It’s time for the holidays again! I am of the opinion that books make excellent and thoughtful holiday gifts. So I’ve decided to put together a bookish gift guide that can help you pick out some great titles for the readers in your life based on other books, movies, TV shows, etc. that they like. Of course, I’ll also recommend which of my books would be the best fit for each reader based on interest! 🙂
Here we go:
If they like Game of Thrones:
My book: Gift them a preorder of The Borgia Confessions!
Fiction: From Unseen Fire by Cass Morris; An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir; The White Queen by Philippa Gregory; Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King; The Cruel Prince by Holly Black; Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake; The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George.
Non-fiction: The Deadly Sisterhood: A Story of Women and Power in Renaissance Italy by Leonie Frieda, Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses by Sarah Gristwood, Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine by Barry S. Strauss; The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England by Dan Jones; The Tigress of Forlì: Renaissance Italy’s Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de Medici by Elizabeth Lev.
If they like visual art or movies like Shakespeare in Love or shows like The Tudors:
My book: The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence
Fiction: The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper; Portrait of a Conspiracy by Donna Russo Morin; The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant; The Lost Season of Love and Snow by Jennifer Laam; Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough; I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis; Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth; The Painter’s Apprentice by Laura Morelli.
Non-fiction: Bella Figura: How to Live, Love, and Eat the Italian Way by Kamin Mohammadi; The Ugly Renaissance: Sex, Greed, Violence, and Depravity in an Age of Beauty by Alexander Lee; Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson; Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation’s Treasures from the Nazis by Robert M. Edsel.
If they like music (especially classical music/opera) or The Phantom of the Opera:
My book: The Violinist of Venice
Fiction: The Mermaid’s Daughter by Ann Claycomb; Bel Canto by Ann Patchett; Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid; Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell; And After the Fire by Lauren Belfer; Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones; Prima Donna by Megan Chance.
Non-fiction: Vivaldi: Voice of the Baroque by H.C. Robbins Landon; The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824 by Harvey Sachs; The Inner Voice: The Making of a Singer by Renee Fleming; Piece by Piece by Tori Amos and Ann Powers; The Violin: A Social History of the World’s Most Versatile Instrument by David Schoenbaum.
If they like Halloween, spooky stories, Tim Burton movies, and Hocus Pocus:
My book: The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel
Fiction: The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox; The Witches of New York by Amy McKay; The Hunger by Alma Katsu; Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo; The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw; The Diviners by Libba Bray; The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry; The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe; The Family Plot by Cherie Priest; The Devil and Winnie Flynn by Micol Ostow and David Ostow.
Non-fiction: Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey; Spooked: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach; The Witches: Salem 1692 by Stacy Schiff; I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara.
I hope this gift guide gives you some ideas for your holiday shopping! If you do buy anything you found on this list, do let me know – I’d love to hear what you picked. Happy holidays to all!
Alyssa Palombo 