We posted about titles on the bestseller list that have been selling out. Now, we bring you inspiration for what to wrap up this weekend if you can’t wait until specific titles restock.
Please ask booksellers if you don’t see a book you’re looking for. Online stock information is not always accurate, and stock is turning so quickly that sometimes a book is waiting to be shelved or on display in an unexpected place. But sometimes a book is just sold out at the moment. You can still give the promise of a particular book (my store makes “On its way for you” paper cards to give in this situation) or a gift card. While you wait for reprints or shipments, there are still plenty of amazing books on the shelves of even the smallest independent bookstores.
Here are alternatives you might consider for some bestselling books that might be sold out this holiday season:
If you were looking for Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson, try another epic fantasy like The Priory of the Orange Tree and prequel A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon; or maybe some of Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward sci-fi YA series will be a good amuse-bouche while you await the 1,344-page reprint.
No copies of The Women by Kristin Hannah? Try novels by WA author Noelle Salazar (like The Lies We Leave Behind) for emotionally rich historical stories with a strong, compelling female characters.
Playground by Richard Powers is quite unique, but if you’re interested in themes of the environment, technology, and artificial intelligence, The Future by Naomi Alderman is a thought-provoking pageturner set in the near future.
What to read if The God of the Woods by Liz Moore is sold out? You could go for twisty family sagas, second chances, and atmospheric nature writing with something like The Snow Child by Alaska’s Eowyn Ivey. Or go with a very different layered, literary mystery (with dark academia overtones): The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
All Fours by Miranda July is honest and bizarre and fascinating… In its stead, the unabashed authenticity and sexuality in Julia Fox’s memoir, Down the Drain could satisfy. Want, the anthology of explorations of women’s sexuality edited by Gillian Anderson could is another recommendation to try.
If you were hoping to give Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout, the recipient has probably already read all of Strout’s other novels. You might introduce them to another small town through another author who blends genres and creates enduring characters: All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whittaker or The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich.
Looking for The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, illustrated by John Burgoyne? If you wanted to give this as a little stocking stuffer of hope, you might consider The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman as an option. If you loved the illustrations and nature themes, Amy Tan’s Backyard Bird Chronicles might suit. If you’re willing to think outside the box, you might go with an illustrated children’s book that celebrates our connections to nature and community, like From Park to Playa: The Trails that Connect Us written by Nell Cross Beckerman and illustrated by Sophie Dao or We All Play by Julie Flett.
When the copies of Cabin by Patrick Hutchison are sold out, try Erica Bauermeister’s House Lessons, My What If Year by Alisha Fernandez Miranda, or The River You Touch by Chris Dombrowski.
When a store doesn’t have Field Notes from a Fungi Forager written by Ashley Rodriguez, illustrated by Libby England, take a peek in the kids’ section: Hello Fungi by Nina Chakrabarti is a beautiful resource that works across generations. There’s the Magical Mushrooms coloring book to consider, too.
The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides and The Wager by David Grann were some of my top recommendations this year for folks who love maritime history, and both have been going in and out of stock. But don’t let that sink your gift-giving hopes! How about The Pirate King: The Strange Adventures of Henry Avery and the Birth of the Golden Age of Piracy by Sean Kingsley and Rex Cowan? The Restless Wave by Admiral James Stavridis might also appeal; it’s WWII historical fiction, but with true Navy flair.
Ingrained Callum Robinson (#8 Hardcover Nonfiction).. If you’d like a charming, inspiring work memoir from the British Isles, Once Upon a Tome is a small delight that they can savor until their copy of Ingrained comes in.
Half Baked Harvest Quick & Cozy Tieghan Gerard might not be on the shelf, but the extremely cozy if not-quite-as-quick Ottolenghi Comfort is also new this season. (Note: There are two covers, so if you’re searching ISBNs for stock checks, you should check both!) Milk Street: Cookish is one of my favorites for super-easy, super-satisfying recipes, and it came out during lockdown, so cooks might have missed it.
If you wanted Does This Taste Funny? by Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert, you could go the celebrity kitchen route with Stanley Tucci’s new What I Ate in One Year. If you were giving it for relatable family dinner inspiration, what about What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers?
The Demon of Unrest Erik Larson has been in and out of stock, but On Great Fields is another Civil War history in paperback that could work if you didn’t gift it to that person last year. On a different tack, Graham Moore’s The Wealth of Shadows is a well-researched behind-the-scenes war novel about WWII that might appeal to history buffs who are drawn to Larson’s cinematic storytelling.
The Dog Who Followed the Moon by James Norbury might be difficult to find, but ask about Trevor Noah’s similarly beautiful and philosophical Into the Uncut Grass illustrated by Sabina Hahn.
To those seeking What the Chicken Knows by Sy Montgomery, I’ve been pointing to Under the Henfluence; or any Thor Hanson book– this PNBA Award-winning WA author delves into nature with infectious curiosity like Montgomery’s. (He even has a gorgeous kids’ book this year, Star and the Maestro, which makes a perfect read-together with Lyanda Lynn Haupt’s Mozart’s Starling for adults.)
