Millennials Dominate Holiday Book Gifting

Audio By Carbonatix

The Harry Potter series, the Bible and “Atomic Habits” are the top three books and series people are gifting this holiday season.

That’s  according to a recent survey  of 2,000 American readers who celebrate the winter holidays, which unveiled book gift giving trends this holiday season.

While the Harry Potter series still largely reigns supreme in people’s hearts, other contemporary titles were popular in the poll as well, such as the Twilight series, “The Alchemist,” “It,” “The Night Circus” and “Rich Dad Poor Dad.”

A few classics also made the top 10 list, including “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Gone with the Wind,” and other quirky or unexpected honorable mentions include “How to Think Like a Roman Emperor,” “1984,” “Cooking for Dummies” and “Watership Down.” 

The survey was commissioned by  ThriftBooks  and conducted by Talker Research, and the findings revealed that over half of respondents (51%) plan to give a book as a holiday gift this year, with young Americans being surprisingly most likely to give literary holiday gifts (millennials 66%, Gen Z 52%).

This season, many book gifters (28%) said they’ve opted to share a specific title with someone because it went viral or was incredibly popular on social media.

And other popular sources of inspiration for bookish presents include recommendations from friends and family (49%), bestseller lists (36%) and book seller websites (31%).

In a risky move, nearly three-quarters of book gift givers (72%) also said they’ll sometimes select a title to give someone even if they’ve never read it themselves, making their sources for recommendations and selections all the more important.

“As the study proved, books make excellent, timeless gifts,” said Barbara Hagen, vice president of marketing at ThriftBooks.” But picking the right book for someone is important, and there are so many good places to look for the perfect read, from Bookstagram and BookTok, to book sites, bestseller lists and even the top 10 book list we uncovered in this study — many of which are well-known classics which can be purchased used.”

Looking at gift-giving habits more generally, six in 10 (60%) of those who’ve ever gifted a loved one a book disclosed that books are actually one of their one of their favorite presents to give to others, and 40% of all respondents said a book is their most cherished gift they’ve ever been given.

And Gen Z and millennials were more likely than older generations to value books as gifts, being most likely to enjoy giving them (millennials 70%, Gen Z 63%) and receiving them (millennials 49%, Gen Z 48%).

The results found that books can create strong bonds between givers and recipients. According to the findings, the majority of respondents (76%) feel moved and touched when someone is able to pick out a book for them that perfectly suits their taste.

And the intentionality goes both ways between parties, with those who love giving books as gifts citing wanting to share something they love with the recipient (48%) as their top motivation for gifting books.

Books can be both sweet and practical gifts, with almost all respondents (89%) feeling that with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), it’s more important than ever to cultivate the habit of reading, and to encourage it in others as well.

Nearly three in four (73%) also said books feel more meaningful than other types of gifts, and people prefer both giving (95%) and receiving (89%) printed titles as gifts, rather than digital versions.

Looking at how this shows up in gifting trends this season, book Advent calendars (e.g. a countdown to Christmas in which a collection of individually wrapped books is given as a gift) are popular, with 39% or respondents saying they’d love to receive a book Advent calendar and more than a quarter (27%) even planning to give one to someone this year.

“It’s clear that this year, people want to both give and receive intentional gifts that offer a little bit of escapism, along with groundedness and practicality,” said Hagen. “Books are perfect for this, and if you’re so inclined, book Advent calendars.”

1. The Harry Potter series
2. The Bible
3. “Atomic Habits”
4. “The Alchemist”
5. The Twilight series
6. “To Kill a Mockingbird”
7. “Gone With The Wind”
8. “It”
9. “Rich Dad Poor Dad”
10. “The Night Circus”

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans who will celebrate a winter holiday in 2025 who have access to the internet;  the survey was commissioned by  ThriftBooks  and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between  Oct. 16 and Oct. 22, 2025.  A link to the questionnaire can be found  here.

To view the complete methodology as part of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, please visit the Talker Research  Process and Methodology page.