Academia & Publishing

20 Holiday Reads for the Intellectually Curious

The Editors | 03.12.2025

As the holiday season begins its annual attempt to test the limits of human scheduling, many of us look for an excuse to enjoy a moment of peace and quiet. A good book remains one of the more permissible options.

That’s right, our Holiday Reads list returns once again to help you and your loved ones secure the next big read! This year’s selection ranges widely from discussions of climate politics and technological dilemmas to historical flower books, girlhood gaming cultures, and even the odd seasonal mystery. We’re pleased to present 20 books from across De Gruyter Brill and its imprints.

A practical note: Many of these titles are published in open access, and all are 40% off during the De Gruyter Brill holiday sale, which runs until December 11. If you were waiting for a sign to add one more book to the winter stack, this is probably it.

DGB Holiday Sale graphic, reading "Happy Holidays" and featuring the De Gruyter Brill logo turned into a santa hat.

1. Selling Out Santa 🔓

Selling santa book cover.Open AccessSelling Out Santa: Hollywood Christmas Films in the Age of McCarthyIn this captivating case study of Hollywood Christmas films from 1946–1961, Vaughn Joy explores how post-war politics shaped the film industry and the far-reaching cultural impact of federal involvement in cinema.

2. Everlasting Flowers between the Pages 🔓

Everlasting Flowers book cover.Open AccessEverlasting Flowers between the Pages: The Making of Seventeenth-Century FlorilegiaHow did 17th-century gardeners and image-makers immortalize flowers on paper and parchment? This colorfully illustrated volume by Jessie Wei-Hsuan Chen offers a look into the creation of historical flower books – known as florilegia.

3. Superadaptability

Superadaptability book cover.Superadaptability: How to Transcend in an Age of OverwhelmThrough vivid storytelling and real-world examples from business, leadership and innovation, Max Mckeown reveals how to thrive in a world of constant change and complexity.

4. Warum ist Weihnachten am 7. Januar?
(“Why is Christmas on January 7?”)

Warum ist Weihnachten am 7. Januar? book coverGerman-language titleWarum ist Weihnachten am 7. Januar? 101 weitere Fragen und Antworten aus der Welt der ReligionenWhy do some churches celebrate Christmas on January 7? Who are the Yazidis? Does Islam have a leader? Concise and engaging, Wolfgang Reinbold explores these and many more questions from the world of religion.

5. Humanities for Humans 🔓

Humanities for Humans book cover.Open AccessHumanities for Humans: Clear Thinking on Challenging IssuesBuilding on the conversation series of the same name, some of North America’s most prominent academics discuss pressing issues like inequality and racism, highlighting the tangible role that the humanities plays in our everyday lives.

Check out all the episodes of the trans-Atlantic conversation series “Humanities for Humans” on our Youtube channel.

6. Moral Design and Green Technology 🔓

Moral Design and Green Technology book cover.Open AccessMoral Design and Green TechnologyFor better or worse, technology and nature are becoming ever more intertwined. Packed with vivid examples, this book, edited by Bart Wernaart and Gerard Schouten, challenges the reader to rethink our understanding of nature – and consider how moral design can preserve this essential fabric of life.

7. Carbon Free 🔓

Carbon Free book cover.Open AccessCarbon Free: The Way ForwardIt’s now or never. With its unique multidisciplinary approach, Jörg Böttcher’s edited collection explores the concrete steps needed to drive the energy transition forward.

8. Umberto Eco: Philosophische Einstiege
(“Umberto Eco: Philosophical Introductions”)

German-language titleUmberto Eco: Philosophische EinstiegeCurious to see Umberto Eco in a more playful light? In this new book, author Antonio Roselli and comic illustrator Ansgar Lorenz offer a fresh and vivid perspective on the work of the Italian intellectual and philosopher.

Read more about how the book came to be in this interview with author Antonio Roselli and illustrator Ansgar Lorenz.

9. Girlhood Games

Girlhood Games book cover.Girlhood Games: Gender, Identity,and Coming of Age in Video GamesWhile popular imagination has long linked video games to boyhood and masculinity, young women are increasingly shaping the medium. How? Stephanie Harkin explores video games as a vital space for representing girlhood.

10. The Language of Othering in a Diverse Europe 🔓

Open AccessThe Language of Othering in a Diverse Europe“Us vs. them”? Words don’t just hurt – they can divide and discriminate. Edited by Marta Falkowska and Jadwiga Linde-Usiekniewicz, this book examines the impact of denigrating language across diverse European societies.

11. Youth Voting Rights 🔓

Youth Voting Rights book cover.Open AccessYouth Voting Rights: Civil Rights, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, and the Fight for American Democracy on College CampusesHow did young Americans fight – and continue to fight – for their right to vote? Focusing on case studies of four US higher education institutions, the contributions in this volume sketch the evolution of American democracy through the prism of the 26th Amendment.

12. Die Magie der Dinge und die Kunst des Loslassens
(“The Magic of Things and the Art of Letting Go”)

Die Magie der Dinge und die Kunst des Loslassens book cover.German-language titleDie Magie der Dinge und die Kunst des LoslassensThere is an ‘art’ to letting go of things, especially when the objects around us involve intangible attachments – “emotional inheritances,” as Dorothea Rohde explains in The Magic of Things. Her new book guides us towards turning our homes into spaces where we can truly breathe again.

One of our editors recently interviewed Dorothea Rohde about her book – you can listen to their conversation on Youtube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

13. Navigating Sustainable Growth

Navigating Sustainable Growth book cover.Navigating Sustainable Growth: A Roadmap for Boards and Corporate LeadersDrawing on over 300 examples of practices by 180 leading global companies, Gib Hedson shows how businesses can achieve long-term, sustainable growth. His book is the winner of the 2025 Goody Business Book Awards.

Check out this conversation on Youtube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts with Gib Hedstrom to learn more about sustainable growth.

14. Religious and Non-Religious Narratives on Migration 🔓

Religious and Non-Religious Narratives on Migration book cover.Open AccessReligious and Non-Religious Narratives on Migration: Interdisciplinary PerspectivesWith one-sided narratives shaping the perception of migration across the world, the original voices of migrants largely remain invisible. The contributors of this book analyze these existing narratives and explore how alternative perspectives on migration might emerge.

15. Healing Holocaust Survivors 🔓

Healing Holocaust Survivors book cover.Open AccessHealing Holocaust Survivors: Politics of Psychological Rehabilitation in Postwar EuropeHealing trauma or hidden agenda? Drawing on extensive primary sources, Stella Maria Frei examines the post-war psychological care provided to Holocaust survivors and the broader political and regulatory goals intertwined with it.

Stella Marie Frei, the author of “Healing Holocaust Survivors” was interviewed in a blog post earlier this year. Read it here.

16. Tattooed and/or Pierced Christians?

Tattooed and/or Pierced Christians? book cover.Tattooed and/or Pierced Christians? A Comparative Analysis of Catholic and Orthodox Perspectives on Body ModificationDespite its widespread popularity, body modification has received little attention from Christian ethicists – at least until now. In his book, Angelos Mavropoulos examines Catholic and Orthodox perspectives on tattoos and piercings, shedding light on a controversial yet timely topic.

Get a first taste of the topic in this blog post by the book’s author, Angelos Mavropoulos.

17. Petrified 🔓

Petrified book cover.Open AccessPetrified: Living During a Rupture of Life on EarthAs life on Earth tilts toward irreversible change, this book offers a philosophy for living with clarity and courage. Joshua Wodak confronts the rupture reshaping our planet and our future, mapping out a way of living fit for an ever-changing cosmos.

19. Afro-Latin Soul Music and the Rise of Black Power Cosmopolitanism

Afro-Latin Soul Music and the Rise of Black Power Cosmopolitanism cover.Afro-Latin Soul Music and the Rise of Black Power Cosmopolitanism: ›Hemispheric Soulscapes‹ between Spanish Harlem, Black Rio and PanamaThis book reveals how soul music united Afro-Latin communities from New York to Panama and Rio, creating a Black Power cosmopolitanism that crossed borders. Through vivid interviews, it shows how music became a vehicle for solidarity, resistance, and reimagining latinidad.

Read Matti Steinitz on our blog: How Soul Music Became the Heartbeat of the Panama Canal Diggers’ Descendants.

20. Überzeugungskräfte 🔓
(“Convincing Forces”)

Überzeugungskräfte cover.Open Access, German-language titleÜberzeugungskräfte: Über das Vertrauen in Wissenschaft (und Pseudowissenschaft)Why do certain theories gain traction while others fade? This volume investigates the complex mix of evidence, authority, psychology and communication that shapes scientific credibility. It defines the diverse “powers of persuasion” at work in science and considers how trust can be responsibly rebuilt in an age of doubt.

[Title image by Getty Images Plus]

The Editors

Articles signed by the editors were written in a collective effort.

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