It’s a fact: Books make great gifts. They’re easy to wrap, make you look smart, and can transport you to other times and places without you having to leave the comfort of your favorite chair. So, go ahead, give the gift of knowledge. (Side effects may include curiosity and an increased appreciation of beauty.) Whether you’re shopping for history buffs, arts and culture fans, or nature lovers, we’ve got you covered.

To help you in your gift hunting efforts, don’t miss our Holiday Sale 2015. From now until December 31, 2015, get 40% off your favorite University of Washington Press titles with promo code WHLD. Questions? Contact Rachael Levay at remann [at] uw [dot] edu.

Check out our recommendations for the bibliophiles in your life, along with suggested gift pairings:

For the armchair historian/budding geographer:

Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography
By David B. Williams

“Williams does a marvelous job of evoking the cityscape that used to be. He clues us in to the spirit of civic ambition that drove Seattle’s geographical transformations. He methodically chronicles the stages by which its regrade, canal and landfill projects were accomplished. And he’s meticulous about placing his readers on present-day street corners where they can, with some sleight of mind, glimpse the hills, lake shores and tide flats that vanished.”—Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times

Pair it with: A walking tour of Seattle (or the city of your choice)

For the music aficionado:

Classical Seattle: Maestros, Impresarios, Virtuosi, and Other Music Makers
By Melinda Bargreen

“Melinda Bargreen’s Classical Seattle is a who’s who of the city’s classical-music scene over the past half-century, an entertaining recapitulation of interviews she did while serving as the music critic for The Seattle Times and writing for other publications.”—Ellen Emry Heltzel, Seattle Times

Pair it with: Season tickets to a concert series

For the comics fan:

Black Women in Sequence: Re-inking Comics, Graphic Novels, and Anime
By Deborah Elizabeth Whaley

This groundbreaking study of Black women’s participation in comic art includes interviews with artists and writers and suggests that the treatment of the Black female subject in sequential art says much about the place of people of African descent in national ideology in the United States and abroad.

Pair it with: A collector’s edition of a beloved comic or graphic novel

For the art lover:

Seeing Nature: Landscape Masterworks from the Paul G. Allen Family Collection
By Brian J. Ferriso, Kimerly Rorschach, Dawson W. Carr, Mary Weaver Chapin, Chiyo Ishikawa, Patricia A. Junker, Catharina Manchanda, Mary Ann Prior, and Sue Taylor
Published with Portland Art Museum, Portland

“[A] rare and incredible show.”—Jamie Hale, Oregonian

“[This] blockbuster delivers the goods.”—Bob Hicks, Oregon ArtsWatch

Pair it with: A museum membership

For the landscape design nerd:

The Landscape Architecture of Richard Haag: From Modern Space to Urban Ecological Design
By Thaisa Way
Foreword by Mark Treib
Afterword by Laurie Olin

“While the book tells Haag’s story, it also describes the evolution of landscape architecture in the Northwest.”—Columns

Pair it with: A picnic in Gas Works Park or your local sculpture park

For the fly fisherman, woman, and child:

Trout Culture: How Fly Fishing Forever Changed the Rocky Mountain West
By Jen Corrinne Brown

“[T]his is a well-researched, richly detailed history of trout and trout fishing in the Mountain West that, as the author promises, ‘overturns the biggest fish story ever told.'”—John Gierach, Wall Street Journal

Pair it with: A fishing trip or a new fly or rod

For the avid cyclist:

Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road
By James Longhurst

“A measure of any book is whether it makes you think beyond its pages, and Bike Battles did just that for me. My dad used to tell me that if I got only one thing out of a book-an interesting fact, a point of view I hadn’t previously considered, something helpful to my life or just entertainment-the book was worth its cover price. By that standard Bike Battles is a bargain. It allowed me to see the last 150 years of riding in America like a mosaic on the wall. I won’t look at parked cars the same way again. The book ought to give today’s bicycle advocates a sense of their place in history and make them proud to continue the battle.”—Grant Petersen, Wall Street Journal

Pair it with: A customized bike helmet or high-visibility gear

For the social justice warrior:

Stars for Freedom: Hollywood, Black Celebrities, and the Civil Rights Movement
By Emilie Raymond

Raymond shows how, during the Civil Rights Movement, a handful of celebrities risked their careers by crusading for racial equality, and forged the role of celebrity in American political culture with a focus on the “Leading Six” trailblazers—Harry Belafonte, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dick Gregory, and Sidney Poitier.

Pair it with: The gift of solidarity in the form of a donation to a civil rights organization in the recipient’s name