Gift Guide: Books for Adults 2024
As Seen on CTV Your Morning
I love holiday reading! More time to sink into a story, get lost in an adventure, or walk a few miles in someone else’s shoes. Here are six fab Canadian titles (and one international one) that would make fantastic gifts for the adult readers in your life, as shared on CTV Your Morning December 12, 2024.
Fiction
The Ministry of Time is an engrossing, confessional-style novel about a government employee tasked with the top-secret job of being the bridge to a time traveller from the 1800s. An unlikely relationship develops between bridge and traveller, but it becomes clear that there is more to this secret mission than either of them were lead to believe. A unique page-turner that will appeal to all sorts of readers.
I Think We’ve Been Here Before is about members of an extended family who are all trying to make it home to Saskatchewan for Christmas- which may also be their last Christmas, as a cosmic blast is predicted to hit the earth and obliterate life as we know it. While this may seem like a bleak premise, it allows for a sweet, moving exploration of love, family, and what makes life worth living. It is the coziest end of the world book you’ll ever read.
The Treasure Hunters Club is a delightful ensemble piece that spans generations and a wide cast of characters all caught up in a generations old mystery surrounding pirate treasure lost off the coast of a charming Nova Scotia town. This is a great choice for someone who likes their mysteries on the cozy side.
The Secret History of Audrey James is an engrossing novel about an aspiring young musician who works for the resistance in Berlin during the second world war. This is a work of fiction that takes some of it’s cues from the true story of Mona Parsons, who was a Canadian civilian working for the resistance who was imprisoned by the Nazi’s.
Nonfiction
Book and Dagger also centers around WWII, but this is a work of nonfiction that explores how librarians, archivists and scholars were recruited to become spies. Extensively researched and packed full of fascinating (and sometimes unbelievable) details, this is a fantastic read for history buffs, book lovers, and nonfiction readers. Pair it with The Secret History of Audrey James for a Christmas reading double-bill!
Who We Are: Four Questions for a Life and a Nation is the memoir of the late Murray Sinclair, former judge, senator, lawyer, and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is both intimate and wide in scope, breathing life into the history of one man but also a country. While necessarily harrowing at times, it is ultimately full of hope for the future.
Matty Matheson’s Soups, Salads Sandwiches takes three beloved staples and shakes them up with interesting twists and additions that will make you look at your favourites in a whole new light. Whether you’re a pro chef or new to cooking, this book has fascinating combinations and many entry points that will keep you cooking all year long.