What to Read Over the Holidays

One of the absolute best feelings in the world besides a sun-warmed towel following an ocean dive and the sensation of sticking your hand deep into a barrel of dried beans (these are a few of my favorite things!) is when you’re doing something — anything — and a little itch comes over you to get back to your book.

Your book beckons like no television show or Netflix series or unfinished movie can. You’re confident that cinematic characters pause with the remote, but those people in your book? For all you know they’re running around like maniacs, blurring the pages and breaking shit and acting like rockstars in a hotel room — this even if you’re reading an autobiography on Thomas Jefferson. You have to get back to them.

I’m not sure why that feels so good. Maybe it’s because it’s a little reminder that you do like reading. Isn’t that always strangely reassuring? Especially after you find yourself stuck halfway through a crap novel and give up. It’s like ending a serious relationship: you never think you’ll like or love again, but then you do.

Sometimes it takes a few bad dates in-between. A ton of duds. Nice but not great. Nice but kind of boring. Mediocre dialogue. And then…

Your friend sets you up with the perfect book.

(Oh, sorry, you thought I was still talking about our love lives. I kind of am!)

We at Man Repeller want to be the friends who set you up. Click through the slideshow above for our various picks. Some are old, some are new, some are borrowed and if you’re reading this I promise to give it back!, some actually are blue, and some we’re in the process of finishing — no spoiler alerts.

Add your own favorites in the comments section below. We need new reads for the holiday season, too. The kinds we can’t wait to get back to.

Photographed by Krista Anna Lewis

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