Rumaan Alam stopped by the Today show to share his holiday gift book recommendations with Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb.

Alam is known for novels including That Kind of Mother and Leave the World Behind; the latter was recently adapted into a film for Netflix.

Alam suggested a gift for pop culture lovers: the biography Madonna: A Rebel Life, by Mary Gabriel, which he said he was “selfishly buying for myself.”

“Mary Gabriel is a brilliant critic and thinker; she wrote an incredible book of art history called Ninth Street Women that I loved, and I’m really excited to see her turn her attention to Madonna, one of the most interesting figures from recent popular culture,” he said.

For everyone, he recommended Melissa Rivero’s novel Flores and Miss Paula, published last week by Ecco.

“Melissa Rivero writes so beautifully, with just the right twist of humor and heart,” he said.

Alam’s suggestion for avid readers was Gabriel Bump’s novel The New Naturals, which a critic for Kirkus called “an affecting, experimental tale of race and reinvention.”

“I read his first book; I absolutely loved it,” Alam said. “He’s just a really gifted, musical writer, and sometimes you just want that experience of a book that you really want to talk to somebody about. I feel like this is going to be that book that my best friend and I can just get on the phone and talk [about].”

Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.