This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on them I might get a few pence, it costs you nothing
I always give books at Christmas, and love to receive them too. In fact in previous years I have wanted to adopt the Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve that is known as “Book Flood”. People give new books along with something like hot cocoa or chocolates. It started during WWII when paper wasn’t rationed so books could be given when other items were in short supply, and is a tradition that has continued. I love it.
First on my list of books to give this Christmas isnt actually out until March but I make no apology for including it in this list. Give your recipient a gift voucher and an IOU for it as something to look forward to in the spring. Armistead Maupin is an astonishing author, and his Tales of the City series is surely one we have all read (what, you havent?! Well get them all on your Christmas list right now!) so to have a new story to add to the series is an absolute treat. American Mona Ramsey finds herself Lady of the Manor in the UK getting ready to welcome guests to a midsummer ceremony. This is the tenth story, released ten years after the last it doesnt disappoint.
In the Juggler’s Box by Clio Gray pulls together three strands to tell a wonderful story of historical adventure. It’s a really easy read that flows brilliantly between the threads without becoming overly complicated. I also loved how Clio really made us believe in the characters when too often I have found myself reading books recently thinking “nobody would do that”, these characters dont. This is a great book to curl up with in-between Christmas and New Year when you need an excuse to ignore the clearing up that should be getting done.
Tess Gerritsen is a phenomenal story teller, the plots and characters are utterly believable as she comes to writing from a medical background having originally gone to Med School in the US. Hard to believe though that since writing her first book whilst on maternity leave she has gone on to write 32 books in 36 years. I mean, how?! In the Spy Coast we are introduced to Maggie Bird once a spy, now long into retirement and living a quiet life as a chicken farmer in rural US when she wakes one morning to find a dead body on her drive. What follows is the unfolding of learning about Maggie, and her friends’, past lives as we learn why her career ended fifteen years ago and it’s all coming out now. I loved this and read it in practically one sitting.
If you claim to be in any way a foodie you will be aware of The Ginger Pig. Their sausage rolls are a thing of absolute beauty, and their shops in London are a must visit, I couldn’t love them more. We were lucky enough to be invited to the launch of this book and to learn more about how it came together. It is packed with all you need to cook and prepare for Christmas allowing you to actually enjoy the preparation and not get stressed about being in the kitchen again. I read cookery books like novels and this was no exception. Gift it this Christmas as a present for your recipient for next Christmas or give it to them now as a “you have got this” just before the madness of Christmas food prep really gets under way.
Finally it is another foodie book, this time from our friend The Curry Guy Dan Toombs. We have got all his books and have been lucky to spend time with him as he cooks up a storm in front of us. If you have ever been intimidated by cooking spicy dishes, you need Dan’s books. Packed with really easy to follow recipes he debunks the myth that curries are complicated, or just an array of five different dishes. They truly aren’t and in this book of one dish wonders Dan shows you how easy it is to cook from scratch and have a meal in the table in no time.