Sunday Special: Gifting Books for the Holidays
Episode of The Daily · November 30, 2025 · 50 min
Gilbert Cruz and Book Review editors Joumana Khatib and Sadie Stein recommend favorite books of 2025 and holiday book gifts for specific giftees, then play a book-survey game.
Summary
In this Sunday Special episode of The Daily, Gilbert Cruz was joined by New York Times Book Review editors Joumana Khatib and Sadie Stein to discuss books as holiday gifts. The guests first described their personal reading tastes: Khatib favored plotless, translated fiction and long books, while Stein described eclectic interests ranging from dolls and ghosts to interiors and food in fiction.
The three then highlighted favorites from the Book Review's 100 Notable Books of 2025. Khatib praised Annika Norlin's Swedish debut "The Colony" and Kiran Desai's "The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny"; Stein discussed Vincenzo Latronico's "Perfection," Adam Ross's "Playworld" and Sophie Elmhirst's "A Marriage at Sea"; and Cruz recommended Daniel Kehlmann's "The Director," a novel about filmmaker G.W. Pabst working under the Third Reich.
In the second segment the editors offered recommendations for specific giftees: the person who has everything (Stein advised keeping a shelf of odd thrifted books and suggested Dorothy Draper's "Entertaining Is Fun!"), mothers who like cozy mysteries (Richard Osman, Janice Hallett), foodies (Nigel Slater's "Toast," writers' cookbooks, Dalí's "Les Dîners de Gala"), performing-arts lovers ("Diaghilev's Empire," Sondheim's lyric collections), and new dads (books on Springsteen, Cameron Crowe's memoir, John U. Bacon's book on the Edmund Fitzgerald, Emerson's journals). They closed with general picks including Amy Barrodale's "Trip."
The episode ended with a "Coworker Feud" game based on a survey of 137 people about books, which Stein won, earning her second "Gilby" trophy.
Chapters
- 0:44
Introduction and reading tastes
Gilbert Cruz introduces books as holiday gifts and his guests describe what they read for pleasure.
- 4:23
Favorite translated novels of 2025
Khatib praises The Colony and Stein discusses Perfection, followed by Khatib's pick The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny.
- 11:38
The Director
Cruz recommends Daniel Kehlmann's novel about G.W. Pabst making films under the Nazis.
- 13:42
Playworld
Stein recommends Adam Ross's coming-of-age novel set on the 1980s Upper West Side and addresses its difficult subject matter.
- 16:47
A Marriage at Sea
Stein describes Sophie Elmhirst's nonfiction account of a 1970s couple shipwrecked by a whale.
- 21:45
Gifts for the person who has everything
Stein advises keeping a gift shelf of eccentric books and Khatib argues a book shows the recipient they are seen.
- 25:40
Cozy mysteries for mom
Khatib recommends Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club and Stein recommends Janice Hallett.
- 27:26
Books for foodies and performing-arts lovers
The editors suggest food memoirs, writers' cookbooks, Dalí's dinner book, a Ballets Russes history and Sondheim's lyric collections.
- 31:22
Books for new dads
Recommendations include Springsteen and Cameron Crowe books, The Gales of November and Emerson's journals.
- 34:49
Wildcard recommendations
Stein suggests oddball works by poets and writers and Khatib recommends Amy Barrodale's novel Trip.
- 37:58
Coworker Feud game
The editors guess survey answers about books in a Family Feud-style game, which Stein wins.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Joumana Khatib
Khatib said The Colony surprised her at every turn and reminded her why reading is exciting.
“This is the kind of book that reminded me of why reading is exciting”
- Joumana Khatib
Khatib expressed admiration for translators, calling their work invisible and among the hardest to do.
“I have such an affection for translators because they toil in invisibility. And I think it's one of the hardest things to do”
- Sadie Stein
Stein argued that Perfection, though a rewrite of Perec's Things, is distinctly of the present moment.
“A novel which, although a rewrite of the 60s novel, could only have been written this year”
- Joumana Khatib
Khatib described Kiran Desai's novel as lush, absorbing and witty.
“It's lush, it's sensual, it's completely absorbing. There's a real wit to this book”
- Gilbert Cruz
Cruz said The Director was the book he recommended most in 2025.
“I think this is the book that I have actually recommended the most to people this year”
- Gilbert Cruz
Cruz characterized The Director as an exploration of artistic compromise under authoritarianism.
“It's sort of this fascinating exploration of the compromises that are required when you have to make art sometimes”
- Sadie Stein
Stein said Playworld offers an interesting look at changing mores around youth and sexuality four decades ago.
“I think it's an interesting way to look at the changing mores of youth and childhood and sexuality some 40 years ago”
- Sadie Stein
Stein acknowledged Playworld's relationship between a teen and an older woman is upsetting but said it is handled sensitively enough to recommend.
“I think it's handled sensitively enough and interestingly enough that I would recommend it”
- Sadie Stein
Stein said Elmhirst's book works as a nonfiction novel that fleshes out the shipwrecked couple's emotional lives.
“She's really writing a nonfiction novel based on the facts on the ground, but also fleshing out these characters”
- Sadie Stein
Stein advised constantly collecting odd, niche books at thrift stores and sales to keep a ready gift shelf.
“you have to be ever ready to snatch up something odd, which appeals to a niche interest or a specific geographical area”
- Joumana Khatib
Khatib argued that a book gift shows a person who has everything how the giver sees them, even if they never read it.
“The person who has everything does not yet have a window into how you look at them”
- Joumana Khatib
Khatib recommended Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club as a funny, non-gory cozy mystery.
“And there's nothing unsettling. There's nothing gory. It's just a good old fashioned, you know, mystery”
- Sadie Stein
Stein said Janice Hallett's epistolary mysteries demand and reward full attention in print.
“She does these kind of modern epistolary books, and I really think you have to read them as books”
- Sadie Stein
Stein recommended Diaghilev's Empire as a gossipy history of the Ballets Russes enjoyable even to non-ballet fans.
“And it's really gossipy and it's really fun. And you don't need to like ballet to enjoy it”
- Gilbert Cruz
Cruz recommended Sondheim's annotated lyric collections as books one could reread for years.
“I feel like these are two books that you actually could read again and again over the years and find so much joy”
Linked moment · 33:38Skip to 33:38 using a listen link in the info box.
Gilbert CruzCruz observed that, around the 50th anniversary, every man he met wanted to talk about the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking.
“I've not, over the past few weeks, run into a man who was not interested in talking about the Edmund Fitzgerald”
- Sadie Stein
Stein recommended Emerson's journals for fathers, saying they show parental love has not changed.
“and of course, knowing what happens, it's hard to read, but it just shows how parental love has not changed”
- Joumana Khatib
Khatib called Trip a surprising, funny, anti-algorithmic novel and said its author deserves more recognition.
“I don't think Amy Baradale is as known as she ought to be”
People
In the conversation
- Gilbert CruzCanon editor at The New York Times
- Joumana KhatibEditor at The New York Times Book Review
- Sadie SteinEditor at The New York Times Book Review
Discussed
- Annika NorlinSwedish author of the novel The Colony
- Vincenzo LatronicoItalian author of the novel Perfection
- Georges PerecFrench writer whose 1960s novel Things inspired Perfection
- Kiran DesaiIndian author of The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
- Daniel KehlmannGerman-Austrian novelist, author of The Director
- G. W. PabstAustrian film director and subject of The Director
- Adam RossAmerican novelist, author of Playworld
- Sophie ElmhirstBritish journalist, author of A Marriage at Sea
- Dorothy DraperAmerican interior decorator and author of Entertaining Is Fun!
- Richard OsmanBritish TV presenter and author of The Thursday Murder Club series
- Janice HallettBritish mystery novelist
- Nigel SlaterBritish food writer, author of the memoir Toast
- Salvador DalíSpanish surrealist artist behind Les Dîners de Gala
- Stephen SondheimAmerican musical theater composer
- Cameron CroweAmerican filmmaker and former Rolling Stone journalist, author of The Uncool
- John U. BaconAmerican author of The Gales of November
- Gordon LightfootCanadian singer who wrote a song about the Edmund Fitzgerald
- Ralph Waldo EmersonAmerican essayist cited on learning the lessons of worship from nature
- Amy BarrodaleAmerican author of the novel Trip
Topics
- Books as holiday gifts
- New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2025
- The Colony (Norlin novel)
- Perfection (Latronico novel)
- The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
- The Director (Kehlmann novel)
- Playworld (novel)
- A Marriage at Sea
- Translated fiction
- The Thursday Murder Club
- Finishing the Hat
- SS Edmund Fitzgerald
- Trip (Barrodale novel)
- Writers' cookbooks
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From the publisher
The holiday season is here, which means it’s the time to think of great gifts for everyone on your list. While it can feel like a daunting task to choose thoughtful, personalized presents, we’ve got a fix for you: books. On this edition of The Sunday Special, Gilbert is joined by Joumana Khatib and Sadie Stein, editors at the Book Review, for a conversation about the best books to give your family and friends. Joumana and Sadie will share what excited them most this year and also provide recommendations for giftees in very specific categories. Books mentioned in this episode: “The Colony,” Annika Norlin“Perfection,” Vincenzo Latronico“Things: A Story of the 60s,” Georges Perec“The Bee Sting,” Paul Murray“The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny,” Kiran Desai“The Director,” Daniel Kehlmann“Playworld: A Novel,” Adam Ross“A Marriage at Sea,” Sophie Elmhirst“Entertaining is Fun!,” Dorothy Draper“The Thursday Murder Club,” Richard Osman“The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels,” Janice Hallett“Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes,” Roald Dahl“Mrs. Manders’ Cook Book,” Sarah Manders, edited by Rumer Godden“Halleluja! The Welcome Table,” Maya Angelou“The Pat Conroy Cookbook: Recipes of My Life,” Pat Conroy“Les diners de Gala,” Salvador Dalí“Diaghilev’s Empire: How the Ballets Russes Enthralled the World,” Rupert Christiansen“Finishing the Hat and Look I Made a Hat,” Stephen Sondheim“Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run,” Peter Ames Carlin“The Uncool: A Memoir,” Cameron Crowe“The Gales of November,” John U. Bacon“The Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson,” Ralph Waldo Emerson“Cats in Color,” Stevie Smith“Archie and the Strict Baptists,” John Betjeman“Stories 1,2,3,4,” Eugène Ionesco“Trip: A Novel,” Amy Barrodale
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 25, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.