The 6 Must-Read Books to Gift for the Holidays

You'll want to gift yourself some of these picks, too!

by

Caroline Leavitt

 
Published December 04, 2025
AARP

I don’t just write books; I have 13 published so far. I read them for the heady pleasure of getting lost in a great story, and for the book reviews I write. I’m never without a book in my hand or a book recommendation in my head. This is because I want to share the whole emotional journey a book brings — especially with the people I love.

The books I've chosen for holiday gifts are sure to hit the applause button for women on the north side of 50! They range from a hold-your-breath mystery, a novel featuring a woman sandwiched between caregiving older parents and grappling with her adult children, to a septuagenarian who discovers a whole new life through the letters she writes.

And I’ve even provided a biography that is truly the soundtrack of our lives, featuring John Lennon and Paul McCartney of The Beatles. While you are book-buying, choose a couple for yourself!

Please Don't Lie by Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt

The holidays are all about friends and family, and what's a more special gift than a thriller written by two best-selling authors who have been buddies for decades? Effortlessly readable in hold-your-breath prose, it’s the story of Haley Stone, swept away from a tragedy of her parents’ death and her sister’s overdose, to the Adirondacks for a fresh start. But once there, everything starts to crumble. Her once-adoring husband grows cold, and the free-spirited couple she thought were her friends begin to get ominously strange. Can we ever really know the ones we love?

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

AARP

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Because this was one of my favorite novels of the year, I want it to be my loved ones’ favorite, too. Set in the beach town of Sandwich, it’s really about one extraordinary woman, Rocky, being sandwiched between generations: experiencing kids leaving the nest, grappling with aging parents, and rediscovering who you are and who you want to be in the future. Original, intimate and perfect for a long cozy sit-down on a frosty night.

AARP

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

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AARP

You’ve never met a heroine like 70-something Sybil Van Antwerp, who writes daily letters to friends, family and authors, all to keep herself connected with the outside world. But when she finds herself the recipient of letters from someone from a painful era long ago, she discovers that facing her past might just lead to a very different kind of future. What’s so delightful about this book isn’t just that it’s written in letters and emails, but that Evans herself struggled for decades to get her work published, finally winning praise for this remarkable debut. Give this book to someone you love, and I guarantee you’ll get back a letter of thanks!

Heart the Lover by Lily King

AARP

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Remember that transformative love you had when you were in college? The one that still, to this very day, haunts you? In her senior year of college, aspiring writer Jordan finds herself at the center of an astounding love triangle with two men: Sam, whom she dates, and Yosh, who seems to be her soul mate. But mistakes are made, ones that reverberate decades later when both men return to her life, and Jordan must grapple with regret, hope and the true meaning of love. Funny, sorrowful and so deeply moving.

AARP

Fools for Love by Helen Schulman

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‘Tis the season for love, and this absolutely perfect collection is a gift that keeps on giving. An Orthodox rabbi and a single mom tumble into an intriguing kind of love. A widowed mom finds the sex diaries of her husband, and in my favorite story of all, a very jealous baby narrates his own tale of heartbreak and hope. Full of devastatingly real characters grappling with love, lust and everything in between, this book is like Valentine’s Day at Christmas.

John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie

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Come on, who doesn’t love the Beatles? My husband has been reading me tidbits from this book every night, and I’m eager for him to finish so I can get my hands on it myself. Lennon and McCartney had a 23-year friendship that changed the face of music and culture. But there is so much more to learn about them, especially through the brilliance of their songs. Full of juicy tidbits (It was May Pang, not Yoko, who saved Lennon, and the only Beatle who was not cutting others down was Ringo!). Intimate, insightful and absolutely delightful. You’ll want a copy for yourself.

Have YOU read any of the above books? Let us know in the comments below.

Caroline Leavitt is a New York Times bestselling author recently longlisted for The Joyce Carol Oates Literary Fiction Prize. She wrote two very different novels about her coma experience, Coming Back To Me, which was sort of serious; and With or Without You, which was filled with magic and hope. Her latest novel is Days of Wonder and she's currently writing two novels at the same time. She still has coma dreams. And now she has a substack!