The best sci-fi books to gift this holiday

Never Let Me Go centers around the lives of Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy and the relationships they form at a mysterious English boarding school called Hailsham. The students live a very sheltered life for a special reason, and it is only when Kathy ventures into the outside world with her friends that she begins to realize the truth. The sci-fi mystery unravels beautifully, and is well worth a read. 

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If you're looking to escape into a new world, Red Rising takes place in the future where people are organized into a social hierarchy based on color -- Reds being the lowest class and Golds the top class. Darrow and the rest of the Reds work under the surface of Mars, mining helium-3 all day in the hopes of terraforming the planet. 

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However, Darrow soon learns the shocking truth that humanity already reached the surface of the planet a long time ago. Driven by vengeance and justice, Darrow sets out to infiltrate the ranks all the way up to Gold and take down his enemies. 

Candace Chen is trying to survive a post-apocalyptic US. The world has been shut down by a mysterious fever that turns people into zombie-like figures. Candace joins a group of survivors led by a former IT worker called Bob, who tells the group he will take them to the Facility, where it is supposedly safe. 

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Though it was published before the Covid-19 pandemic, Severance has several echoes of those early days of lockdowns. It's eerie and interesting, and worth your time if you're into post-apocalyptic fiction.

I first read The Handmaid's Tale in high school, but it's become one of those books I still think about to this day. The story follows Offred, a Handmaid in a place called the Republic of Gilead. During a time of declining births, Offred and other women have lost their basic rights and are only valued for their ability to reproduce.

The book shifts back to Offred's memories from the past before the world around her changed, and it remains an extremely compelling read. If you've already read The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood also published a sequel called The Testaments. 

This book is for a younger audience, so if you're looking to gift your kid who loves to read or a child who's fascinated by time travel, this is a great option. 

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The story is about sixth-grader Miranda who begins to receive messages from somebody who can seemingly predict events that will happen in the future -- including somebody's death. 

Your internet history is the portal to your deepest thoughts, biases, and beliefs. Everybody Lies answers questions such as "Do parents secretly favor boy children over girls?" and "Do violent films affect the crime rate?" Stephens-Davidowitz uses data that researchers have collated from people's Google search results to answer these questions. 

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This book for the reader who is curious about how the world works and the dichotomy between the appearance versus reality of what people say and what they actually think or believe. 

If you have a passion for photography but don't know where to start, National Geographic has a simple guide to the basics. Whether you're using your digital camera or your smartphone, Joel Sartore breaks it down for you in short lessons. 

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"Photography has been a passion of mine since a young age; however, it wasn't until college that I decided to take a class to actually polish my skills," ZDNET's Sabrina Ortiz said. "It was there that my professor introduced me to this book that has all of the photography basics, and I still reference it before I do a shoot." 

The book describes two types of thought, System 1 and System 2. The first system is described as one's impulsive and immediate thoughts, while the second system is described as slower, more deliberate thinking. 

Psychologist Daniel Kahneman walks the reader through a series of experiments explaining what causes each system of thought to be activated. This is a great choice for someone who wants to get into psychology without jumping into hard science. 

This book has been sitting on my shelf, ready to be read during the holidays. Sapiens incorporates history and science to explain how at least six different species of humans a hundred thousand years ago became one species -- homo sapiens -- and the different "revolutions" that led humans to where they are today.