A Perfect Book For Every Person on Your Holiday Shopping List

Lena Dunham's Not That Kind of Girl is smart and unflinching, bringing the same bare confessional style that made Girls such a revelation to the printed page. Lena's advice to other young women navigating their challenging 20s is never preachy or too obvious . . . and it doesn't hurt that this is one of the most well-written celebrity memoirs of the year.

King Dork Approximately is the sequel that legions of boys have been waiting for. This time, 10th grader and aspiring rock musician Tom Henderson is navigating the halls of an all-new school. What hasn't changed is Tom's signature sarcasm, which made the first King Dork a cult classic. Be a totally cool aunt and snag this for your nephew.

Cristina Henríquez's The Book of Unknown Americans is the kind of heartbreaking novel you'll want to talk about with everyone you meet. The intertwined stories feature a group of South and Central American immigrant families living in the same Delaware apartment complex, all trying to build something new and lasting in uncertain circumstances.

Dorie Greenspan's Baking Chez Moi is already poised to become a modern kitchen must have. With an emphasis on the simple yet sophisticated, Greenspan's recipes don't require a culinary degree to master . . . although your friend's guests might be fooled.

Steven Johnson's How We Got to Now takes a creative look at six groundbreaking inventions that changed our world. This year, swap the boring presidential biography you'd usually buy your father for this off-kilter, compelling history of how things changed people.

Caroline Kepnes's twisted thriller You is a page-turner Gone Girl fans will devour. Told from the perspective of a stalker-turned-boyfriend, it's the kind of book you might just stay up all night to finish.

B.J. Novak's new short-story collection, One More Thing, won praise when it was published earlier this year for balancing humor and heart just as expertly as The Office did. A great book for your now grown-up — but still as silly as ever — brother.

Author Mo Willems is back with The Pigeon Needs a Bath!, a storybook follow-up to the Caldecott Award-winning Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!. There's a good reason this adorable read is dominating almost every list of the best children's books this year: it's funny enough to amuse parents, too.

Emily Giffin's latest, The One & Only, is the tale of a small-town Texas girl who finds her life upended by tragedy. It's a great bet for your friend who has a long-running Friday Night Lights obsession and a weakness for star-crossed love stories.

E. Lockhart's We Were Liars is the kind of YA novel that tackles tough topics — class, race, and family dysfunction — in a way that won't leave a savvy middle schooler rolling her eyes. Not only that, but the book also earned the John Green stamp of approval; The Fault in Our Stars author calls it both "beautiful" and "blisteringly smart."

Football: Great Writing About the National Sport compiles some of the best sportswriting of our time in one place. Edited by John Schulian, these 44 pieces of stellar writing capture all the glory and devastation of the gridiron. A perfect gift for the sports fanatic in your life.

Amy Poehler's mashup of memoir and advice, Yes Please, explores career, love, motherhood, and everything in between. A light read packed with wise one-liners, it's a perfect stocking stuffer for that working mom you know who somehow seems to do it all without losing her sense of humor.

Emily Spivack's Worn Stories culls clothing-related essays from boldfaced names like Barneys New York creative director Simon Doonan and actress Greta Gerwig. A perfect collection for the woman who has a deep emotional bond with her closet.

Lydia Davis is one of the best writers of flash fiction (also known as microfiction) today. Her stories are armed with a sharp sense of humor, and, best of all, many of them are short enough to read between subway stops. Her new book, Can't and Won't, is full of tiny revelations that the superbusy — but supersmart — bookworm in your life will actually have time to read now and reflect on later.

Our editors warn against reading Jennifer McMahon's Winter People at night — it's just that scary. After 19-year-old Ruthie's mom mysteriously vanishes, she discovers a cache of frightening information that might explain more than just her disappearance.

All Joy and No Fun delves into just how having children changes and enriches the lives of parents. Through research and portraits of real families, Jennifer Senior has written a book any parent can completely relate to and still learn something from. It's a great pick for new parents — especially if they're the first ones among your circle of friends to have kids.