Giving books as gifts at Christmas might seem a little obvious – but it’s actually one of the most rewarding presents you can give someone. If they love it, they will be grateful to you forever.
Books remain exceedingly good value for the hours of entertainment, escape and potentially life-changing inspiration they offer. So here, at a range of prices and across genres, are 12 options for everyone for whom you might need something this Christmas:
The Neapolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante
A decade after the world was gripped by Ferrante fever, and speculation ran rife about the identity of its Italian author, Ann Goldstein’s translations of the Neapolitan Quartet novels arrive in one volume. From the tough streets of post-war Naples to literary fame and old age, the unforgettable story of the friendship between Lenu and Lila is arguably the literary achievement of the 21st century. Anyone who is at first daunted by the prospect of receiving a 1250-page book will eventually thank you for introducing them to a work that reminds us how utterly engrossing fiction can be.
Europa Editions, £45
The Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger
Know a teenager who doesn’t read much fiction but who might if only they found a book they connected with? I was that teenager, until one year my mum gave me this 1951 novel about a disillusioned young man wandering New York at Christmas and longing to be understood. The famous opening line hooked me, and the narrator Holden Caulfield’s authentic and irreverent voice ushered me into a life of reading. Millions have been moved by it, and some dismiss it as a cliché, but when you read this novel you feel like you are the first, because in the deepest sense you are.
Penguin, £9.99
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
For those who are pushed for time amid the whirl of festivities, this short marvel is perfect. Its setting – the build-up to Christmas 1985 in a small town in County Wexford – makes it well suited for the season. You could read it in one sitting and remember it forever, so acute is Keegan’s rendering of the vision of her protagonist, a fuel merchant with a complicated past of his own, who uncovers an enclosed world of cruelty behind the doors of one of Ireland’s now notorious Magdalene laundries.
Faber and Faber, £9.99
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
A graphic memoir about growing up in a funeral home and the mysterious death of the author’s closeted gay dad is the perfect way to go all in on thinking about family relationships this Christmas. Bechdel’s childhood and youthful reckoning with her own sexuality is also by turns, hilarious, profound and affecting. What’s more, for those who enjoy it, Bechdel’s subsequent books – the most recent of which was this year’s Spent – provide further instalments of her life story, all rendered in her lithe prose and clever illustrations.
Jonathan Cape, £16.99
Jeeves and the Yule-Tide Spirit by P G Wodehouse
Everyone wants to laugh at Christmas, so who better than the master of English comic fiction for a timeless gift? Mostly written between 1915 and 1930, these 13 stories will make a worthy addition for fans of Wodehouse and a winning introduction for newcomers. His impish wit, seamless story-telling and, yes, quintessential Englishness make this festive comfort reading par excellence. The title story involves an elaborate prank, inevitably gone wrong, which ultimately reaffirms the enduring bond between the titular Jeeves and his hapless employer Bertie Wooster.
Cornerstone, £9.99
So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell
This haunting historical novella from 1979 was reissued in an attractive special edition this year and its wistful tone will strike the right note at a time of year when the passage of time is much on our minds. Two lonely teenagers in rural Illinois strike up a friendship before tragedy severs their bond. The narrator looks back on these tumultuous events from the vantage point of 50 years, examining their aftermath and exploring guilt and forgiveness. The powerful final scene, in which he revisits the town where he grew up, confirms the book as a small masterpiece.
Vintage/ Waterstones Exclusive Edition, £16.99
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Now 15 years old, and recently introduced to a new generation by Dua Lipa, who named it the most influential book on her song-writing, Patti Smith’s first memoir is one of the best books ever written by a musician. You needn’t know Smith’s music to be enthralled by her memories of New York in the 1970s, and her relationship with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, in a lost bohemian milieu. Perfect for cool people of all ages, its sequel M-Train is great too.
Bloomsbury, paperback £12.99 or illustrated edition, £30
The Poems of Seamus Heaney
All of the Nobel Prize winner’s poems, including some previously unpublished, in one handsome edition. From his debut Death of a Naturalist (1966), which features the immortal “Digging” and “Spring Term Break”, to his final collection, Human Chain (2010), the quality of Heaney’s verse is mind-blowingly consistent. With critical introductions to each collection, this is a perfect gift for a poetry enthusiast. However, one of the many wonders of Heaney’s work is its ability to reach people who might not usually be drawn to the form, so consider it for them too.
Faber and Faber, £40
Beyond a Boundary by C L R James
As the Ashes series unfolds in Australia, here’s a surprise delivery that could be a plum choice for cricket fans or even those with just a glancing acquaintance with the game. It is one of the greatest books about sport, which means it is both about much more than sport – with James, who was born in Trinidad in 1901, writing about empire and immigration – and magnificent in its descriptions of batting, bowling and more in the West Indies and England. Transporting us across time and oceans, it will make readers long for leather on willow, regardless of how England perform Down Under.
Vintage Classics, £12.99
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
This 1973 novel is classified as a children’s book, but its complexity and frankly terrifying scenes make it more suitable for adults, so let’s split the difference and call it YA. It enjoys a cult following, with the English nature writer Robert Macfarlane introducing this edition, and some devotees read it annually on the winter solstice – the date when the protagonist, 11-year-old Will Stanton, is first drawn into an ancient battle between good and evil. Full of surprises, and steeped in an indelible wintery atmosphere, readers who enjoy fantasy and folklore will relish Cooper’s imagination.
Puffin Books, £7.99
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Sprayed edges, marbled endpapers and the rest of the trimmings that gussy up this hardback edition of the 1868 American classic are all good fun, but the chance to enter the world of the March sisters for the first time, or return there, is what makes this a great gift. Take it slowly, luxuriate in Alcott’s descriptions and the snowy New England setting, without having to feel the biting cold, and you will see Amy, Beth, Jo, Meg and their world more vividly than any of the novel’s many screen adaptations.
Vintage Collector’s Classics, £18.99
