For 100 years, New Dominion Bookshop has been the place to find special holiday gifts. Support your community bookstore by shopping local for your gifts this year! Below are our hand-picked recommendations for everyone on your gift list.
How to Order
To order books, ask for personal recommendations, or purchase gift cards, give us a call at 434-295-2552 or stop by the shop. New Dominion Bookshop also offers shipping (normal rates apply). Free gift-wrapping is available for all orders!
General Nonfiction
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
By Robin Wall Kimmerer
Illustrated by John Burgoyne
A lyric meditation on the many gifts of the serviceberry tree, by the acclaimed author of Braiding Sweetgrass. (Scribner)
Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts
By Oliver Burkeman
Have you ever wanted to meditate? This is the year to feel that inner peace and explore what “the good life” really means to you. (FSG)
The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise
By Olivia Laing
“An impassioned case for the garden—as repository of natural beauty, as democratic ideal, as writerly inspiration.” —A.O. Scott (Norton)
Lifeform
By Jenny Slate
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a baby! Jenny Slate is back with this book of essays chronicling the weird adventures of making a new human. (Little, Brown)
Notes from an Island
By Tove Jansson
Translated by Thomas Teal
With paintings by Tuulikki Pietilä
From the beloved Finnish creator of the Moomintroll series comes a chronicle of her summers with her partner on a remote island. (Timber Press)
Selected Amazon Reviews
By Kevin Killian
An eclectic collection of over two thousand “reviews” Killian posted to Amazon.com. He said, “They’re reviews of a sort, but they also seem like novels….They’re essays about life.” (Semiotexte)
We Will Rest!: The Art of Escape
By Tricia Hersey
Tricia Hersey, creator of the Nap Ministry, guides you through helpful processes to rest, restore, and find your meaning. (Little, Brown Spark)
At Wit’s End: Cartoonists of The New Yorker
Photographs by Alen MacWeeney
Words by Michael Maslin
A celebration of more than fifty New Yorker cartoonists over the magazine’s one hundred years of publication, with selections of their funniest and most famous work. (Clarkson Potter)
The Backyard Bird Chronicles
By Amy Tan
“The birds that inhabit Amy Tan’s backyard seem a lot like the characters in her novels.” —David Allen Sibley (Knopf)
Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien
By J. R. R. Tolkien
First published in the iconic Tolkien calendars in the 1970s, these fascinating illustrations by Tolkien himself include enlightening commentary from his son Christopher Tolkien. (William Morrow)
Biography & Memoir
Connie
By Connie Chung
“This delightful memoir is filled with Connie Chung’s trademark wit, sharp insights, and deep understanding of people.” —Walter Isaacson (Grand Central)
Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music
By Rob Sheffield
Funny and incisive essays on each phase of Swift’s artistic development, from rock critic Rob Sheffield. (Dey Street Books)
A Complicated Passion: The Life and Work of Agnès Varda
By Carrie Rickey
The famous French New Wave filmmaker Agnès Varda gets her own biography, spanning her sixty-five year career. For the cinephile in your life! (Norton)
3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool
By James Kaplan
“In his new book, Kaplan writes about a decisive moment in modern jazz, and turns it into a genuine page-turner.” —Ted Gioia (Penguin Press)
Be Ready When the Luck Happens
By Ina Garten
The Barefoot Contessa’s warm and inspiring memoir, full of wisdom and, of course, food! (Crown)
High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul
By Marcus J. Moore
“Comprehensive, true to life, and as irreverent as De La Soul themselves….History and memoir from the soul.” —Leslie Odom Jr. (Dey Street Books)
Fiction
Tell Me Everything
By Elizabeth Strout
Olive Kitteridge, Lucy Barton, and other beloved characters are reunited once again in Crosby, Maine, in Strout’s latest novel. (Random House)
The City and Its Uncertain Walls
By Haruki Murakami
Translated by Philip Gabriel
The modern master of magical realism returns with a story that begins with teenage love and follows one lover throughout his life. (Knopf )
Intermezzo
By Sally Rooney
Two brothers in turmoil fall in and out of love as they confront grief. The book of the fall. (FSG)
Sipsworth
By Simon Van Booy
“A gorgeously odd tale about finding yourself again, unexpectedly. If you want a little piece of joy in your reading life, buy it.” —Jojo Moyes (David R. Godine )
James
By Percival Everett
Everett reimagines Huck Finn by centering the story on Jim (James). Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award. (Doubleday)
Playground
By Richard Powers
A bestselling marvel of plotting, this book spins around ecological themes of the ocean’s beauty and fragility. From the author of The Overstory. (Norton)
The Mighty Red
By Louise Erdrich
“In the hands of this master storyteller, everything is effortlessly connected….Fearlessly depicting the toughest losses and darkest threats, Erdrich always finds hope.” —Oprah Daily (Harper)
Season of the Swamp
By Yuri Herrera
A historical novel set in nineteenth-century New Orleans, with future Mexican president Benito Juárez as the protagonist. (Graywolf )
Mysteries & Thrillers
Karla’s Choice: A John le Carré Novel
By Nick Harkaway
An imagining of a George Smiley adventure set in the time between The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. (Viking)
We Solve Murders
By Richard Osman
“Madcap fun, with an entertaining new cast of characters and Osman’s trademark wit. Delightful!” —Shari Lapena (Pamela Dorman Books)
Death at the Sign of the Rook
By Kate Atkinson
A cast of characters worthy of Agatha Christie are stuck in an English country house during a snowstorm, including ex-detective Jackson Brodie. (Doubleday)
The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia
By Juliet Grames
“I enjoyed this immersive novel of family secrets in an isolated community in Italy. Shades of Ferrante.” —Ian Rankin (Knopf )
Poetry
A Happy Poem to Start Every Day
Edited by Jane McMorland Hunter
Read a poem at breakfast instead of the news! This beautiful book is the perfect gift to go into the day with a song in your heart. (Batsford)
The Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder Through Science & Poetry
By Maria Popova
Illustrated by Ofra Amit
Beautifully illustrated essays on the wonders of the universe, accompanied by poems from poets like Tracy K. Smith and Maya Angelou. (Storey Publishing)
Blues in Stereo: The Early Works of Langston Hughes
By Langston Hughes
Edited by Danez Smith
Experience Hughes as a young artist as he records his travels in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Africa. (Legacy Lit)
Light Me Down: The New & Collected Poems of Jean Valentine
By Jean Valentine
Valentine’s final lyrical poems mix with some of her most famous in this gorgeous collection from her long career. (Alice James Books)
Cookbooks
The King Arthur Baking Company Big Book of Bread
By King Arthur Baking Company
For the baker in your life, featuring gorgeous photographs of the best loaves you have ever seen. Learn how to make sourdough, hearth breads, buns, bagels, and more! (Simon Element)
I Love You: Recipes from the Heart
By Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson’s newest chapter of eighty recipes from her Vancouver Island house, inspired by her personal box of recipe cards for her family. (Voracious)
Half Baked Harvest Quick & Cozy
By Tieghan Gerard
Every photograph makes you want to cook these hearty dishes. Don’t miss the Sheet Pan Mac & Cheese with All the Crispy Edges! (Clarkson Potter)
Zaytinya: Delicious Mediterranean Dishes from Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon
By José Andrés
If you haven’t visited Zaytinya restaurant in DC, do the next best thing and learn to cook their classic dishes, such as Greek Zucchini Fritters, Sesame Salmon, and crunchy Fattoush. (Ecco)
Children’s
Trucky Roads
By Lulu Miller
Illustrated by Hui Skipp
For the toddler who is fascinated by things that go! This joyful book includes everything from tow trucks to ice cream trucks. Ages 2 –5. (Paula Wiseman Books)
Rewild the World at Bedtime: Hopeful Stories from Mother Nature
By Emily Hawkins
Illustrated by Ella Beech
Illustrated bedtime stories of animals who have been returned to their natural habitats through conservation efforts. Ages 4 –8. (Wide Eyed Editions)
Curiosity Shop
By Walter Wick
Kids will love searching for hidden objects in the curiosity shop. From the photographer of the famous I SPY series. Ages 3 – 6. (Cartwheel Books)
The Man Who Didn’t Like Animals
By Deborah Underwood
Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
It turns out that, before he had a farm, Old MacDonald didn’t like animals. One by one, he met strays that won him over. Proof that even grumpy old people can change! Ages 4 – 8. (Clarion Books)
Lonely Planet Kids Atlas of Cats
By Frances Evans
Illustrated by Kelsey Heaton
Big cats, little cats, spotted cats—they’re all here. For the kid who soaks up information! Ages 4–10. (Lonely Planet)
Wildflower Emily: A Story About Young Emily Dickinson
By Lydia Corry
A quiet, beautifully drawn slice of life of Emily Dickinson as a young person exploring the natural world. Great for all ages! (Godwin Books)
The Hotel Balzaar
By Kate DiCamillo
Illustrated by Júlia Sardà
Marta lives at the Hotel Balzaar and observes the guests; one day a mysterious countess appears with a parrot and a promise to tell magical stories. Ages 8 –12. (Candlewick)
Signed by the Author
Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions
By John Grisham and Jim McCloskey
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore
By Evan Friss
Listen to the Golden Boomerang Return
By CAConrad
In Praise of Mystery
By Ada Limón
Illustrated by Peter Sís
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.
Classics
When We Were Very Young: Centenary Facsimile Edition
By A. A. Milne
The Little Prince
By Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Boxcar Children: 100th Anniversary Edition
By Gertrude Chandler Warner
Aesop’s Fables: A New Translation
By Aesop
Translated by Robin Waterfield
Bad Feminist
By Roxane Gay
We
By Yevgeny Zamyatin
Translated by Bela Shayevich
So Big
By Edna Ferber
Poirot Investigates
By Agatha Christie
Women in Power: Classical Myths and Stories, from the Amazons to Cleopatra
Edited by Stephanie McCarter
Orlando
By Virginia Woolf
Observations
By Marianne Moore
A Look at My Life
By Eileen Agar
Holiday -Themed
The Winter Wish
By Helen Mortimer
Illustrated by Rachael Dean
The story of a bookshop and a magical Christmas display window, perfect for the kid who would like to live in a bookshop! Ages 3 – 6. (HarperCollins)
My Wonderful Christmas Tree
By Dahlov Ipcar
Old-fashioned illustrations celebrate the mysterious beauty of a holiday tree, as all the animals come to visit. Ages 4 – 8. (Tilbury House Publishers)
Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop
Edited by Otto Penzler
Each of these stories had to follow three requirements: a crime, a bookstore, and Christmastime. The perfect cozy stocking stuffer! For adult readers. (Mysterious Press)
Christmas Eve at the Moon Under Water
By Carol Ann Duffy
Illustrated by Margaux Carpentier
In this pocket-sized poem, animals gather to play music and prepare for the holiday. For all ages! (Picador UK)