For more than 100 years, New Dominion Bookshop has been the place to find special holiday gifts. Support your community bookshop by shopping local for your gifts this year! Below are our hand-picked recommendations for everyone on your gift list.
How to Order
Whether you’re looking for books highlighted in this gift guide or you have books in mind that you’d like to give as gifts, simply stop by the shop, and our booksellers will help you find the perfect gifts.
General Nonfiction
Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland
By Martha Barnette
Fascinating stories of word origins and neologisms from the cohost of the hit radio show Way With Words. For the language lover in your life. (Abrams)
Gathered: On Foraging, Feasting, and the Seasonal Life
By Gabrielle Cerberville
Follow “The Chaotic Forager” as she guides you through the magic of foraging for ingredients found right where you live. Includes recipes! (Harper)
The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life
By Suleika Jaouad
Jaouad provides a brave and wise guide to the practice of journaling, with advice from George Saunders, Mavis Staples, and many more. (Random House)
Is a River Alive?
By Robert Macfarlane
In his newest work, eminent nature writer Macfarlane travels to rivers in Ecuador, India, and Canada and reports on their unique ecosystems and the people around them. (Norton)
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival
By Stephen Greenblatt
This real-life historical thriller on the life and fate of Christopher Marlowe is a page-turner that The New York Times calls “a terrific read.” (Norton)
Putting Myself Together: Writing 1974–
By Jamaica Kincaid
Introduction by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Writings on New York, Antigua, marriage, gardening, and more from fifty years of Kincaid’s work, including her first piece in The New Yorker. (FSG )
Water of the Sky: A Dictionary of 2,000 Japanese Rain Words
By Miya Ando
This beautiful collection of specific words for different kinds of rain is accompanied by impressionistic color illustrations. Perfect for someone who loves nature and words. (MIT Press)
Art Work: On the Creative Life
By Sally Mann
Photographer Sally Mann’s wide-ranging reflections on artmaking that Amor Towles calls “erudite, frank, and funny.” (Abrams)
Through the Long Desert: Georgia O’Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright
By Sarah Rovang
Rovang explores the long-distance friendship and mutual preoccupations of two great twentieth-century creative minds. (Rizzoli Electa)
Badass Women of Charlottesville
By Rachael Kesler Palm
Engaging, uplifting profiles of two dozen Charlottesville residents who have made an impact in their communities. (RKP Marketing)
Biography & Memoir
Bread of Angels
By Patti Smith
The highly anticipated new memoir of Patti Smith’s creative journey from her teenage years through love, fame, loss, and renewal. For the music lover in your life. (Random House)
Girl Warrior: On Coming of Age
By Joy Harjo
“What a beautiful and brilliant call-to-arms. I wish I had Joy Harjo’s words when I was young. This book is a lovely ode to her own bravery and by extension, all of ours.” —Jacqueline Woodson (Norton)
Stan and Gus: Art, Ardor, and the Friendship That Built the Gilded Age
By Henry Wiencek
Wiencek explores Gilded Age drama, male friendship, and artistic inspiration in this thrilling dual biography of architect Stanford White and artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens. (FSG)
Baldwin: A Love Story
By Nicholas Boggs
This intimate portrait of Baldwin explores his life through the lens of his romantic and creative relationships; Douglas Brinkley calls it “the crown jewel in the ongoing James Baldwin revival.” (FSG)
Living in the Present with John Prine
By Tom Piazza
Piazza continues the work of Prine’s memoir (which they had begun together) in a celebration of their friendship over the last years of Prine’s life. (Norton)
Joyride
By Susan Orlean
Follow this master of nonfiction storytelling through her journalism career and long tenure at The New Yorker as she dishes on the personalities and secrets of her trade. (Avid Reader Press)
Fiction
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
By Kiran Desai
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and a New York Times bestseller, this novel follows Sonia and Sunny across time and between India and America. (Hogarth)
Katabasis
By R. F. Kuang
Kuang’s latest features supernatural events at a very recognizable university setting and skewers the academic life with a deadpan wit. (Harper Voyager )
The Correspondent
By Virginia Evans
A woman of a certain age writes letters, and the responses fill in the mysteries of her life. Ann Patchett calls it “a cause for celebration.” (Crown)
Only Son
By Kevin Moffett
Longlisted for the National Book Award, this novel of fathers and sons is touching and beautiful. A perfect gift for any parent. (McSweeney’s)
The New Internationals
By David Wright Faladé
If you missed the 2025 VA Book Festival event, check out this sweeping novel of postwar Paris and cross-cultural romance. (Atlantic Monthly Press)
Port Anna
By Libby Buck
After a difficult year, Gwen returns to Maine. There she discovers figurative and literal ghosts as her life is renewed and a romantic interest appears. (Simon & Schuster)
Metallic Realms
By Lincoln Michel
A sci-fi writers group creates a hilarious story together while navigating their own lives in Brooklyn. (Atria)
The Best Short Stories 2025: The O. Henry Prize Winners
Edited by Edward P. Jones
Looking for new voices in fiction? This collection will bring you fresh stories from authors you should discover! (Vintage )
Mysteries & Thrillers
The Impossible Fortune
By Richard Osman
The newest installment in the Thursday Murder Club series finds the gang reunited to track down a missing wedding guest. (Pamela Dorman Books)
King of Ashes
By S. A. Cosby
An epic crime novel set in Virginia that The New York Times Book Review calls “a gripping roller coaster ride of escalating danger.” (Flatiron)
The Black Wolf
By Louise Penny
Return to Quebec with Chief Inspector Gamache as he hunts a great nemesis, the Black Wolf, who may not be in custody as he had thought. (Minotaur)
Apostle’s Cove
By William Kent Krueger
Cork O’Connor returns to an old case and secrets from the past with the help of his son. Book twenty-one in a series, but can be read as a standalone. (Atria)
Poetry
Blue Opening
By Chet’la Sebree
Powerful poems addressing family, the challenges of chronic illness, and the very nature of knowledge; this collection is fearless and beautiful. (Tin House)
The Same Man
By Bobby Elliott
Tender poems of fatherhood mix with poems grappling with the author’s own childhood in this collection that Gregory Orr calls “a lovely debut.” (University of Pittsburgh Press)
Lost Cities
By Valencia Robin
From the pandemic, to Charlottesville, to the interstellar world of Star Trek, these striking poems seek justice and truth. (Persea)
Planetaria: Visual Poetry
By Monica Ong
Visual poems inspired by traditional star charts engage with ideas of diaspora and women in science in this illustrated collection. (Proxima Vera)
Cookbooks
Chesnok: Cooking from My Corner of the Diaspora
By Polina Chesnakova
“This cookbook is a beautiful invitation to explore the delicious home cooking traditions of the Soviet diaspora.” —Naomi Duguid (Hardie Grant)
Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love
By Samin Nosrat
From Samin Nosrat—the author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat—comes a delightful new guide through her all-time favorite recipes and meaningful tips that will change your cooking, like how to shop for olive oil. (Random House)
American Soul: The Black History of Food in the United States
By Anela Malik and Renae Wilson
Forty go-to recipes and thirty chef interviews celebrate Black foodways; from the popular creator of Feed the Malik and Our Block. (National Geographic)
Something from Nothing
By Alison Roman
Over one hundred new, pantry-friendly recipes, like Crispy Baked Beans with Mushrooms and Parmesan, Kimchi-Tomato Soup, and Crushed-Olive Chicken with Turmeric. (Clarkson Potter)
Children’s
The Book That Almost Rhymed
By Omar Abed
Illustrated by Hatem Aly
A boy becomes frustrated by his interrupting sibling, but then they find hilarious rhymes to help finish the story together! Ages 3 –7. (Dial Books)
Pocket Bear
By Katherine Applegate
Follow Pocket Bear as he travels with several characters over the past century, giving comfort to all. From the beloved author of The One and Only Ivan and Willodeen. Ages 8–12. (Feiwel & Friends)
My First Haircut
By Yang Dong
Everyone has questions about haircuts sometimes! A fun and instructive way to introduce what a haircut is all about. Ages 0 –3. (Chronicle)
Candace, the Universe, and Everything
By Sherri L. Smith
In this magical novel, three generations of Black girls can connect though a time-portal in a school locker. Ages 8 –12. (Putnam)
Mouse’s Wood: A Year in Nature
By Alice Melvin
Follow the gentle cycle of the seasons as Mouse explores the forest around him. Includes die-cut flaps to lift and a nature calendar. Ages 4 – 8. (Thames & Hudson)
Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow
By Jessica Townsend
Return to the world of Nevermoor and the Wundrous Arts in the newest installment of this bestselling series! Ages 8 –12. (Little, Brown)
Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm
By Charlie Mackesy
Four friends return to overcome adversity in this allegory for all ages, including adults! This gift edition features whimsical color illustrations, decorated endpapers, and a satin ribbon bookmark. (Penguin Life)
Signed by the Author
The Widow
By John Grisham
The Everlasting
By Alix E. Harrow
This Kind of Trouble
By Tochi Eze
Culpability
By Bruce Holsinger
Shade is a place
By MaKshya Tolbert
We will also be receiving a limited supply of signed copies of other new titles this holiday season. Stop by the shop to browse our current stock of signed books.
Holiday -Themed
Cat’s Christmas
By Alison Murray
Will Cat ever stop being grumpy and finally enjoy Christmas? With retro-inspired illustrations that capture the magic of the season. Ages 0 –5. (Bloomsbury)
Winter Solstice Wish
By Kate Allen Fox
Illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
Families in a seaside town gather on the beach for a winter solstice bonfire. Booklist writes that it “captures the common experience of seeking warmth, light, and community on the longest nights of the year.” Ages 4 – 8. (Beaming Books)
My Beloved
By Jan Karon
Mitford fans rejoice: familiar characters are back in a Christmas story that will warm your heart. A limited number of signed copies are available in the shop, while supplies last. For adult readers. (Putnam)
Christmas at the Women’s Hotel
By Daniel M. Lavery
A cozy holiday return to the Biedermeier Hotel and its beloved cast of characters. At less than 150 pages, this novella will make the perfect stocking stuffer. For adult readers. (HarperVia)
Sidelines
New Dominion Bookshop Mugs
Featuring our gorgeous staircase logo designed by Lana Lambert, these artisan-crafted pottery mugs are made in Wisconsin and are perfect for tea or coffee with your new favorite read.
Literary Puzzles
We carry both literary puzzles and mystery puzzles for a long winter weekend by the fire! The “World of” puzzle series takes you back in time to the historical worlds of famous authors and characters, from Charles Dickens to Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot.
Flame Tree Journals
Elegant, beautiful journals with classic art covers. Flame Tree Publishing is based in Fulham in London and has been crafting journals for almost twenty years.
Cast Iron Animal Bookends
These sturdy and whimsical figures inspired by vintage designs will hold up all your books this season. You’ll find a variety of styles—including dogs, rabbits, whales, and more—among the books on our bookshelves throughout the store.