The Best Books To Give As Holiday Gifts!
This special edition of the “Wednesday Bookmobile” has the best books from 2019 to give as gifts. As most of you know, I am a HUGE Paul Theroux fan: his travel books are masterful journeys around world that people usually don’t see.
His latest trip across Mexico is no exception – and it’s a great new book!
As Amazon describes the book:
“Legendary travel writer Paul Theroux drives the entire length of the US–Mexico border, then goes deep into the hinterland, on the back roads of Chiapas and Oaxaca, to uncover the rich, layered world behind today’s brutal headlines.”
I have read all of Theroux’s non-fiction books, and this one really is torn from today’s headlines.
I haven’t finished the book yet, but it’s another masterful effort. Here’s what Amazon said:
“Paul Theroux has spent his life crisscrossing the globe in search of the histories and peoples that give life to the places they call home. Now, as immigration debates boil around the world, Theroux has set out to explore a country key to understanding our current discourse: Mexico.”
Just like his last book “Deep South”, Theroux is taking us off the main roads to explore places we’d never go on our own:
“Just south of the Arizona border, in the desert region of Sonora, he finds a place brimming with vitality, yet visibly marked by both the US Border Patrol looming to the north and mounting discord from within. With the same humanizing sensibility he employed in Deep South, Theroux stops to talk with residents, visits Zapotec mill workers in the highlands, and attends a Zapatista party meeting, communing with people of all stripes who remain south of the border even as their families brave the journey north.”
This is a beautifully written look at a country, and its relationship with a hostile foreign neighbor, that deserves to be read…
Theroux has taken us from the “roof of the world” in Tibet to bottom of the world in Patagonia…and every trip is a fascinating mix of history and “real” people…no 5-star resorts for him! Here is a look at his incredible work:
Sticking with nonfiction, here’s the most exciting and powerful spy thriller of the year:
Ronan Farrow’s book reads like a spy thriller because it is: in trying to report on Producer Harvey Weinstein’s abuse of women, he was set upon by Israeli spies!
It’s one of the best books of 2019 – read more about this incredible story here:
If you want a trip inside the world of one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars, here is the biography for you:
Vincent Price’s daughter wrote a fascinating biography of her father – with incredible insight and honesty…see more here:
If you want great detective fiction with a travel bent, check these out:
These provencal crime books are terrific fun – see them all here:
My friend Cindy Bruchman released her latest historian novel last month:
“Inside The Gold Plated Pistol” is a terrific read with great historical insight as well…see more here:
If you have young adults on your list, here are a couple of great Authors who have books for you!
Alex Vorkov’s sci-fi series “Generation O” and Roberta Eaton Cheadle’s supernatural thriller “Through The Nethergate” are young adult books that are creative and exciting – see more about both of them here:
There you go: some great gifts this holiday season from the “Wednesday Bookmobile!”
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Let me know your favorite book to gift this season!
Gift books beautifully wrapped and bandaged with a red ribbon bow on a white coverlet
Categories: Art, Books / Media, Exotic Travel, Hollywood, Memoirs, Movies, Politics, Pop Culture, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir
Thanks for the mention, my friend! And sorry for my delay in responding.
No problem, happy holidays to you!
Great post! I’m definitely adding each of these titles to my list. The Theroux book sounds especially wonderful. And that photo of the young girl at the border? Powerful. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks!
Oh John, it means so much for your help and support. I’m glad you liked it!
Hi John, thank you again for your incredible support. I really appreciate it. The book by Paul Theroux sounds fascinating, Mexico has always interested me.
He writes about the real people wherever he travels, and you get a very interesting perspective on what our border with Mexico really is, with terrific history as well…he’s a GREAT Writer…as are you
Thank you, John. I am very interested in this book about the Mexican border. I am pleased to have learned about it here.
Thanks Robbie…it is fascinating, and if you haven’t read any of his other books they are all terrific! “Dark Star Safari” and “The Happy Isles Of Oceania” are two of the best but all are great!
I have purchase Deep South as an audio book. This one about Mexico is not currently available as an ebook. I will wait for it.
Thanks John for the recommendations!
Always looking for great book reviews and recommendations…these look like perfect gifts for others and me!
Thank you for commenting! They are all GREAT!
Great recommendations, John. I already the books by Robbie and Cindy.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks for commenting Pete!
You did? Great! Thanks so much, my friend.
Thank you, Pete. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2020.
And to you and your family, Robbie. 🙂 x