The Best Books for Movie Lovers

A 2024 holiday gift guide

Nov 24, 2024

∙ Paid

Well, a month from today is Christmas Eve … yay/eek, depending on your thermostat and progress on holiday gifting!

For those newer to Marshall and the Movies, I put together a holiday gift guide back in 2021 — surprisingly, most of it still remains available and recommendable! (I already own/use everything in it for anyone looking to buy me something … just purchase a subscription to this newsletter.)

A gifting guide for the cinephile in your life

Marshall Shaffer

November 26, 2021

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But I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight a certain class of gifts that were largely missing from that original guide: books about cinema.

I’ve always been a voracious reader, although recently I’ve found it harder to clear the mental space to make time for books. (It’s been quite some time since I’ve read a full novel, so I am very much welcome to your suggestions about what I should try.) My “cheat code” to get myself restarted in a reading groove is to read a book about movies because there’s at least a guaranteed hook of interest.

So whether you’re in the market for a gift to satisfy the movie lover in your life or just want to grow your own knowledge, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite books about cinema here in this post! Paid subscribers will get some additional bonus recommendations behind the paywall, but I’ve made some previously paid-only posts where I’ve been in conversations with some of these authors available for all to read. If you found value in these, please consider investing in the labor and time it takes to make this newsletter possible!