Book ’em, Santa — gifts for everyone

Ah, books — the go-to gifts when you just don’t know what to get for people. But there’s a reason books make the perfect presents — they’re easy to wrap, and we all know how to read (or else you wouldn’t be holding this newspaper, right?). Here are our favorite picks that range from beautiful coffee table books to the must-reads for every person on your list.

For the foodie

 

 

‘The Fat Duck Cookbook’
Heston Blumenthal Bloomsbury, $50
There are foodies (those who know what a balsamic reduction is), and then there are the real foodies (those who can actually prepare the recipes in maverick restaurateur Blumenthal’s amazing cookbook). But even if you can’t re-create his dishes, you will delight in this amazing cookbook’s beautifully produced pages, as well as its reduced price in this reprint (the epic 2008 original, called “The Big Fat Duck Cookbook,” cost $250).

For the handyman

 

 

‘Restoring a House in the City’
Ingrid Abramovitch Artisan, $40
Oh, to fix up (and afford) a brownstone — isn’t that every city dweller’s dream? With beautiful photographs and stylish settings, “Restoring a House in the City” is less Bob Villa how-to and more for the real estate voyeur in us all. But the stunning book is practical; Abramovitch offers sound advice, as well as questions to ask a contractor and architect so your dream of home restoration doesn’t become a money pit nightmare.

For the music lover

 

 

‘Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History of 1955-Present’
Gail Buckland Knopf, $40

In the introduction to this amazing collection of rock ’n’ roll photographs, Buckland writes, “Rock and roll has a handmaiden, and her name is photography. The music alone cannot convey the rebellion, liberation, ecstasy, and group dynamic that is rock ... After the music stops, the still image remains, a conduit for the electricity of rock and roll.” What else is there to say?