A good book at Christmas can be an escape from all the noise and indulgence that the festive season brings, and makes an ideal gift for family and friends.
Whether your loved one is a fan of thrillers, romances, cookery, memoirs or history, there’s something for everyone – so check out this selection of gift books to give your loved one this Christmas.
Festive cheer
A Book For Christmas by Selma Lagerlöf (Penguin Classics, £12.99)
This enchanting collection of Christmas tales by the Nobel Prize-winning Swedish author is now available in English for the first time. Folklore, magic, miracles and festive wonder are all explored.
The Secret Santa Project by Tracy Bloom (HarperCollins, £8.99)
This funny festive novel about romance and friendship sees a woman throwing herself wholeheartedly into the Secret Santa office moment, when unlikely pairings and inappropriate gifts are swapped. It’s an ideal stocking filler to bring even more Christmas cheer.
Murder Under The Mistletoe by the Reverend Richard Coles (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £12.99)
Cosy crime-lovers can snuggle up with this Christmas novella from the famous clergyman, in the third book in the bestselling Canon Clement series. It begins on Christmas Day at Champton Rectory, when Canon Daniel Clement and his mother Audrey are joined by guests at a festive party which is going swimmingly until two attendees meet under the mistletoe – and one of them falls down dead.
The Christmas Cottage by Sarah Morgan (HQ, £9.99)
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Christmas Book Club comes a festive story in which a woman in need of a reset is invited to spend Christmas with a friend and her family in a Cotswolds cottage. But her newfound peace is disrupted as long-buried secrets resurface. It’s about family reuniting, forgiving past mistakes and starting over.
Laughter and long life
Killing Time by Alan Bennett (Faber & Faber, £10)
This novella from the acclaimed Leeds-born dramatist, playwright and author takes a look at lockdown life in a council home for the elderly, featuring a cast of colourful characters including an ex-cruise ship hairdresser, a delusional archaeologist and a keen knitter. He weaves in the apprehension of old age with the comedy which ageing can create – the missing teeth, the fading memories, the deaths and the release Covid brings to its residents as protocol breaks down and they make the most of the time they have left.
Literary gems
Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Vintage, £9.99 paperback)
This year’s Booker Prize-winner is Harvey’s fifth novel and sixth book, charted over a single day in the life of six astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. In those 24 hours they see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets over their silent blue planet, spinning past continents and cycling past seasons, but they also see the fragility of human life while they are so far from earth.
The City And Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami (Harvill Secker, £25)
A new novel from the Japanese international bestselling author begins when a young man’s girlfriend mysteriously vanishes and he sets his heart on finding the imaginary city where her true self lives. His search will lead him to take a job in a remote library with mysteries of its own.
Special edition
And Then There Were None (Ultimate Mystery Edition) by Agatha Christie (HarperCollins, £22)
Reviving the longstanding tradition of ‘A Christie for Christmas’, the esteemed author Agatha Christie’s masterpiece And Then There Were None has been re-crafted into an ultimate mystery edition, ideal for hardback collectors, where the final solution will be sealed in an envelope at the end of the story.
For those who haven’t read the book, it centres on 10 strangers, lured to an island mansion on an isolated rock near the Devon coast by generous hosts, who are mysteriously absent. Each guest is accused of a terrible crime. Then one by one, they start being bumped off.
History
The Rest Is History Returns: An A–Z Of Historical Curiosities by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook (Bloomsbury, £20)
An ideal book for throwing random history facts at the Christmas guests, or in fact anyone who’ll listen, this second book from the creators of the hit podcast takes us on a dizzying A–Z through the past – from the Aztecs to zigzags.
Romantasy
Quicksilver by Callie Hart (Hodderscape, £20, published Dec 3)
Following a 10-way auction for this originally self-published romantasy, there’s much buzz around this book, the first in an enemies-to-lovers trilogy following a thief, a handsome fae warrior and a centuries-long conflict.
Thrillers
Midnight And Blue by Ian Rankin (Orion, £25)
Thriller-lovers will welcome the latest page-turner from the bestselling Scottish crime writer, who brings us the newest instalment in his Rebus series, adapted for TV, in which the Edinburgh detective finds himself in prison, surrounded by people he’s either put away or who hate him because he’s a copper. All seems a bit dismal, until a murder in a locked cell sees all of his instincts kick in.
The Waiting by Michael Connelly (Orion, £22)
Want a bit of excitement this festive season? Ask for a copy of this page-turner which sees LA detective Renée Ballard pursuing a cold case and unearthing a DNA connection between a recently arrested man and a serial rapist and murderer from 20 years earlier.
Life stories
Diddly Squat: Home To Roost by Jeremy Clarkson (Michael Joseph, £22)
Fans of the Prime TV series Clarkson’s Farm will enjoy this companion, in which he records the crops that failed, the mushrooms which went mouldy and the ups and downs of farming sheep, pigs and cows.
Clarkson navigates each hurdle with punchy wit, while at the same time bringing to light the serious problems farmers face.
For more farming life tales, bag a copy of Clarkson’s TV sidekick Kaleb Cooper’s new book, It’s A Farming Thing (Quercus, £20) which delves more into the young entrepreneur’s start in life, his reluctance to venture far from Chipping Norton and his colourful money-making ventures.
My Animals And Other Animals by Bill Bailey (Quercus, £25)
Love animals? You’ll enjoy this. The comedian and winner of Strictly in 2020 is now focusing his energies on a memoir told through his lifelong love of all creatures great and small. He recalls stories of the animals he has encountered over his life, including birds, dogs and chameleons called Posh and Becks, as well as those who have occasionally joined him on stage. It’s heartwarming, life-affirming stuff for animal lovers everywhere.
Cookery
Gino’s Air Fryer Cookbook by Gino D’Acampo (Bloomsbury, £22)
If you’re buying your loved one – or yourself – an air fryer for Christmas, chuck in a copy of Gino D’Acampo’s new air fryer cookbook, in which he creates Italian classics in the popular kitchen gadget, including roasted pumpkin lasagne, aubergine parmigiana, cannelloni with spinach and ricotta, polenta chips, whole sea bream with lemon and even the perfect chocolate fondant.
Travel
The Travel Bucket List (various authors) (DK, £30)
This is perfect for wanderlusters who want to travel the world or simply cross some locations off their bucket list, from wine tasting in Tuscany to exploring the icy plains of Antarctica. It features 500 of the world’s best places and experiences to inspire travellers, from road trips like Route 66 to natural wonders like Mount Fuji and epic festivals like Glastonbury.
