2013 has marked another year of tumultuous change for the book industry. With mergers, acquisitions, lawsuits and authors facing a whole new array of methods to introduce their work to the world, it is safe to say publishing will never been the same.

While some have the doomsday attitude that the book is dead, I remain steadfastly optimistic that the century old concept of books will remain—although they will likely be in new and different formats and most certainly be read on a multitude of devices.

To me, the most important thing is the magic they still contain. What other medium can claim to serve such a wide population—from youngsters soothed by a familiar bedtime story, to students absorbing information from thinkers both present and past, to flat-out escapism possible at any age. Losing yourself in a compelling book and being transported to another time and place that stimulates your interest and imagination will never go out of style.

Here’s what the Cave Henricks staff has on their reading agendas for the holiday break.

Margaret Kingsbury

I’m excited to read DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth over break. The movie is coming out in March, and I definitely want to read the book before I see it.

Set in a futuristic dystopia where society is divided into five factions that each represent a different virtue, teenagers have to decide if they want to stay in their faction or switch to another—for the rest of their lives. Tris Prior makes a choice that surprises everyone.

Kaila Nickel

I will be reading Khaled Hosseini’s THE KITE RUNNER—a book I am long overdue in reading.

This book, I feel sure, needs no summary from me, as it has become an international classic in the decade since its release. I’m a few chapters in and already regretting that I waited so long to crack the cover!

Megan Grajeda

I’ll be eagerly catching up on my comic history with DIVAS, DAMES & DAREDEVILS: Lost Heroines of Golden Age Comics by Mike Madrid.

Wonder Woman, Mary Marvel, and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, ruled the pages of comic books in the 1940s, but many other heroines of the World War II era have been forgotten. Mike Madrid’s Divas, Dames and Daredevils is a thrilling look back at the lost supergirls of Golden Age comics, highlighting their influence on popular culture and on the heroes of today.

Kari Banse

I have MAGIC WORDS: The Extraordinary Life of Alan Moore by Lance Parkin on my reading pile.

Alan’s journey from the hippie Arts Labs of the 1970s to the bestseller lists was far from preordained. A principled eccentric, who has lived his whole life in one English town, he has been embroiled in fierce feuds with some of the entertainment industry’s biggest corporations.

Kimberly Petty

As morbid as it may sound, I’m looking forward to reading THE END OF YOUR LIFE BOOK CLUB by Will Schwalbe.

After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Mary Anne Schwalbe spent much of her time awaiting treatment in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Joined by her son, Will Schwalbe, the two start an informal book club that not only helps them pass the time but brings them closer together.

Jessica Krakoski

THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt.

I’ve been a Tartt fan ever since she blew me away with The Secret History in 2004. Her long-awaited new novel has been on nearly every end-of-year “best of” list, and I can’t wait to dig in!

Barbara Henricks

I may be the last person alive to read this, but my plans are to read Barbara Kingsolver’s THE POISONWOOD BIBLE which I won at a staff party in which we blindly exchanged our favorite books with one another. This is Jessica’s favorite.

For those who also might not have read it, this is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it—from garden seeds to Scripture—is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family’s tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.

Happy holidays and happy reading to all!