What to give
Give them somewhere to wander. Start with stories, history and everyday life in Iceland and the Nordic countries, settle into a winter favorite, or find something from this season’s bestsellers.
Think about the person opening it. A much-loved classic, a history to get lost in, or a new book they’ve been meaning to read can all be a lovely place to begin.
Help me choose a book
Who are you choosing for? Here are a few places to start. Each link takes you to the book and a little more about it.
- A little one who likes a bedtime story. Try Goodnight Moon for a familiar goodnight ritual you can read together.
- A child who loves magical creatures. Impossible Creatures begins a longer adventure with dragons and hidden islands. It’s the first book in the series.
- Someone who keeps asking about Iceland. How Iceland Changed the World follows the island’s unexpected connections to world history.
- An adult who enjoys a cold-case mystery. Jar City follows an investigation in Reykjavik. It deals with murder and sexual violence; choose it for someone comfortable with darker crime fiction.
Still unsure? Ask what they’ve enjoyed lately, or choose a book you’d like to share and tuck a note inside.
This season’s bestsellers
A few ideas from what readers in the U.S. are buying this autumn, whether they’re drawn to a new novel, a familiar classic or a cookbook to spend an afternoon with.
Selected from Bookshop.org’s U.S. bestsellers, checked . This is a dated selection, in no ranked order.
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Partita
A phone call from an old lover takes Livia back to her years as a promising pianist and the relationship that changed her plans. A thoughtful pick for someone who likes music, complicated love stories and characters looking back at the lives they might have led.
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American Hagwon
After betrayal and financial upheaval in Korea, the Koh family starts again in Sydney and later Southern California. Parents and children carry different hopes for what comes next. Give this to someone who enjoys a long family novel about ambition, belonging and the things people do for their children.
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The Disappearers
In 1988 Kingston, eight gay men come together to rehearse a play. A violent attack kills one of them and leaves the survivors facing grief, fear and questions of revenge. For an adult reader drawn to complex friendships and fiction that faces injustice directly; the violence is stark.
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East of Eden
The lives of the Trask and Hamilton families become entangled in California's Salinas Valley, with love, jealousy and old hurts passing between generations. This is one to give someone who enjoys settling into a long classic and arguing about its characters afterward.
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Dungeon Crawler Carl
Earth has become the setting for a deadly alien reality show, and Carl must fight through a dungeon with his ex-girlfriend's show cat, Princess Donut. Give it to an adult gamer or fantasy reader who enjoys ridiculous situations, inventive monsters and very dark humor. This starts the series.
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Simply Ina
Ina Garten shares recipes built around making dinner easier, with dishes you can prepare ahead and useful shortcuts from the grocery store. A good gift for the cook who enjoys feeding people and would appreciate a few ways to spend less of the evening at the stove.
You Don't Need a Smartphone
August Lamm writes about giving up her smartphone and finding ways through everyday obstacles such as navigation and digital tickets. Practical advice sits alongside her own experience. For the person who keeps saying they want their attention back and is curious about what a less connected day might look like.
The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City
With a fairy army threatening Durham in 1110, its bishop sets out to surrender the city and discovers that even surrender is complicated in an enchanted landscape. A short, illustrated choice for someone who likes strange folklore, sly humor and Susanna Clarke's version of English magic.
Winnie-the-Pooh: The Graphic Novel
Pooh, Piglet and their friends wander through the Hundred Acre Wood in a graphic adaptation of Milne's original stories, including the search for Eeyore's tail and the hunt for a Heffalump. A lovely shared gift for a comics reader and an adult who already knows these characters by heart.
Children's bestsellers
Picture books to share, and longer reads for children finding stories of their own.
An unranked selection from the New England Independent Booksellers Association bestseller lists, published October 21, 2026, for sales in the week ending October 18. Checked October 27. These regional lists cover illustrated books, children's series, and early and middle-grade reading.
Goodnight Moon
A little rabbit says goodnight to the familiar things around his room as bedtime arrives. The gentle repetition makes this a lovely one to read with a toddler who enjoys joining in and spotting details in the pictures.
Make Way for Ducklings
Mrs. Mallard has found a home for her eight ducklings in Boston, but getting there means crossing busy streets with help from the police. If your child stops to watch every duck at the park, start here.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
A tiny caterpillar works his way through a week of meals before becoming a butterfly. There are foods to name, holes to poke a finger through, and plenty to count. A cheerful read-aloud for little ones who like to take part.
The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale
Otilla takes shelter in an old house and befriends the talking skull who lives there. He has a frightening nightly visitor, and she decides to help. Children who enjoy eerie pictures, brave heroes and deadpan humor may love this; there are some scary moments.
Hatchet
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian is stranded in the Canadian wilderness with a hatchet and very little else. He has to learn how to stay alive. A gripping choice for older children who enjoy outdoor adventures and wonder how they would cope on their own.
Impossible Creatures
Christopher and Mal travel between hidden islands to discover why the magic that keeps their extraordinary creatures alive is fading. There are griffins, dragons and real danger along the way. Start here with a child who loves getting lost in a big fantasy adventure: this is book one.
Room on the Broom Push-Pull-Slide
A witch, her cat and a growing band of animal friends share a rhyming adventure. This board-book edition adds tabs and sliders to move things and reveal pictures. A good choice for a preschooler who wants to help tell the story with their hands.
Spy School Goes East
Ben Ripley and his fellow trainee spies head to China to find the missing members of the Hale family, following a trail through Shanghai, the Great Wall and the Gobi Desert. This is book 14, so it is best for an existing Spy School reader ready for another rescue mission.
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2027
Animal discoveries, space photographs, maps, games and jokes fill this collection of facts about the world. There are interviews with explorers and a section on art and creativity too. Give it to the child who keeps calling across the room, 'Did you know...?'
Iceland & Nordic places
For someone who wants to know the places behind the stories. These books move between Iceland’s past, life around the Nordic countries and the myths that still find their way into our reading.
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How Iceland Changed the World
Egill Bjarnason follows Iceland's surprising connections to events far beyond its shores, from the French Revolution to the moon landing. An inviting place to start for someone curious about Iceland who enjoys the sort of history that sends them telling other people what they have just learned.
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Viking Age Iceland
How did people farm, marry, settle disputes and share power in early Iceland? Jesse Byock uses history, archaeology and the sagas to explore those everyday questions. Give this to the reader who wants to understand the society behind the dramatic stories, especially someone already getting into the Icelandic sagas.
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The Almost Nearly Perfect People
Michael Booth travels through the five Nordic countries, asking what everyday life looks like behind their enviable reputations and what the neighbors think of one another. For a reader who likes funny, questioning travel writing and wants more than beautiful scenery from a book about a place.
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The Penguin Book of Norse Myths
Odin, Thor and Loki quarrel, scheme and face the fate of their world in Kevin Crossley-Holland's retellings, from creation to Ragnarok. A good choice for someone curious about the stories behind familiar names, or a fantasy reader who wants to meet some of the genre's old influences.
About these editions: How Iceland Changed the World, Viking Age Iceland, The Almost Nearly Perfect People and The Penguin Book of Norse Myths.
Icelandic stories, old and new
Family sagas, lives shaped by the land, and mysteries for a long evening. These editions are in English.
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Independent People
Bjartur is determined to run his Icelandic sheep farm without owing anyone anything, even when his pride makes life harder for his family. The harsh landscape and difficult relationships give this novel its weight. For a patient reader who likes rural family stories with stubborn, deeply flawed people at their center.
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Njal's Saga
A feud draws families and friends into decades of revenge, broken agreements and divided loyalties in medieval Iceland. Attempts to make peace can be as gripping as the fighting. Give this to someone who enjoys tangled family histories, courtroom arguments and the uncomfortable question of how a quarrel ever ends.
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Egil's Saga
Egil is a farmer, a warrior and a remarkable poet, capable of beautiful verse and appalling violence. His life runs through family loyalties, exile and confrontations with kings. A vivid choice for someone who likes old stories with a difficult central character and wants to see poetry wielded as power.
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Burial Rites
In nineteenth-century Iceland, Agnes is sent to live with a farming family while she awaits execution for murder. As they come to know her, the story grows more complicated than the accusation. For someone who enjoys intimate historical fiction, a strong sense of place and a voice that stays with them.
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Jar City
An old man's murder in Reykjavik leads Inspector Erlendur to a past crime and a photograph of a girl's grave. The investigation uncovers damage that has reached far beyond one household. Give it to a crime reader who likes cold cases, patient detective work and a bleak city setting.
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Hotel Silence
Divorced and adrift, Jonas leaves Iceland with his toolbox and checks into a hotel in a country recovering from war. Among people rebuilding their lives, his own troubles begin to look different. For a reader who appreciates quiet novels about despair, human connection and the possibility of starting again.
Winter favorites
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Moominland Midwinter
Moomintroll wakes while his family is still hibernating and steps into a snowy valley he barely recognizes. New encounters help him find his way through a lonely, unfamiliar season. A gentle but sometimes unsettling choice for a thoughtful child, or an adult who has never quite stopped loving the Moomins.
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The Dark Is Rising
On his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers that he belongs to an ancient struggle against the Dark and must find six powerful Signs. The winter countryside becomes full of danger and old magic. For an older child or returning adult reader who likes folklore, wintry atmosphere and a proper quest.
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A Child's Christmas in Wales
Dylan Thomas looks back at Christmas in his Welsh childhood, bringing remembered snow, family life and holiday excitement into wonderfully musical prose. A small book to read aloud after dinner, especially for someone who enjoys poetry or likes hearing how Christmas felt in another time and place.
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A Christmas Memory
A young boy and his elderly cousin gather ingredients and bake fruitcakes as Christmas approaches. Their friendship gives this remembered holiday its warmth and its sadness. Give it to someone who likes a short story with a lot of feeling, or read it together when the house has gone quiet.
Your local bookshop may have ideas too. Plan an evening around the books.
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