The Best Books for Every Type of Mom

The title essay of this 20-year essay collection from novelist and journalist Rachel Kushner recalls her undeniably cool and rather hard-partying youth: Other topics touched on include art, literature, and motorcycle racing.

If you’re worried she’s already read all the good historical fiction, try this nonfiction breakdown of life in Elizabethan England that’s one of Grammy-winning musicianRhiannon Giddens’s favorite books. “It’s by this woman who’s done a lot of living-history stuff, so she breaks down what it was like to live in Elizabethan England,” Giddens says. “Like, what did they wear? What did they eat? Did they take baths? It’s really interesting.”

Unfortunately the paperback version of this book won’t arrive on time for Christmas, but it’s still available instantly on Kindle.

One of Vulture’sbest horror books of 2022; writer Emily Hughes calls this suspenseful haunted-house tale “a classic historical gothic novel, impeccably executed.”

Namwali Serpell’s second novel unfurls around the death of young protagonist C’s younger brother, Wayne. “What seems like a simple premise quickly becomes dark and twisted through the author’s expert use of repetition: Every few chapters, the book resets and C is forced to watch Wayne die yet again,” explains Vulture’s Mary Retta, who says this is one of 2022’s best books.

A piece ofReal Housewivesmemorabilia that’s also an entertaining read, this is the book that Jill Zarin was allegedly caughtusing a fake Amazon accountto write positive reviews for. It covers everything from dating and parenting to money and family, and if you buy a copy from Zarin’s website, it comes autographed.

One of Vulture’sbest comedy books of 2022,The World’s Worst Assistantis a memoir by Conan O’Brien’s personal assistant, Sona Movsesian, who your mom may be familiar with from O’Brien’s beloved podcast. Mainly focusing on the years the author spent backstage atConanandThe Tonight Show, it’s both funny and full of oddly life-affirming anecdotes.

“When I first read Eudora Welty’sThe Golden Apples ,I was a teenager in mid-1950s North Carolina,” saysAnne Tyler, author ofRedhead by the Side of the Road. “The linked stories about the inhabitants of a small town in Mississippi made me feel right at home; I recognized these people, and none of them surprised me.”

Every Strategist staffer who has read Gabrielle Zevin’s latest has loved it. While the plot summary doesn’t at first glance sound especially mom-worthy — it’s technically about indie video-game development in 1990s Boston and L.A. — we think she’ll be hooked, especially if she lives for a love triangle or has enjoyed campus novels in the past.

This popular book will no longer ship on time for Christmas due to stock issues, but is still available instantly on Kindle.

One of ourbest books about Black feminism, this collection of works written by Alice Walker from 1966 to 1982 charts a path for womanism, an expansion of Black feminism that encompasses a wide variety of Black expression — mother to child, between two women, and people who appreciate women’s culture and are committed to thesurvivaland wholeness of others.

Any Samantha Irby essay collection is guaranteed to entertain, and this one in particular is a favorite of actor and writerAmber Tamblyn. Irby, as she says, “is one of our country’s most fierce and foulmouthed authors, whose literary takes on sex, family, and the body are unique in their comedic resonance and full gut-punch power.”

Or here’s a humorous essay collection by one of the original masters, Nora Ephron. Any of Ephron’s books would make a great mom gift, but Taylor Jenkins Reid, author ofDaisy Jones and the Six,recommendsher most candid (and final) published work,I Remember Nothing, as a “great place to start” if your mom hasn’t read her before.

Abby Wambach’s autobiography is one of thebest sports memoirsout there, according to sports reporter and commentatorKate Fagan. In this candid memoir, Fagan says that the former star forward of the U.S. women’s national team “isn’t here to build her brand or make you love her; she’s here to be honest about her life, about her drinking, and about the inside workings about the peaks and valleys of being a professional athlete.”

Station Elevenauthor Emily St. John Mandel takes speculative fiction to new heights in her latest book, which takes place both on early 20th-century Earth and a moon colony established 500 years later.

A bright and cheerful artist-inspired dinner-party guide that throws out the rulebooks penned by Martha Stewart et al.

Whether she’s a lifelong vegetarian or experimenting with meat-free Mondays, she’ll find it easy and fun to work her way through these simple yet flavorful Asian-inspired recipes for noodles, dumplings, and more.

Strategist writer Lauren Ro recommends this book by gardener David Culp which offers an overview of “how to plant for climate and aesthetics” to create “a garden that’s dynamic in every season.”

A blend of memoir, art, and critical theory that’s optimistic about the feminist revolution, this unusual manifesto is one of ourfavorite Black coffee-table books.

“Most books about the Valley look at the view from the top,” or soNew Yorkcontributing editor Reeves Wiedeman told us when we asked him about thebest technology books. “They’re about the founders and funders who run the place from on high.” In contrast, this memoir offers “the funniest, darkest, sharpest, and most human view from the ground, among the worker bees building the platforms taking over our lives.”

According toJanifer P. Wilson, founder ofSisters Uptownin New York City, this book is about “ultimate Renaissance woman” Madam C.J. Walker, the first female self-made millionaire in America, whose story “is a testament to the resilience, the wonder, and the power in each of us.”

New YorkMagazine’s biography of the bartender turned politician shaking up Washington and her own political party draws on hundreds of interviews exploring her early life, historic election, and career thus far.

Shopping for an avid reader is hard. Rather than guess at what novel she has and hasn’t already got on her shelf, here’s a book about the pursuit of reading itself: specifically Tolstoy’s most famous tome.

Rebecca Solnit’s profound history of walking will appeal to any mom who’d rather leave her car in the garage and engage with the world on foot.

“Celebrity memoirs by women are often stealth accounts of the challenges of being a working mother, or a straight woman who earns more than her male partner,”Sharon Marcus, professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University,tells us. “Dear Girlsoffers plenty of insights on both fronts.” It’s also very funny.

Thisgiftable coffee-table bookoffers an overview of Chicago’s career, including reproduced sketchbooks and journals showcasing the process behind her greatest works, such asThe Dinner Party.

The 33 ⅓ book series sees music writers reflect on landmark albums from past and recent decades. This reappraisal of Liz Phair’sExile in Guyvillewill please any Gen-X rock mom.

Patti Smith’slatest bookis a yearlong photo diary that documents both her international travels and everyday life in New York City. Alongside contemporary photos that might be familiar to your mom if she follows Smith on Instagram, there are also never-before-seen archival images from the musician’s childhood and ’70s punk years.

Whenwe asked expertsto identify the best books about Asian American identity, three of them cited Helen Zia’sAsian American Dreamsas a good place to start. Part memoir and part history, the book, published in 2000, covers key crisis moments of the Asian American political experience, including the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin and the Los Angeles riots, as it traces the role of activism in the formation of the concept of Asian Americanness.

“Everyone needs to read” this book about sanitation rights in rural Alabama,says Arielle V. King, a student and environmental-justice advocate. “Catherine is just brilliant.”

This unusual book of sewing projects encourages readers to patch up ripped and stained clothes in creative ways. It’ll appeal to moms who can’t quite get on board with fast fashion.

This poetry book tells the story of Nguyen’s mother, a motorcyclist who belonged to an all-female stunt troupe in Vietnam. It was a 2021 National Book Award finalist andcomes recommendedby Nguyen’s fellow poet Erin Taylor.

As on-the-nose as this mom book recommendation might be, we do think she’ll enjoy it. Jenny Offill called this memoir about Cusk’s entrée into motherhood “a secret handshake among new mothers.” And Polly Rosenwaike, author ofLook How Happy I’m Making You,saysit’s “an antidote to all the sentimentalities about what it means to become a mother.”