Kylie Morrison-Sloat is a publicist in the marketing department. Follow her on Twitter. 

If your holiday list consists of bookworms, bibliophiles, and booklovers, we are here to help. Another common problem we are here to help you with is disguising gifts. Books are so recognizable under a thin layer of wrapping paper, but don’t worry, we have some solutions for you.

The Reluctant Pilgrim
A Skeptic’s Journey into Native Mysteries

By Roger Welsch

The Reluctant Pilgrim shares a skeptic’s spiritual journey from his Lutheran upbringing to the Native sensibilities of his adoptive families in both the Omaha and Pawnee tribes.

Wrapping disguise: Cut a slit in the back of a stuffed animal (the more exotic the better, like a sting ray or a sloth), remove the fluff and replace it with the book. They will think they are a getting a cuddle buddy and they are! Granted it will be kind of flat, but they won’t notice because they will be reading.

A Powerful Mind
The Self-Education of George Washington

By Adrienne M. Harrison

An intellectual biography of George Washington’s solitary process of self-education and reading and how it shaped his life and achievements.

Wrapping disguise: Save the box from a really expensive gift, like a game console, TV, or other electronic, and place the book in there. They will think you are really mean, but they will forgive you when they read the great book.

Infinity Beckoned
Adventuring Through the Inner Solar System, 1969–1989

By Jay Gallentine

Infinity Beckoned illuminates a critical period of space history when humans dared an expansive leap into the inner solar system.

Wrapping disguise: Save the box from your morning cereal and place the box in there with some tissue (or just leave half the cereal). They will think you are feeding their stomach, but you are really feeding their mind.

The Two-Wheeled World of George B. Thayer

By Kevin J. Hayes

Early cyclotourist George B. Thayer’s travels in the United States and abroad, in the context of late nineteenth-century cycling culture.

Wrapping disguise: Create a box matrix by putting a box in a box in a little bigger box and that in a bigger box and so on and so on. They will think they are getting a much larger gift, but really they are getting a book and a lot of recyclables.

When Are You Coming Home?
Stories

By Bryn Chancellor

Set in rural and urban Arizona, When Are You Coming Home? explores the deep human connection to home through chance meetings with strangers, collisions within families, and confrontations with the self.

Wrapping disguise: Put the book in a pet kennel and play recorded animal sounds. They will think they are getting a furry friend, but they are really getting a literary friend. Eight Questions of Faith
Biblical Challenges That Guide and Ground Our Lives

By Niles Elliot Goldstein

Eight Questions of Faith is a spiritual exploration of some of life’s biggest questions—questions that have been asked by prophets and kings, mystics and sinners—that continue to be asked by every one of us today.

Wrapping disguise: Put the book in a box or bag under an extremely ugly sweater (fringe and pompoms encouraged). They will be forced to wear the sweater out of politeness and that’s just a bonus for you.

The Self-Propelled Island

By Jules Verne

Translated by Marie-Thérèse Noiset

The first complete translation of Jules Verne’s science-fiction novel about a string quartet abducted onto a floating, man-made island inhabited by millionaires touring the archipelagos of the South Pacific.

Wrapping disguise: Place the book in an air tight bag and conceal it in the holiday pudding. They will have a snack to eat while reading the awesome book.

Gil Hodges
A Hall of Fame Life

By Mort Zachter

In descriptions of athletes, the word “hero” is bandied about and liberally attached to players with outstanding statistics and championship rings. Gil Hodges: A Hall of Fame Life is the story of a man who epitomized heroism in its truest meaning, holding values and personal interactions to be of utmost importance throughout his life—on the diamond, as a marine in World War II, and in his personal and civic life.

Wrapping disguise: Cut a rectangle out of the pages of a larger book that you know is not one they would like and place the book they would love inside. They will think you don’t know them at all, but then they will be pleased and everyone will get a good laugh.

 

For more novel gift suggestions from UNP click here.