Our 2019 Christmas Gift Guide: The astrology edition
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be compiling a host of gift guides to help you with your Christmas shopping.
In this gift guide, we’ve paired a recent summer release with each of the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Naturally, our choices are all one thousand percent correct and we will hear no criticism…
What to gift an Aries…
A fire sign, Aries are known for being bold and daring. They’re practical and determined, and make good leaders – definitely the kind of person you want around in a crisis. With this in mind then, novels which ponder moral complexities or see their characters immured in indecision are not for this sign. What they’re after is a good old-fashioned adventure tale, preferably one where good triumphs over evil. Against All Odds is a riveting account of the true story of the 2018 cave rescue in Thailand, told by two Australians who were part of the rescue team.
What to gift a Taurus…
Those born under this sign are a unique blend of opinionated, old-school stoic, and pleasure-seeking. Consider then, the latest novel from Christos Tsiolkas: Damascus, which is centred on the gospels and letters of Saint Paul. This story is packed with high-stakes drama, explosive questions, sex and death, and the bodily immediacy of Tsiolkas’s prose will appeal to the Taurus love of physicality. (Though if you’re worried this is not the novel for your Taurus friend, may we recommend a cookbook…?)
What to gift a Gemini…
A blistering tale of a modern heterosexual relationship, Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble is one of the most talked-about books of 2019, and this feels perfect for Geminis who are regarded as brilliant conversationalists. This air sign is also fluid and changeable, just like this slippery and unpredictable narrative which cleverly flips perspectives and ideas on their head, and then back again. This addictive novel is certain to reward a Gemini’s trademark curiosity about others.
What to gift a Cancer…
Noted homebodies, Cancerians are intensely emotional, intuitive and internal people. Empathetic souls, they’re drawn into narratives that allow them to sink deep into the thoughts of another person and so Yellow Notebook, the first volume of Helen Garner’s diaries, is an obvious pick for this sign. This elegant hardback book covers the years of 1978 to 1987, including the immediate aftermath of Monkey Grip Garner’s debut novel being released into the world.
What to gift a Leo…
Like the lion, a Leo is daring, passionate and confident. Often described as the King or Queen of the Zodiac, they are big personalities who both love to be admired, and love to admire beautiful things. The versatile and charismatic musician Prince is one such beautiful thing. The Beautiful Ones is the artist’s story of coming-into-stardom, told through never-before-seen photos, original scrapbooks and lyric sheets, and the memoir he began writing before his death.
What to gift a Virgo…
It is a well-acknowledged fact that Virgo love rules, so what better book to give them than a book of actual rules!? From the beloved Australian comedian, Kitty Flanagan’s 488 Rules for Life is exactly this. Her logical approach and desire for common sense and good manners to triumph will appeal to a Virgo’s own desire for an orderly world. Similarly, those born under this sign will also revel in the book’s frank, funny and judgemental sensibility, which speaks to their own hearts.
What to gift a Libra…
That Libra is the most harmonious of all the signs is widely accepted. Diplomatic, meditative and visionary, they have a known dislike of chaos and mess and usually make great listeners. In her memoir, The Education of an Idealist, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Samantha Power tells the story of her life and reflects on the power of idealism to generate real change. It’s a powerful read for anyone but especially for Librans who often long to make the world a better and more fair place for all.
What to gift a Scorpio…
Scopios are powerful and passionate, intuitive and enigmatic, and stirred by deep emotions. Those born under this sign needs a book that is nuanced and thoughtful, and preferably simmering with secrets. Deborah Levy’s The Man Who Saw Everything is one such book. Entwining two narratives, this is an electrifying and ambitious work of fiction that plays with ideas of memory and grief, interrogating how the past inhabits and impinges us.
What to gift a Sagittarius…
Sagittarians are adventurous, spontaneous and open-hearted people. The ideal book for them is is fun and exciting, with vividly wrought characters and stacks of fast-paced action – in essence, a summer read. We therefore happily recommend Elizabeth Gilbert’s outrageously fun historical romp City of Girls. This heady, glamorous and rollicking tale of showgirls in New York in the 1940s is precisely pitched for reading at an exotic beach, which is likely the Sagittarian’s reading location of choice as it so happens.
What to gift a Capricorn…
Is there any sign more hard-working than Capricorn? We suspect not. This earth sign is practical, self-reliant and determined to succeed, no matter the odds. In Inner Worlds Outer Spaces, Ceridwen Dovey shares insight into the lives of people who have found their way into careers that are fascinating and unusually fulfilling, often in spite of big challenges. In its page, Capricorn readers will learn about space lawyers, bibliotherapists, shark experts and more – and may even be inspired to take on new ambitions.
What to gift a Aquarius…
Quirky, aloof, visionary – the Aquarian in your life needs a book that’s a bit weird, a bit smart, and brimming over with imaginative possibilities. In From Here on, Monsters, antiquarian bookseller Cameron Raybould is commissioned to appraise an unusual rare book, she’s besieged by a series of strange and troubling incidents. This literary mystery is the first novel from award-winning translator, Elizabeth Bryer, and its playful, intellectual qualities are certain to appeal to the Aquarian spirit.
What to gift a Pisces…
Pisces is arguably the most romantic sign of the zodiac – artistic, talented, creative and highly emotional. The Starless Sea is Erin Morgenstern’s long-awaited follow-up to her enchanting debut novel, The Night Circus, and it’s a beguiling magical adventure jam-packed with big feelings. Touting the power of libraries, books and stories, this is the kind of novel that can swallow a reader whole – which is exactly the kind of reading experience a Pisces will enjoy.
