Holiday Gift Giving 2018 – Used Books

There are so many great books here – there’s absolutely no need to spend a fortune over the holidays! Here are some of our top picks in each genre in our used book section that we feel would make great gifts and won’t break the bank. Each category includes at least one Backbeat Recommended Read (books we’ve read cover-to-cover and recommend) and all are priced from just $2.95-$6.95!

FICTION:

1) Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
2) Doctor Who Time Trips by various authors
3) The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
4) A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler (Backbeat Recommended Read – this was one of my favourite books that I read in 2018)
5) Modern Lovers by Emma Straub (Backbeat Recommended Read – The Vacationers by Emma Straub is equally enjoyable & also currently in stock)

NON-FICTION:

1) The Return of History: Conflict, Migration, and Geopolitics in the Twenty-First Century (CBC Massey Lectures series) by Jennifer Walsh
2) On Writing by Stephen King (Backbeat Recommended Read – a must-read for any aspiring writer)
3) Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
4) 50 Canadians Who Changed the World by Ken McGoogan
5) 99: Stories of the Game by Wayne Gretzky

AUTOBIOGRAPHY/BIOGRAPHY:

1) Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without a Date by Katie Heaney
2) Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay (Backbeat Recommended Read – Roxane Gay writes thoughtful, important books – and her Goodreads reviews and reader responses are consistently noteworthy)
3) Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones
4) Robin by Dave Itzkoff
5) Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

HUMOR:

1) Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris (Backbeat Recommended Read – David Sedaris never disappoints with his quirky observations and is one of my favourite authors)
2) You Deserve a Drink by Mamrie Hart
3) I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley (Backbeat Recommended Read – this is one of the funniest humor books I’ve read to-date)
4) Vacationland by John Hodgman
5) Best. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland by Dave Barry

MYSTERY/THRILLERS:

1) Little Heaven by Nick Cutter
2) We Could be Beautiful by Swan Hunter
3) Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
4) The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena (Backbeat Recommended Read – twists and turns are in abundance)
5) The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

CLASSICS:

1) The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
2) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
3) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4) Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion (Backbeat Recommended Read – I prefer more modern classics and Joan Didion is a favourite when it comes to both fiction and non-fiction)
5) Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

MUSIC:

1) Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis (Backbeat Recommended Read – this is one of our best-selling musician memoirs for good reason – what a life)
2) The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave
3) Tommyland by Tommy Lee with Anthony Bozza
4) My Damage: The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor by Keith Morris with Jim Ruland
5) Mountain City Girls by Anna & Jane McGarrigle

YOUNG ADULT:

1) Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
2) The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan (Backbeat Recommended Read – published posthumously, this is an inspiring collection of essays and stories from a young mind)
3) The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody
4) Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke
5) Open: A Toolkit for How Magic and Messed Up Life Can Be by Gemma Cairney

1) Choose Your Own Adventure: Revenge of the Russian Ghost by Jay Leibold
2) Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (Backbeat Recommended Read – a classic Canadian must-read)
3) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney (Backbeat Recommended Read – one of our family’s favourites – this series has universal appeal for both kids and adults)
4) Origami Yoda: The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett by Tom Angelberger
5) Are You “Normal”?: More Than 100 Questions That Will Test Your Weirdness by Mark Shulman (Backbeat Recommended Read – Nat Geo Kids always puts out great books – particularly great for reluctant readers)

1) Dream Animals by Emily Winfield Martin
2) Dick and Jane: We Play Outside
3) Elephant & Piggie: I Will Take a Nap! by Mo Willems (Backbeat Recommended Read – this pair will have your little one giggling throughout)
4) The Highest Number in the World by Roy MacGregor (Backbeat Recommended Read- reminiscent of The Hockey Sweater, this one is a great choice for hockey fans)
5) Away in My Airplane by Margaret Wise Brown