The Top Page-Turning Titles of 2025 and Who to Gift Them to This Christmas
We've gathered together the year's best books from cooking to manga, just in time for Christmas.
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And just like that, Christmas gifting season is upon us.
If your life is blessed with book lovers, you may want to focus your gifting attention on Sydney's best kept bookish secret. Kinokuniya is an inner city treasure trove with a packed Christmas catalog waiting to be explored.
Their Sydney store is filled with what feels like an endless supply of books. That's why we've teamed up to curate a page-turning selection of the best books to gift this Christmas.
Young or old, reader or not, this guide is guaranteed to delight the special people in your life.
For The Foodies: Modern Australian Baking
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If a foodie is on your Christmas list, they're most likely familiar with Christopher Thé. He's the mastermind behind the revered Black Star Pastry. And, most importantly, he's the brains that brought us the Strawberry Watermelon Cake. Thé has also won Kinokuniya's Cookbook of the Year 2025, which means you can pick it up with 20% off, plus you can even find signed copies in store. The book is filled with more than 80 sweet and savoury recipes that have been arranged by season. The ingredients focus on what's native to Australia.
Modern Australian Baking is available online and in store for $48.00 (normally $60.00) with the Kinokuniya special discount.
For The Cat People: Seishin Self-Watering Cultivation Kits
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Browse the rows upon rows of books at Kinokuniya and you'll come across some fun trinkets—like, the Seishin Self-Watering Cultivation Kits. Not only are they shaped like tiny, adorable cats, but they are self-watering planters. The adorable kits are perfect for herbs in the kitchen or adding flecks of green to desks and windowsills. The kits even include seeds.
Seishin Corocoro Cat Planter in store for $19.95
For Good Reads Challenge Participants: Chosen Family
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Book worms in your circle will be delighted to be gifted one of this Summer's most anticipated releases. Madeline Gray's breakout debut, Green Dot, has earned her a legion of fans. Now, her latest release, Chosen Family is similarly breaking the internet with lovers of literary fiction. The book follows Nell and Eve, both brilliant, odd and friendless. We watch them grow into themselves and slowly love and destroy each other from school, to careers and motherhood. Expect humour, heartbreak, romance, and one of this year's best queer stories. If you're buying for a Green Dot super fan, you'll be pleased to know signed copies are also available.
Chosen Family is available online and in store for $34.99
For Non-Fiction Readers: Ankami
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Author Debra Dank had always wanted to learn more about her family. For a start, she knows her father had five siblings. Dank had lived life with an understanding that her family was one of the few who survived the Stolen Generation without having any children stolen. That is, until she uncovers her paternal grandmother gave birth to ten children, not five. What follows is a story unlike anything you've read before. It's blisteringly honest and unforgettable. The book is written from the perspective of those left behind.
Ankami is available online and in store for $32.99
For Kids Who Hate Veggies: Dear Broccoli
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If you're responsible for bedtime stories, or know someone who is, Dear Broccoli is an essential in your roster. This hilarious illustrated story is perfect for kids who don't like their greens. The story follows Frank who makes a polite request each night for broccoli to stop showing up in his dinner. But, night after night, there it is on his plate. The story is a laugh-filled read for little ones and may even make them like broccoli. Make the gift a little special with a signed copy.
Dear Broccoli is available online and in store for $24.99
For Graphic Novel Fans: Cry Wolf Girl
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Fans of graphic novels and manga will love Cry Wolf Girl. The Aussie-authored story follows Dawa. Dawa has lost her family to sickness and is now left alone and empty—that is, until she discovers that trickery keeps her rather fulfilled. The story is an artistic, colourful and cheeky retelling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf from the pen of Melbourne artist, Ariel Slamet Ries. Kinokuniya will be one of the few—if not the only—bookstores with local stock.
Cry Wolf Girl is available online and in store for $38.77
For the Pop Culture Fluent: The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love?
For the friend in your life whose reference repertoire is unmatched, grab them a copy of The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love? The book comes with praise from Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit, Hunt For The Wilderpeople), "Kayleyne Whiskey is an artistic Swiss Army knife," and Dolly Parton, "I was very excited that Kaylene honoured me through her art." In the book you'll find a collection of Whiskey's art, where she puts brightly coloured pop stars—painted with Indigenous style dots and hilarious speech bubbles—into her remote, Central Australian community. Alongside Dolly you'll find Tina Turner, Cat Woman, Cher and Wonder Woman telling the Kungkarangkalpa Tjukurpa (Seven Sisters) story.
The Art of Kaylene Whiskey is available online and in store for $90.00.
For more gifts you can find at Kinokuniya, look no further than their 2025 gift guide.
