Jayda Justus of The History Mom recommends books for gift giving this holiday.
Favorite Fiction:
● Nostalgic reading - The Star of Camp Greene by Joy Callaway
● Old favorites made new - The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson Wheeler, The Worlds of Jane Austen: The Influences and Inspiration Behind the Novels by Helena Kelly, and Jane Austen’s Fashion Bible by Ros Ballaster
● Old favorite/new favorite pairing - Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and The Jackal’s Mistress by Chris Bohjalian.
● Vacation reading - The Lost Baker of Vienna by Sharon Kurtzman
● Sweet reads - Katherine Reay, Kristy Cambron, Sarah Sundin, and Laura Frantz
● Entertaining reads - Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard
250th for America:
● For guys: fiction - Jeff Shaara and John Jakes, nonfiction - Rick Atkinson and Nathaniel Philbreck
● For women: fiction - King’s Mountain by Sharyn McCrumb, My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, and Answering Liberty’s Call by Tracy Lawson. Nonfiction - Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts
● Middle grade: Susanna’s Midnight Ride by Libby McNamee
First Lady history:
● Official White House China by William G. Allman
● Jackie Kennedy: Jackie by Dawn Tripp and And They Called it Camelot by Stephanie Marie Thornton (fiction), and Designing Camelot by the White House Historical Society (nonfiction)
Royals watchers:
Nonfiction - Sally Bedell Smith has written many biographies of the Royal family and The Queen: The Life and Times of Elizabeth II by Catherine Ryan
Fiction - Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, The Gown and Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson, and The Queen’s Faithful Companion by Eliza Knight
Christmas Books:
O. Henry for the Holidays by O. Henry
Cookbooks:
The Southern Kitchen by Ivy Odom
The Pioneer Woman Cooks―The Essential Recipes: 120 Greatest Hits, New Twists, and Perfected Classics by Ree Drummond
Sign up for my literary salon.
Jayda can be found on her website and Instagram.
Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2026? Check out our fifth Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead, and we color-code by genre in this one!
Looking for something new to read? Here is my monthly Buzz Reads column with five new recommendations each month.
Link to my article about Best Books of 2025.
Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
