You know the drill. You drew your weird cousin in the family Secret Santa, but all you know is she likes books, and now it’s too late and/or awkward to ask her for specific titles, because shouldn’t you know more about your own cousin? (No. She is full of secrets on purpose.)

As a high-ranking representative of That Weird Cousin, Inc., I’m here to tell you that your own weird cousin will probably not have heard of these books, and will be delighted to receive them. Broken down by your vague memories of what they were into last time you heard about them, these books will have a high chance of gifting success.

The Jane Austen/Bridgerton Fan

A Girl of the Limberlost (Gene Stratton Porter)  – This is a should-be classic. Vaguely gothic secrets, early naturalism, lots of discussion of class and manners and clothes. No one has heard of it, though, so you will seem incredibly impressive.

A Sorceress Comes to Call (T. Kingfisher) – Good for both younger fans and for that older cousin/aunt who’s seen every period piece the BBC has ever produced. A horror of manners, and in this one, it’s the older chaperone aunt who gets to have the romance.

The D&D Player

The Sky on Fire (Jenn Lyons) – A nonstop thrill ride with DRAGONS. You couldn’t ask for more, and neither could your cousin. However: be aware that this book gets moderately steamy. If your cousin is on the younger side or if that would make things weird, better to get this next option below.

Blood of the Old Kings (Kim Sung-Il; trans Anton Hur) – Hopefully you heard that the Korean president briefly declared martial law. Hopefully you also heard and saw the badass response of the democratically elected leaders who showed up and voted him down, and the badass response of the people, who showed up, coordinated their signs, sang impeachment carols, and generally refused to be cowed. Blood of the Old Kings is all about that energy. It’s timely, it’s impeccably plotted, and it’s gorgeously imaginative.

The Kpop Obsessive

Blood of the Old Kings (Kim Sung-Il; trans Anton Hur) – See above, and also, look, you don’t have time to decipher what group and what group member(s) they like, especially because the cost of getting it wrong is very high. Sidestep that issue by giving them something else that’s very current and relevant.

Tower (Myung-hoon Bae; trans. Sung Ryu) – This one is a bit off the wall, a series of interconnected short stories about a mega-skyscraper that functions as its own sovereign state, so while it might be a little risky, your gift recipient is unlikely to have read it.

Marigold Mind Laundry (Jungeun Yun; trans. Shanna Tan) – This is a very cozy book that was a bestseller in Korea.

The Newly Out Cousin

Mirrorstrike (Benjanun Sriduangkaew) – It’s “The Snow Queen” but with an interdimensional despot, a magic-powered gladiatrix, and a dark and possibly doomed romance. Utterly beautiful prose, but do be aware that it’s a bit sexy, so if that’s not comfortable for gifting, try the below instead.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In (John Wiswell) – It’s brutal, it’s sweet, it’s sweetly brutal and brutally sweet. Absolutely a delight from beginning to end. Think Grendel but with queer romance (and a bit more whimsy).

The Burned Out Cousin

The Year of the Hare (Arto  Paasilinna; trans. Herbert Lomas)  – Does your relative work 80-hour weeks and seem perpetually on the brink of crying? Here is a book about a guy who accidentally hits a hare while driving to a work assignment, and then runs away to live in the woods, ostensibly to care for the animal, but also to live a wilder life. Rest assured that this isn’t some schmaltzy Eat, Pray, Love nonsense—at one point, there is an escape from the Russian government involved.

The Anime Cousin

A Magical Girl Retires (Park Seolyeon; trans. Anton Hur) – Okay, this is Korean and not Japanese, but it has impeccable Shoujo vibes. If you don’t know what that is, think Sailor Moon. Is your cousin Sailor Moon-adjacent? Great, sorted.

Rental Person Who Does Nothing (Shoji Morimoto; trans. Don Knotting) –Look, you’ll never be able to figure out what they’ve already seen/read, nor do you want to. Sidestep the issue with this book that will make everyone exclaim, “only in Japan.”

The Full Moon Coffee Shop (Mai Mochizuki; trans. Jesse Kirkwood) – Talking cats run a magic coffee shop in Kyoto! What else do you need to know! (Nothing!)

The Swiftie

The City in Glass (Nghi Vo) – I don’t know that much about Taylor Swift, so here is my reasoning on this one: a beautiful demoness, a high-stakes romance, a devoted relationship with her fans/adherents/people, and most of all, a heart of transparent glass in which she keeps stories. Swift’s life is also very much on display, so this felt somewhat Swift-esque.

The Fox’s Tower and Other Tales (Yoon Ha Lee) – Each of these stories feels approximately the length of a song, and also feels similar to some of Swift’s more heavily symbolic offerings (I’m thinking “The Albatross” and “Cassandra”). Swifties, please do not come for me if I am wrong, I am trying my best.

The True Crime Cousin

Dark Side of the Sky (Francesco Dimitri) – Cults! Everybody likes cults. Okay, nobody likes them, but they’re interesting. Here’s a novel about a new age cult that goes very, very weird.

The Christmas Guest (Peter Swanson) – Festive murder! So fun. (Again: not actually fun. But you get it.)

How to Kill Your Family (Bella Mackie) – Grace is in prison for the one crime she didn’t commit. Her quest for revenge is elaborate and far-reaching, and also very, very English. Plus, you can make any number of lame jokes about the title, thereby avoiding actual conversation!

The Horror Aficionado

A Night in the Lonesome October (Roger Zelazny) – If you’re vaguely aware they might like horror but don’t want to be responsible for actually scaring them, get them this. I read it every Halloween, it has the perfect spooky vibes without being gory or upsetting.

The Comics Cousin

The Deep Dark (Molly Knox Ostertag) – This is more New Adult than Young Adult (think mid-20s), and it’s gorgeous, the art and the narrative both.

Young Hag and the Witches’ Quest (Isabel Greenberg) – As with anime and manga, you will probably never be able to figure out what your Weird Cousin has or hasn’t read when it comes to Marvel, DC, and the like. Instead, go for this Arthurian YA that asks whether we should even try to believe in magic (spoiler: yes).

The Little Guy

Haru (Joe Latham) – This is a really sweet comic about a little bird and his boar friend who find a dangerous secret in the forest.

Comet in Moominland (Tove Jansson; trans. Elizabeth Portch) – Moomin is huge in Scandinavia and in East Asia (especially Japan), but didn’t really become as much of a thing here, which is a shame. It’s incredibly charming and imaginative, and there are chapter books for slightly older readers or comics and picture books for younger ones.