My Favorite Books to Give (and Get!)

I truly love to read and I love books, and in this digital age sometimes I forget to appreciate the beauty of a hardbound book. This last week I gifted my mother this beautiful book  (below) she seemed very pleased to receive it and it made me think what a nice gift a book makes. So today I wanted to share some of my favorite books to give as gifts.

I am trying to be more intentional about finding time to relax, and that includes making time to read, so some of these are on my wish list.  I make time to read on vacation or while at the pool in the summer more than I do at other times of year and honestly, I love it. Thankfully I am at that beautiful age where my kids are older and strong swimmers and I don’t need to watch them in the pool, young mamas you will get there, and yes, it is divine 🙂 )

(I apologize in advance for the small images, Amazon is picky about how we share their books,  each book image is linked for your convenience.)

BOOKS FOR THE COOK

I have mentioned before how much I love this cookbook {and I enjoy following Amy on Instastories, she is so much fun!}. This book would be a perfect housewarming or even a bridal shower gift. Her recipes are delicious and her message about hospitality and loving people with food is so welcome in this day and age.

 

 

I love to give cookbooks as gifts, especially for wedding showers. One of my favorites, especially for military wives or girls who will be moving away from their family and friends as newlyweds, is The Pioneer Woman Cooks {though Dinnertime is probably my favorite cookbook of hers}. I give Ree Drummond credit for moving to, even what she calls, the ‘middle of nowhere’ and creating a beautiful life for herself and her family. Her book has been around for awhile, but I still make so many recipes from it.

 

It’s probably not a surprise that I am sharing Joanna Gaines’ cookbook, because I am such a fangirl, though I haven’t actually ordered one for myself yet. I looked at a copy in Target yesterday (it’s cheaper on Amazon FYI) and it was even better than I expected. It is nice and thick and the recipes looked simple but still delicious. I have, however, already given this book to my sister-in-law as a gift, which says a lot about how much faith I have in Joanna!

 

BOOKS FOR YOUR GIRLFRIENDS (OR NEW MOTHERS)

 

We love the Madame Chic series! We’ve shared it before but it’s a fun look into the culture of French women, there is much we can learn from them. These small books make a great gift for a girlfriend.

 

If I can bring a book to a new mother, perhaps as a baby shower gift, I always do. I often buy a children’s book for the baby {This one is my favorite} but I have really loved reading the Savor devotional this spring, and so much of it is applicable to that early motherhood stage. Shauna has so much good advice about slowing down, enjoying life, and keeping a Godly perspective. It’s a great read, one I wish I’d had when I was trying to figure out my role as a new mother. It’s still applicable to my stage (parenting pre-teens and teens), so I’d gift this to any of my friends in a heartbeat.

 

BOOKS FOR THE ENTERTAINER

I gifted this book to my friend Terry (who used to blog with us and now runs a booming event planning business) for her birthday a few years ago, because a book called Soiree is the perfect gift for and event planner, right? It’s thick and gorgeous and filled with party ideas. It looks amazing on her coffee table too!

 

I don’t have Celebrate Everything below yet (but it’s in my cart!) and I have heard great things. Darcy Miller was the editor of Martha Stewart Weddings {those of you who got married before Pinterest and read those magazines like the bible are nodding!} and this is her book about entertaining so I figure it must be good. This would make a fun gift for a landmark birthday or maybe even retirement.

 

BOOKS FOR THE DECORATOR

There is no shortage of beautiful decorating books, and these are always my cup of tea. I think these two are classics because they look beautiful sitting on a coffee table. They have been in no shortage of styled photos on our blog for sure, you may recognize them?

I enjoyed Erin’s book Elements of Style not just for the beautiful decor in it but I enjoyed reading it as well, along with its chic black and white spine it’s pretty much a decorative accessory. Even if you don’t read it, you should own it to sit on your coffee table and look pretty. ????

 

This pink Kate Spade book is iconic as is the brand. It looks fabulous on a coffee table and even Amazon is sure to tell you that the red wine stage is intentional, how funny is that? Leave it to Kate! A pink book is a win for me, since it provides a fun pop of color in any display.

 

 

MY SUMMER READING LIST

My Amazon shopping cart is always full of books I hear are good. Some I order on my Kindle (or I use the app to read on my phone in a pinch), but I still like tangible books especially for reading in sunlight {like at the beach}. I read this book when we were in Florida for spring break and was excited to see that a second one in the series is now out. I have it on order for the anniversary trip my husband and I are taking next week, where I plan to do nothing but lay by the pool and read.   It’s a good light summer read.

 

Since I just started this book below is I can’t promise you it’s fabulous yet because I haven’t finished it but so far it is a fun and light read, and doesn’t it look cute? I’m always on the lookout for easy summer reads and this series is super affordable even on Kindle. Have you read any of these? Let me know!

 

Also, books make great Father’s Day gifts! Chip Gaines’ book would be a great read, or of course, any of the Garden & Gun books.

If you have read anything good lately, or have a great gift idea I’d love to know!

XO,

 

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