IS IT BETTER TO GIVE OR TO RECEIVE? WITH THE holidays almost upon us and long gift lists waiting to be completed, we wanted to recommend the simple pleasure of a book. And remember, sometimes taking the time to indulge yourself and escape in a good book is really the best way to keep your spirits high. Here to help, Newsweek staff have gathered together to recommend the perfect reading material for anyone on your gift list—yourself included!—with a roundup of our own favorite books from the past year. Our offerings run the gamut from rom-coms to true-crime, politics to music, investigative journalism to humor and more. Find the ideal story to give or to add to your own wishlist!
AFTER WEDNESDAY “There have been many iterations of her.”▸ P.56
Fiction
Lessons in Chemistry
By Bonnie Garmus | DOUBLEDAY | $29
Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant scientist trying to make it in a man’s world in the 1960s. Out of a job when she gets pregnant, she uses her talent for chemistry to land herself in the unlikeliest of places—as the beloved host ofan unusual cooking show with a distinctly feminist point
