The holidays are coming, but the news business isn’t feeling so merry. Times are hard for everyone, actually. And when the times get tough, the tough start reading.

Burying ourselves in a book or two feels like a particularly fine idea this season, as does giving good (and relatively inexpensive) books as gifts. But which books? Economics? History? Advice? Escapism? So we’re putting it to you: If you could recommend a single book to the journalistic community now, which book would you pick, and why?

Every Tuesday, CJR outlines a news-related question and opens the floor for debate. For previous News Meeting topics, click here.