Forget the predictable presents. As the festive season of 2025 arrives, the journalists at The Independent are championing the timeless power of a perfectly chosen book. Moving beyond socks, vouchers, and festive confectionery, they argue that literature offers the ultimate gift: hours of unalloyed pleasure. This year, the newsroom has curated a personal list of trusted literary recommendations, each one a potential masterpiece to place under the tree for someone special.
Curating the Perfect Literary Gift
Selecting a book for another person is an art form, balancing personal taste with the risk of it feeling like homework. The goal, as articulated by arts editor Jessie Thompson, is to offer a few hours of pure enjoyment. Her strategy involves thoughtful curation, often gifting short story collections like Katherine Heiny's Single, Carefree, Mellow for their dip-in-and-out appeal, or brilliant novels such as Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.
Her professional tip for a truly Christmassy gift is Elizabeth Jane Howard's The Cazalet Chronicles. This five-volume family saga epitomises comfort reading. The savvy approach is to gift just the first instalment, The Light Years. If the recipient is captivated, the remaining volumes can follow, creating a delightful cycle of shared reading.
Memoirs, Classics, and Unexpected Gems
The recommendations span genres and emotions. For a powerful, life-affirming read, Voices editor Victoria Richards consistently gifts Deborah Levy's The Cost of Living, describing it as vital reading for any woman contemplating her place in the world. Editor-in-chief Geordie Greig advocates for Fred Uhlman's poignant novella Reunion, a shocking and gentle story set in 1938 Germany, perfect as a stocking filler.
From the hilarious heartbreak of Nora Ephron's Heartburn to the astonishing journey of Tara Westover's memoir Educated, the picks promise profound engagement. For those seeking humour and sharp social observation, Anthony Powell's A Question of Upbringing comes highly recommended, while Claire Keegan's impactful novella Small Things Like These delivers a powerful narrative in just 100 pages.
Quirky Picks and Universal Crowd-Pleasers
The list also celebrates the wonderfully odd. Culture writer Louis Chilton gifts Steve Aylett's absurd and hilarious Lint, a fictional biography, precisely because it's an unlikely duplicate on anyone's shelf. Meanwhile, technology editor Andrew Griffin champions the universal appeal of Weird Medieval Guys, a collection of bizarre manuscript drawings, arguing it's hard to find someone who wouldn't love it.
For a transporting read, Amor Towles' A Gentleman in Moscow, following a Russian aristocrat under house arrest, is a blueprint for charm. Peter Matthiessen's meditative The Snow Leopard explores nature and self-discovery, and Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss tackles mental health with devastating wit. The selections, shared on Monday 22 December 2025, prove that a book, chosen with care, remains the most thoughtful and enduring present of all.
