It’s almost Thanksgiving, which means holiday shopping has begun and so have some really great sales. One of my favorite items to give and receive is books in all formats – print, eBook, and Audiobook – so putting together this annual guide is a real treat for me.

This year, I tried something a little different; I expanded the guide to include other items that are also commonly found in bookstores, such as puzzles, games, tarot cards, collectibles, and more. For some of the listings, I also included some links to related/similar items that might have been released prior to 2023 and these might be movies, action figures, housewares, and more.

So check out our expanded Holiday Gift Guide 2023: Books Edition for our favorite holiday gift picks for the readers in your life.

Cynthia Hart’s Victoriana Cats
Basket of Mischief 1,000-Piece Puzzle
Sewing with Kittens 1,000-Piece Puzzle
Set of 12 Wrapping Papers and Gift Tags
The Sticker Book: 300 Enchanting Stickers (Hardcover)
By Cynthia Hart
Publisher: Workman Publishing
Release date: October 17, 2023

I’m going to be honest with you: If you were to go back in time to tell my metalhead teenaged self that one day I’d be putting together 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles with a Victorian cat theme, I’d have laughed myself all the way home from the Slayer concert.

Well, here I am decades later: I’m still a metalhead; I still wear all black with studded bracelets and dragon jewelry; my home still has a skull-themed decor; I still headbang and attend heavy metal concerts. But, I’m also a crazy cat lady who just became a card-carrying member of AARP… who now also enjoys putting together Victorian cat-themed 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles, thanks to some new additions to Cynthia Hart’s Victoriana Cats collection.

Heroes’ Feast Flavors of the Multiverse: An Official D&D Cookbook
Heroes’ Feast D&D Cookbook Series
Hardcover | Spiral Bound | Kindle
By Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Michael Witwer, and Sam Witwer
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Release Date: November 7, 2023

Good day and well met, friends! It boggles my mind to think that we are living in an age where Dungeons & Dragons has been so deeply ingrained into our culture that there are literal cookbooks to help create the perfect setting for any campaign. In my day (he says in his old man voice), we made do with Pizza Hut pepperoni pizzas and 7-Eleven Big Gulps to satisfy our sustenance needs whilst rolling our clickity clacking funny-shaped dice. Of course, teen-aged me was about as uncouth as you can imagine. A big change in my cuisine was the addition of taco-flavored Doritos. But the addition of books like Heroes’ Feast Flavors of the Multiverse: An Official D&D Cookbook has really raised the bar. In fact, one might even say it has taken the gameplay up a level. Get it? Up a level? I crack myself up, you know. But anyway, you are not here for my lame jokes, soon with the review!

Dungeons & Dragons: Lore & Legends
A Visual Celebration of the Fifth Edition of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game
Hardcover | Kindle
By Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Sam Witwer
Foreword by Tom Morello
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Release Date: October 3, 2023

Well met, readers! I hope you are having the best of days and find success in all that you do. How goes my day, you ask? Splendidly, I must say, for I get the distinct pleasure of raving about a beautiful tome that found its way to my home just days ago. It was accompanied by many of its friends, but I will concentrate solely on this book, Lore & Legends: A Visual Celebration of the Fifth Edition of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game. This references, of course, the game of Dungeons & Dragons, a franchise of gaming that has helped my interests, passion, and some small fortune of mine that I have invested in supplies and whatnot. Time, effort, and money well spent, I must say.

Dungeons & Dragons: Bigby Presents: Glory Of The Giants
Hardcover
D&D Accessory
Wizards Of The Coast
Release Date: August 15, 2023

Good day and well met, friends! I hope today finds you well and I am absolutely excited to present this newest source book to you, for it is near and dear to my heart. Playing AD&D in the ’80s was possibly the highlight of any given week, but when it involved giant-kin, then it was beyond fun. Wizards Of The Coast has published this tome entitled Bigby Presents: Glory Of The Giants at such an opportune time for me, as I just welcomed my third grandson, Leonardo, into the world a few weeks ago. The correlation is that big boy was a healthy nine pounds which is, as many know, a pretty big baby. Who knows, maybe we have a Hill Giant in the family now? Only time will tell.