We made it! We got through the hot mess of 2020 to December. Phew! Time to go on the hunt for gifts to inspire the loved ones in your life! And gifts for yourself, too. After surviving a pandemic this long, you’ve earned it. Save 30% on everything at beacon.org through December 31 using code HOLIDAY30.

We laid out some selections below for you to look through for ideas—music biographies, inspirational lectures and speeches, and even some fiction and poetry. You can always check out our website to browse our whole catalog.

Orders must be submitted by 1 pm, December 10 to be delivered before the holidays. USPS media mail takes 7-10 business days.

Beacon Press will be closed Friday, December 18, 2020, through Friday, January 1, 2021. Orders placed during this time will be fulfilled when we are back in the office on Monday, January 4, 2021.

And as always, we encourage you support your local independent bookstore this holiday season!

Without further ado, let us entice you with these titles as we run past the finish line of 2020!

Breathe: A Letter to My Sons
Imani Perry

“In Breathe, Perry offers a lyrical meditation that connects a painful, proud history of African American struggle with a clarion call for present-day action to protect, defend, and celebrate the promise of the next generation.”
—Stacey Abrams, founder and chair of Fair Fight Action, Inc.

Dance We Do: A Poet Explores Black Dance
Ntozake Shange

“Through Ntozake Shange’s personal memories of dance—what it has meant to her, how she came to know, understand, and feel it—we are taken on a journey that chronicles some of the greatest dancers and choreographers of the latter part of the twentieth century.”
—Phylicia Rashad

Eva’s Man
Gayl Jones

“A literary giant, and one of my absolute favorite writers.”
—Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage

Kindred
Octavia E. Butler

“Truly terrifying . . . A book you’ll find hard to put down.”
—Essence

The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
Thich Nhat Hanh

“Thich Nhat Hanh’s ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity.”
—Martin Luther King Jr.

Natural: How Faith in Nature’s Goodness Leads to Harmful Fads, Unjust Laws, and Flawed Science
Alan Levinovitz

“Words have power—just look at the scrambles by ideological groups to own words like ‘right to life,’ ‘pro-choice,’ or ‘family values.’ In Natural, Alan Levinovitz explores the power of that word and the often highly consequential ways in which it has been appreciated, appropriated, distorted, hyped, commodified, consecrated, and weaponized. This is important stuff, as evidenced every time someone discusses the supposed naturalness and thus supposed inevitability of some appalling human behavior.”
—Robert M. Sapolsky, John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor of Neurology and of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, and author of Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

Odetta: A Life in Music and Protest
Ian Zack

“An absorbing portrait of a seminal artist. Odetta was my Queen.”
—Joan Baez, musician and activist

The Radiant Lives of Animals
Linda Hogan

“Linda Hogan’s work is rooted in truth and mystery.”
—Louise Erdrich

Strength to Love
Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If there is one book Martin Luther King, Jr., has written that people consistently tell me has changed their lives, it is Strength to Love.”
—Coretta Scott King, foreword

A Treasury of African American Christmas Stories
Compiled and edited by Bettye Collier-Thomas

“A book for all seasons, these stories are bound to amuse, educate, and inspire all kids, from one to ninety-two.”
—Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams

Woody Guthrie: An Intimate Life
Gustavus Stadler

“Stadler’s gorgeous book is both a paean to the Guthrie we know . . . and a revealing look at the embodied Guthrie, who is vulnerable, playful, and lustful . . . . It opens up an important new window into not only Guthrie the man but the history of the twentieth-century American Left.”
—Gayle Wald, author of Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything
Viktor E. Frankl

“This slim, powerful collection from Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Frankl (Man’s Search for Meaning) attests to life’s meaning, even in desperate circumstances...This lovely work transcends its original context, offering wisdom and guidance.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review