Penguin.com (usa)

© John Dolan

Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns

Give:

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz: Hilarious, engaging, and profoundly moving and sad. A feast of language.
• What is the What by Dave Eggers: A chronicling of the hardships, disillusions, and hopes of the long suffering people of southern Sudan. It is impossible to read this book and not be humbled, enlightened, transformed.
• City of Thieves by David Benioff: A riveting war novel and an engaging coming of age story. City of Thieves is tender, illuminating, and, be warned, often shocking.
• Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri: Gorgeous, effortless prose; characters haunted by regret, isolation, loss, and tragedies big and small. A quiet, emerging sense of humanity.

Get:

• The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb: I loved his first two books and am anxious to read his follow-up.
• Drown by Junot Díaz: Loved Oscar Wao. This older selection, which I shamefully have not as yet read, will be my Díaz fix until the next one.
• The Boat by Nam Le. I have read nothing about this book that has been less than glowing.
• Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel: This is a must have for any fan of the groundbreaking graphic novel. I read it when it was first released, read it again this year. It's just as good.

© Ken Light

Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food, The Omnivore's Dilemma, among others

Give:

• A Platter of Figs by David Tanis
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
• The Death of Sigmund Freud by Mark Edmundson
• Burdock by Janet Malcolm
• The Slow Food Story by Geoff Andrews

Get:

• Remix by Lawrence Lessig
• The Limits of Power by Andrew Bacevich
• The Bagel by Maria Balinska
• George, Being George edited by Nelson Aldrich

© Stephen Hyde

Nick Hornby, author of High Fidelity, About A Boy, and most recently Slam

Give:

• I'm evangelical about Mark Harris's Pictures at a Revolution, a loving, brilliantly-researched account of the five movies nominated for the 1967 Best Picture Oscar, from conception to ceremony. It's not only one of the best books about film I've ever read, but one of the best books about any artistic process.

Get:

• America, Zoe Strauss's book of her brave, touching, occasionally shocking photographs. She's my favorite contemporary photographer.

© G. W. Miller III, Philadelphia News

W.E.B. Griffin, author of Death and Honor among others

Give:

• Legacy of Ashes: A History of the CIA by Tim Weiner

Get:

• A Bold, Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O'Reilly

© John Earle

Robert Parker, author most recently of Rough Weather

Give:

• I plan to give copies of Skin Deep by Gary Braver and Tom Friedman's book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded.

Get:

• I'd like to receive anything by Elmore Leonard and anything by Calvin Trillin.

© Stephen Raffay Photography

Susan Vreeland, author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue and Luncheon of the Boating Party, among others

Give:

• An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore
• The Ethical Executive, Robert Hoyk and Paul Hersey
• Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson
• Pride and Prejudice, the Penguin Enriched Classic Edition
• Different Hours, Stephen Dunn (or any of his poetry collections)
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick
• Opal: The Journal of an Understanding Heart

Get:

• Blessed Unrest, Paul Hawken
• ART: Over 2500 Works from Cave to Contemporary, DK Publishers
• The Assault on Reason, Al Gore
• The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir, Patricia Harman
• Atmospheric Disturbances, Rivka Galchen
• Vacation, Deb Olin Unferth

© Bill Eichner

Julia Alvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies

Give:

• Lady Liberty: A Biography by Doreen Rappaport and Matt Tavares (beautifully illustrated picturebook for my grandgirls who live close to Lady Liberty!)
  
• For my artist stepdaughter: Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton
• In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto—Michael Pollan (for my husband  who grows/raises almost everything we eat that can grow/live in Vermont!)
  
• Can't Remember What I Forgot: The Good News from the Front Lines of Memory Research by Sue Halpern (to all my sisters who are dealing with our parents' loss of memory...)
  
• The Plain Sense of Things by Pamela Carter Joern (wonderful novel set in the Midwest—I bought four copies for all my husband' siblings who grew up in Nebraska)
  

Get:

• The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes
• The Metamorphoses of Ovid
• Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama (am I the only passionate Obama fan who has not read this book?)
• Home by Marilynne Robinson (I loved Gilead so want to read this new one.)
  
• Lonesome Rangers: Homeless Minds, Promised Lands, Fugitive Cultures by John Leonard (I've heard so much about John Leonard, and of course read bits and pieces by him, but now that he's gone, I want to know the writer so many mourned and rave about. The topic of this one is especially appealing to me.)

© Graziano Arici

John Berendt, author of City of Falling Angels, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Give:

• Animal's People, by Indra Sinha
• Karoo Boy, by Troy Blacklaws
  
  Each of these two novels (one set in India, the other in South Africa) is told in the voice of a spectacularly original young male protagonist, each of whom in his own way is as captivating and memorable as Holden Caulfield.
• Tennessee Williams: Collected Stories
  Williams's plays get all the attention, but these short stories are absolutely wonderful.  And they will deepen your understanding of Williams.

Get:

• Whenever I want a book I simply buy it.  In consequence I always have a stack of books by my bedside, and I never catch up.  There are fourteen piled up at present.
  

© Laurie Roberts

Karen Joy Fowler, Author of The Jane Austen Book Club and Wit's End

Give:

• For the younger set on my list: I'm thinking of giving out some Kelly Link, Pretty Monsters and some Ysabeau Wilce, Flora's Dare.
• For all others: Erin McGraw's The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard, Andrew Sean Greer's The Story of a Marriage, and Ursula LeGuin's Lavinia.

Get:

• For myself—I'm traveling backwards in time.Having been quite blown away by Nathan Englander's Ministry Of Special Cases, I'm now ready for his long ago collection For The Relief Of Unbearable Urges.
• I also want Martha Gellhorn's collected letters—the editor for this one is Caroline Moorehead.I tried to buy it a year ago and a strange series of merry mishaps prevented it.So I'm asking someone to buy it for me this year.Happy holidays!

© Daniel Miller

John Perkins, author of The Secret History of the American Empire and Confessions of an Economic Hitman

Give:

• The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot by Naomi Wolf
• Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries by Naomi Wolf
• The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower by Robert Baer
• The Secret History of the American Empire by John Perkins

Get:

• The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• The Autumn of the Patriarch (P.S.) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Brida: A Novel by Paulo Coelho
• The Old American: A Novel by Ernest Hebert

© Marion Ettlinger

Melissa Bank, author of The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing

Give:

Two by Maira Kalman:

• The Principles of Uncertainty
• Elements of Style (illustrated)
and

• Foreskin's Lament by Shalom Auslander
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

© Ken Williams

Tomie dePaola, author of Brava, Strega Nona!: A Heartwarming Pop-Up Book among others

Give:

• Vanity Fair's Portraits

Get:

• The latest book of St. John's Bible in Collegevillen MN. (Hand illuminated and hand scribed). I don't expect to actually receive it since it is quite expensive but it would be my ideal gift.

© Shuback Photography

Jim Trelease, author of the bestselling The Read Aloud Handbook

Give:

• My newborn relatives will get the picture book Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox; the early primary-grade relatives will get the picture book Drummer Boy by Loren Long; and the upper-graders will receive the two picture books Spuds by Karen Hesse and Naming Liberty by Jane Yolen.
  

Get:

• I've asked for William Least Heat Moon's new American travel book Roads to Quoz for Christmas.

Courtesy of the author

John O'Hurley, author of It's Okay To Miss The Bed On The First Jump

Give:

• For every father in America: Cormac McCarthy's book The Road, as a reminder of the preciousness of a child's life and the fundamental importance of paternal responsibility. It is the most visceral and visual novel I have read in memory and I think of the message and the images every time I hold my little son's hand.

Get:

• I would like a copy of The Shack by William P. Young. I have been barraged by emails from people who like what I have written and have urged me to read this wonderful book. I guess a thousand fans can't be wrong.

© Sarah Sneedon

Ann B. Ross, author of the Miss Julia series

Give:

• I will give family members The Gate House by Nelson DeMille
• Heat Lightning by John Sandford
• The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
• The Knot Fairy Book & Audio Cd by Bobbie Hinman
• The Narnia Books by C.S. Lewis

Get:

• A new dictionary, preferably Webster's
• Blood And Bone by William Lashner in February
• Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child in May
• The Renegades by T. Jefferson Parker in February

Michael Corbett, author of Find It, Fix It, Flip It! and Ready, Set, Sold!

Give:

This Christmas, given the current economic climate, I want to give books that are practical, educational, and inspiring!

• Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny! by Anthony Robbins
• The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich by David Bach
• Nextville: Amazing Places to Live the Rest of Your Life by Barbara Corcoran and Warren Berger

© Greg Taylor

Nancy Atherton, author of the Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

Give:

• Mary Carries On:  Reflections on Some Favorite Girls' Stories by Mary Cadogan
• Hedgerow Medicine:  Harvest and Make Your Own Herbal Remedies by Julie Burton-Seal and Matthew Seal
• Olympic Follies, The 1908 London Games: A Cautionary Tale by Graeme Kent
• The British Soldier Of The First World War by Peter Doyle

Get:

• One Hundred English Gardens: The Best of English Heritage Parks and Gardens by Patrick Taylor
• The English House: English Country Houses and Interiors by Sally Griffiths
• Wild About Cornwall by David Chapman
• Curious Country Customs by Jeremy Hobson
• Endangered Species: The Bart And The Bounder's Countryside Year by Sir Richard Heygate and Mike Daunt
• The Hammond World Atlas Fifth Edition

© Ann Marsden

Robert Alexander, author of The Romanov Bride

Give:

• A Place of Execution by Val McDermid
• How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
  
• The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
  
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson and Reg Keeland
  
• A GIFT CERTIFICATE TO ANY BOOKSTORE (because nothing beats browsing books on a winter night)!

Get:

• The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
  
• Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
  
• Stalin's Ghost by Martin Cruz Smith
  
• The Last Days of The Romanovs by Helen Rappaport
  
• Sweet Poison by Ellen Hart
  
• The Torment of Others by Val McDermid
  
• Ronald Harwood's Adaptations: From Other Works into Films by Ronald Harwood

Louise Murphy, author of The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

Inspired by the United States electing our first African American President, hopeful about the possibility of Americans healing our divisions, my wish list is full of books that might open my experience of being an American.

Give:

• Gennifer Choldenko has written If A Tree Falls At Lunch Period for teens on a taboo subject, and I want it for my 15 year old neighbor. A white girl and an African American boy at a private school discover that they share a secret that will shake their worlds.

Get:

• I want Writing Over Borders by Kamiko Hahn, a book of poems that won the 2008 PEN award. Hahn is speaking from the experience of having a Japanese American mother from Hawii and a German American father from Wisconsin.
• Chris Abani, a man born in Nigeria who has lived in London, New York and now in Los Angeles is the sort of person that artists become in our modern world of displacement. I want his Song For The Night because it deals with the perverseness of children caught up in war and the battle of children to maintain their innocence.
• Because the world is so serious at the moment, because I worry too much, I want Sarah Gristwood's book, Elizabeth And Leicester so I can be caught in another time, thinking about the problems of power and relationship that are not mine.