Gift ideas for the bibliophile in your life

Books are wonderful gifts because of their versatility. Especially now with the holidays, they allow you to travel to different places and times, all while staying comfortably snug at home.

Whether you're a library fan, local bookshop lover, or an online shopper, we've got a few holiday/winter suggestions for our Courier readers. Another option, thanks to The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop, is to buy a bookshop gift card, which supports local bookstores. Niwot's Inkberry Books has a large selection of books that's sure to appeal to most readers.

Now, in no particular order, are five holiday books sure to warm your heart–

1. Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop: Jenny Colgan takes readers to a sleepy English village called Lipton, but this holiday season is a little more exciting than usual. Rosie, the local sweetshop owner, is at the center of some holiday-chaos. Her Australian family comes to visit, there's a small tragedy that threatens the school Christmas pageant and like any holiday love story, there's an element of will-they-won't-they. What I loved about this book is that it isn't some Hallmark story, nor is it one with a life lesson. Instead, it's a heartwarming story about people and the holidays. I also loved how real the characters seemed. Between their dialogue and descriptions, it was immediately clear that Colgan took time to really develop her characters and their places within the story.
2. The Holiday Swap This holiday romcom by Maggie Knox is sure to give you Parent Trap vibes. It may not exactly be trading places to get your parents back together, but it's just as entertaining. With mere days until Christmas, Charlie Goodwin loses her sense of taste and smell, which is a bummer for anyone around the holidays, but especially for her since she's the judge on a holiday-cooking show. Somewhat similarly, Charlie's twin, who runs a bakery, is also having a hectic season and desperately needs a break. So they switch places, but it's not the simple solution they thought it would be. Knox is a talented and descriptive writer–in the first few pages, she instantly puts you in Charlie's headspace, which makes the read that much more enjoyable and evocative.
3. Llama Llama Holiday Drama: If you're not a holiday romance fan and you've got a little one at home, Anna Dewdney's book may be the one for you. It's a read-along style book for young readers, and it's super cute. Plus, Dewdney expertly captures the feeling of trying to shop and spend time with your child–trying to be subtle, trying to include them, even if they don't want to bake cookies, just eat them. The plot itself is simple, but the rhyming and illustration makes it an entertaining and short read.
4. Holiday in Death: JD Robb's noir murder mystery is a bit of a non-sequitur in this list since most holiday stories are more on the heartwarming side. This one is enthralling because it follows a killer Santa Claus and follows Lieutenant Eve Dallas, who's hot on the case. Right off the bat, Robb is a highly descriptive author and instantly overwhelms readers with details and a vivid scene. Honestly, this doesn't seem like a novel for the faint of heart, but if you're a murder-mystery/true crime lover who'd like a hint of the holidays, this may be the book for you. Plus, it's set in the future, so it's also got a dystopian vibe that will appeal to those fans as well.
5. Holiday Ever After: Jill Shalvis has a nice collection of holiday-themed short stories in this collection, and it's a nice mix of unique yet semi-stereotypical holiday stories. There's love, surprises, and anxiety over seeing the love interests–the usual, but Shalvis is a descriptive author who draws you into each story. The way she writes the characters make them seem so realistic and honest, it's like watching a holiday romance instead of just reading one. At the same time, since the sources of conflict are a little more relatable than many of the plotlines found in Hallmark films, it makes the stories that much more enjoyable.