, showing how Guthrie’s residence in Los Angeles during the Great Depression forever changed his music, his politics and his legacy.” 

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For the Online Dater:
– Modern Love by Aziz Ansari
“A laugh out loud funny book written by Ansari with sociologists that will teach you how to make a profile that, statistically, will guarantee right swipes. A plus is that Riley loved it.”

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For the Nerds You Love:
– The Martian by Andy Weir
“How to survive on Mars alone for 2 years. With crazy specific scientific solutions for bizarre Martian problems, a thriller from start to finish, a Riley pick.”

– The Fly Trap by Fredrik Sjöberg
“A delightful and very unusual memoir by a Swedish entomologist whose obsession is hoverflies – a Liz pick.”

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For the Foodies:
– Nopi by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully
“For the serious cook, the latest from the inimitable Ottolenghi and his collaborator Scully with a fascinating back story, a spectacular new cookbook.”

– The Food Lab: Better Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt
“An instant classic, indispensable; scientific and nerdy yet practical for the home cook, rave reviews from everyone.”

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For the Artful Types:
– Jacob Lawrence: The Migration Series, Elizabeth Alexander, Author, and Leah Dickerman, Editor
“Just glance through the reproductions of Lawrence’s 60 paintings about the Great Migration, the mass movement of black Americans from the rural South to the urban North, and you can’t resist this gorgeous and important book. Plus response poems by 10 poets with an introduction by Elizabeth Alexander.”

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For Those Who Love Graphic Literature:
– Ant Colony by Michael DeForge
“This beautiful and strange graphic novel fancifully explores the lives of insects struggling with existential crises in a real swingin’ ant colony, a must for fans of Tommy’s picks.”

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For the Kids, No Matter What Age:
– Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Author, and Brigette Barrager, Illustrator
“This book about believing made Erica ‘all teary,’ but then most books make her teary.”

– Once There Was a Boy (Boxed Set) by Oliver Jeffers
“Sweet stories and fantastic illustrations -Erica’s pick.”

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For Those Seeking Inspiration:
– The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer
“Step outside the box and into a bigger world -Erica’s pick.”

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For Anyone Who Loves the Truly Bizarre:
– The Ghost of Karl Marx, narrated by Ronan de Calan, illustrated by Donatien Mary, translated by Anna Street
“Liz’s pick and possibly the strangest book in the store, a book about Karl Marx and class struggle, ostensibly for kids, beautiful graphic design, check it out!”

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For Hoarders and Others with Holiday Messes:
– The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo
“An excellent gift certain to offend someone, or better yet, a gift for yourself!”

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For the Alcohol Lovers (and do buy some booze to accompany these books):
– Death & Co.: Modern Classic Cocktails by David Kaplan, Nick Fauchald and Alex Day
“An elegant book with elegant cocktail recipes – one of the most stunning covers ever.”

– On Booze by F. Scott Fitzgerald
“And who knows better, except perhaps Kingsley Amis in his Everyday Drinking – wry and hilarious as only Amis can be.”

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For the Dog Lovers:
– Beloved Dog by Maira Kalman
“A witty and gorgeous paean to the dog by the inimitable author and illustrator Maira Kalman.”

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And For the Music Lovers:
– Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello
“Beautiful, witty, and of course idiosyncratic.”

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Don’t Forget the Poets!
– Digest by Gregory Pardlo
“Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.”

– Voyage of the Sable Venus and Other Poems by Robin Coste Lewis
“Winner of the National Book Award for Poetry, recommended by Camille; one of the best covers of the year.”

– Trout’s Lie by Percival Everett
“Highly recommended by Liz.”

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