A Top Gear Christmas, by Richard Porter (BBC Books, £12.99
THIS light-hearted gift will save some grumpy old – and young – men from the possible boredom of Christmas. It features Clarkson’s guide to wrapping presents, Hammond’s review of festive jumpers, May’s stint as Santa Claus and the secrets of The Stig’s Christmas dinner, among other humorous offerings.
Dead Centre, by Andy McNab (Bantam, £18.99) YOU can’t beat ex-SAS man McNab for some all-action escapism, and his latest novel won’t disappoint. Familiar hero and ex-SAS operative Nick Stone is called to help when a Russian billionaire oligarch’s son and wife are snatched from their private yacht by Somali pirates and are held to ransom. Stone and his men are sent into war-torn Somalia to rescue them.
FOR HER
One Day (Special Hardback Gift Edition), by David Nicholls (Hodder & Stoughton, £30)
ANYONE who hasn’t yet read this delightful romantic tale should splash out on the beautifully packaged gift edition for the woman in their life. It’s a funny, bittersweet love story which follows Emma and Dexter from the moment they meet on their last night at university in 1988 and revisits them every St Swithin’s Day (July 15) for 20 years, as their complicated – but entrancing – friendship develops.
Christmas at Tiffany’s, by Karen Swan (Pan paperback, Nov 25, £6.99)
A YOUNG woman, Cassie, whose marriage is in tatters, sets out on a year-long trail to stay with each of her best friends in three cities: New York, Paris and London. On the way she tries to work out where she belongs and the man who was supposed to love her all along.
Miracle on Regent Street, by Ali Harris (Simon & Schuster, £6.99 paperback)
THIS is a great stocking-filler for those who want a few hours’ escape from the hubbub of Christmas. Pour yourself a glass of wine and settle down to this debut novel with a festive feel about Evie, the stockroom manager of Hardy’s, a shop whose glory days are over. When she overhears that Hardy’s may be sold, she sets out to reverse the store’s fortunes by December 26 – but she’ll need a miracle to do it.
HISTORY
Conqueror, by Conn Iggulden (HarperCollins, £18.99)
FANS of this best-selling author of historical fiction will enjoy the fifth and final volume in his epic series on Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s grandson, and the building of the Mongol empire.
Jerusalem, by Simon Sebag Montefiore (Phoenix paperback, £14.99)
COMING to the BBC as a three-part series in December, this epic biography of Jerusalem spans 3,000 years, from King David to Barack Obama, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Shadow of The Titanic, by Andrew Wilson (Simon & Schuster, £19.99)
MOST of us know the story of the Titanic, but little has been written about those who survived. This book focuses on the survivors, what happened to them after the tragedy and how it affected their lives.
All Hell Let Loose, by Max Hastings (Harper Press, £30)
THIS compelling global portrait of the Second World War seeks to answer the question of what it was like being in the war. Beyond the tales of human experience, Hastings offers many personal insights on the struggle, based on more than 30 years’ research.
THRILLER
22.11.63, by Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton, hardback £19.99)
THE title is the date that Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas and this gem from the horror master tells the story of Jake Epping, living in Maine, aged 35, who, through a friend, is given the opportunity to travel back in time, agreeing to a seemingly insane and desperate mission – to prevent Kennedy’s assassination.
In travelling back, he arrives several years before the killing – time enough to plan how and when to stop it.
Micro, by Michael Crichton (HarperCollins, Nov 22, £18.99)
WHEN best-selling writer Michael Crichton died unexpectedly in 2008, he left behind the unfinished manuscript for a riveting thriller containing all of the hallmarks of his best work. Completed by the science writer Richard Preston, the story tracks a group of graduate students hired by a shadowy bio-tech company to undertake secret research in the Hawaiian rain forest. But, when they arrive on Oahu, they find themselves cast out into the unforgiving wilderness, where potentially world- changing discoveries are tempered by terrifying dangers.
Death Comes To Pemberley, by PD James (Faber and Faber, £18.99)
BARONESS PD James may be 91, but she can still turn out a cracker of a story. She has often quoted Pride and Prejudice as her favourite novel and uses characters and settings from the original Jane Austen story in her latest thriller, which opens with a brutal murder at Pemberley, skilfully combining a sensitive insight into the happy but threatened marriage of the Darcys with the suspense of a detective story.
MEMOIRS
Shockaholic, by Carrie Fisher (Simon & Schuster, £14.99):
EVEN if you’re not a Star Wars fan, the actress who played Princess Leia will have you laughing out loud as she reveals her amazing experiences in Hollywood and beyond.
The daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher recounts her life after her father ran off with Elizabeth Taylor, her subsequent relationship with her parents, spells in rehab and her electric shock therapy.
The Necessary Aptitude, by Pam Ayres (Ebury, £20)
THE witty poet with the country burr, who made her name on Opportunity Knocks, in the Seventies, charts her life from her early days growing up in rural Berkshire to joining the Women’s Royal Air Force and finally making the unexpected leap into showbiz – which wasn’t always all it was cracked up out to be, she reveals: “It was thrilling to win Opportunity Knocks, but, two years afterwards, I felt as though I’d been chewed up, spat out and was expected to quietly disappear.”
COOKERY
Jamie’s Great Britain, by Jamie Oliver (Michael Joseph/Penguin, £30)
BOUND to be a best-seller this festive season, it contains more than 100 new recipes from around the country that demonstrate, in Jamie’s view, the best of British cooking.
The Great British Bake Off, by Linda Collister (BBC Books, £20)
THE recent series captured the nation, so maybe now it’s time to give this tie-in gift to a loved one to have a go at baking the perfect Victoria sponge and other mouth- watering delights.
MISCELLANY
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, by Steven Jay Schneider (Cassell, £20)
FILM buffs will love this collector’s tome, detailing everything you need to know about the most important movies of our time, from romance to horror and Westerns to sci-fi.
On Booze, by F Scott Fitzgerald (Picador, £9.99)
A BEAUTIFULLY packaged collection of F Scott Fitzgerald’s best writing about drink makes this a most intoxicating Christmas gift. “First you take a drink,” Fitzgerald noted, “then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.”
Frozen Planet, by Alastair Fothergill and Vanessa Berlowitz, with a foreword by Sir David Attenborough (BBC Books, £25)
THIS is a perfect coffee table book for fans of this autumn’s landmark natural history series from the team that produced Blue Planet and Planet Earth.
CHILDREN
Predators, by Steve Backshall (Orion Children’s Books, £12.99)
THIS full colour gift book features the Bafta-nominated Deadly 60 presenter Steve Backshall’s encounters with the world’s deadliest predators.
The Morganville Vampire Omnibus 1 and 2, by Rachel Caine (Allison & Busby, £12.99 each)
TWO beautifully jacketed omnibus editions, each containing three stories, could be every vampire-lover’s present.
