Editor’s Note

One recent Christmas, I gave my sister a beautiful scarf. It was silk, printed in an abstract pattern of jewel-like colors. She raved about it, wearing it during the family gift-opening brunch, parading it like a debutante. Cut to April. I visit my mom, and she’s wearing the scarf. “Oh yes, your sister gave it to me—isn’t it lovely?” she responds when I ask, tight-lipped and trying to hide my outrage, where it came from.

I refuse to think about how much time and how many dollars I’ve spent on gifts that don’t get used. Clothing is hit and miss, tech is costly, jewelry is personal, and gift cards are expressly impersonal. So, I have decided to become the “book gifter.” You know, the one whose presents the kids receive with a slight eye roll and an unenthusiastic “Thanks.”

A book chosen wisely can be the ultimate gift. A literary thriller for Dad, who is eighty years old but still thinks of himself as a tough guy. A book of English gardens for Mom, who volunteers at the local rose garden and always has dirt under her fingernails. A war epic for my brother-in-law, who works for a military manufacturer and is intrigued by history; a CoHo for my older sister, who works twelve-hour days and has two children, so she loves a trashy escape. For my ten-year-old (going on sixteen) niece, I’ll choose a book that changed my life when I was starting to feel more grown-up.

Sure, there might be mixed reactions to a flat, rectangular package, but if the book is the right book (if I do not choose the right book, I may have to reassess my career path) the recipient will, at some point, pick it up and start reading. The book will do the rest.

In this issue, find stories about reading with your body, books in emojis, Hobbits, Hell, dark (and dirty) romance, BookTok and robots—plus loads more. And I’m just saying, if you can’t find a book that works as a gift, a magazine subscription cough is always a good idea.