If you have a friend with a lot of time on their hands whose main interests are music, video games and beer, than the 1001 series is just the gift for them. The series includes 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die, 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die, and 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. Each colossal book is packed with all the essential details and facts about games, songs, and beers you didn’t even know existed. The video game edition covers everything from Pong to Rock Band with a little Sims and DDR in the mix, as well. The beer version looks at beers brewed all over the globe to bring you the best, while the song volume gives fun facts like, influences, covers and alternate versions of the songs you need to know.

For the favorite history buff on your list comes the gorgeous tome The Classical Tradition. While many people know we get certain modern words from the ancient civilizations (e.g., from polis to police), few realize how much of our culture is so directly connected to the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Classical Tradition collects 563 articles from 339 distinguished authors to look at the way ancient ideas, practices and artistry have influenced Western culture. From art to government, math to medicine, legal theory to popular culture, the influence of the classic traditions can still be felt today, if you know what you’re looking for.

These compelling, lasting images are created by the White House photographers, an elite group of nine who are celebrated in the book The President’s Photographer. While the press is kept at arms length from the president, it is the photographer who brings him to the public.

In The President’s Photographer we see touching images of President Obama and his daughters, Betty Ford with her hair in rollers, and President H.W. Bush in bed with his family.

A direct companion to the National Geographic television special of the same title, the book also takes us into the life of the photographer as he follows President Obama around the world in a week. Combined with the beautiful pictures are stories and anecdotes from the five living veteran photographers about the photographs that reveal more than a speech ever could.

National Geographic’s reputation for gorgeous photography and compelling historical documentation continues with this tome showcasing human history. Eyewitness to History illustrates the past through the eyes of the people who lived it, be they figures of importance or mere cogs in the machine. Each chapter contains a milestone document such as Hammurabi’s Code and Luther’s 95 Theses. Even the writings of everyday citizens reveal tremendous detail about the way of life, customs and practices of people at any given time.

From prehistory to today, the book’s timeline takes us for an epic journey through an ever evolving landscape. It makes one wonder how our time and place will be depicted to future generations.

This season, no self proclaiming fashionista would be caught without The ELLEments of Personal Style on their bookshelf. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Elle magazine has released this book celebrating everything that makes a woman an individual. In glossy photos it pays homage to 25 modern fashion icons, going inside their closets and minds to find out what it is that makes style so uniquely personal.

The Elle team profils fashion powerhouses like Diane von Fusternburg to singers like Fergie and Alicia Keys. They talk to stars of the small screen like Christina Hendricks and Oliva Wilde as well as actresses that transcend time like Angelica Houston. Newcomers in the fashion industry get attention, too, such as Ashley Greene and Lea Michele as well as women who serve as inspiration and a reminder that style is innate, women like Dita von Teese, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Margherita Missoni. Each woman is an icon, yet they could not be more different, thus proving that who you are has everything to do with what you wear. True style cannot be bought, but a delicious reminder to be and dress how you feel can be and should be.