I love the idea of giving books at Christmas, because I always feel like you can never have enough books! If I had an endless supply of cash, I’d just keep buying books (and coffee & donuts), and there’s something quite wonderful about unwrapping a brand new hardback on Christmas morning. So today we’re talking books, books to give, books to ask Santa for, and books that are on my Christmas list too.
Getting the obvious out of the way, the world has gone Hygge mad this year – and for good reason, it’s bloody brilliant. I really love The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking, but Hygge: The Danish Art of Happiness comes highly recommended too. On the theme of beautiful non fiction books, I picked up Joy in Every Moment back in September, and it’s a beautiful book to dip in and out of. Fans of mindfulness will definitely enjoy that one! Not technically a book, but the Flow Mindfulness Journal is a gorgeous gift too. For minimalists, you can go down the Marie Kondo route, or perhaps Sarah Knight’s The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**K, if they think Marie Kondo is a bit much.
I love to give beautiful coffee table books (I love to receive them too) – they’re a great gift if you know someone who has recently moved, but you’re not necessarily sure of their style. The Kinfolk Home book is entirely beautiful, and I’ve given the Kinfolk Table book as a gift before too. If you’ve got a friend who dreams of going off the grid, Cabin Porn is a gorgeous coffee table tome that should satiate their wanderlust, and The New York Times’ 36 Hours In series is great for any travellers. I’ve also been eyeballing the Kate Spade book, All in Good Taste.
I received Garance Doré’s Love x Style x Life last year, a great gift for twenty-something Instagram addicts like myself. This year I’ve got my eye on A Poem for Every Night of The Year, and the Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them Screenplay, great books with gorgeous covers too.
Cookbooks are always a good book, recently I’ve been loving The Good Life Eatery, and Scandinavian Comfort Food is on my wishlist this year. I also like the look of Diana Henry’s Simple, because I hate recipes that involve too much faff.
Autobiographies tend to be a good bet, I’m currently giggling my way through Sue Perkins’ Spectacles, and I’ve got Lauren Graham’s Talking As Fast As I Can at the top of my letter to Father Christmas. Anna Kendrick’s Scrappy Little Nobody is a good bet for any twenty something gals in your life, and Mindy Kaling’s Why Not Me? had me in stitches.
If you prefer to gift fiction, I tend to go with my old favourites. To Kill A Mockingbird is a book I gift to those I love most, I’m always hunting down a new beautiful copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and the Penguin Little Black Classics make wonderful stocking fillers. Phillip Pullman’s Northern Light’s Trilogy fills me with hope, wonder and inspiration, and The Bone Clocks is one of those books it’s impossible to put down.
What books are on your wishlist this Christmas?