Christmas books - what will you be buying - and hoping to receive this year?

[RachelMumsnet]

Over the next few weeks we'll be launching our recommendations for books this Christmas, taking in adult fiction, non-fiction, kids' books for all ages and cookery books and other gift/coffee table type books. We've kicked off this week with our list for the best fiction for Christmas 2015.

We thought it would be useful to run a thread so you can share your Christmas books gift ideas. We look forward to hearing your thoughts...

[whippetwoman]

I think I will be buying the book Threads: The Delicate Life of John Craske by Julia Blackburn as a present for my dad. It was actually recommended by Helen Macdonald, the author of H is for Hawk, when she did her web-chat here on Mumsnet and it certainly looks very interesting (and then I can steal his copy).

For my DD, aged 13, I am going to buy the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness as I think they sound like a brilliant YA trilogy and would be right up her street. She enjoyed reading A Monster Calls by the same author earlier this year. Plus I'm not ruling out 'borrowing' them myself.

Finally, for my DP I am going to buy Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho, a book recommended on the 50 Book Challenge Thread; Tales of the Marvellous and News of the Strange which is a collection of early Arabic stories edited by Malcolm Lyons and a short story collection called, unsurprisingly, Stories, edited by Neil Gaiman. It's a collection of new and established authors and a lot of the stories have a strong horror or fantasy theme.

After that lot I will probably be spent up!
I hope someone buys ME some books this Christmas...

[angemorange]

I've just finished Robert Galbraith "A Career in Evil" (JK Rowling pseudonym) and thoroughly enjoyed it.

In the past I've also given Kate Mosse books as gifts - Winter Ghosts is lovely at Christmas.

My DS is enjoying the How to Train Your Dragon series and he also likes the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series - there's a new one out at the minute.

I hope I get some interesting fiction! Will be watching this thread with interest :)

[ItsaTenfromDen]

You are here:Around the world in 92 minutes by Chris Hadfield

Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone, illustrated edition

[thunderbird69]

I have a long list of books on my Amazon wishlist, so hopefully I will be receiving some of those. Here's a few of them...

The Quality of Silence- Rosamund Lupton
Disclaimer - Renee Knight
Our Endless Numbered Days - Claire Fuller
The A to Z of You and Me - James Hannah

I'm waiting to get present lists from other people, so not sure what books I will be buying yet.

[zipzap]

I've bought a box set of the Moomins for DS2 (7) as I had them and loved them as a child. He's also Beano mad so he's also getting the Beano annual and the Official Guide to the Beano. Plus several craft books (especially origami) and puzzle/maze books, and some lego ninjago books that have lego with them too.

DS1 (10) wouldn't give a thank you for most fiction books but adores fact type books - World Records, 1000 Facts about everything, DK Science encylopedia - he sits and reads them for hours and then talks at length about everything amazing he's just discovered. He also loves town planning and maps, so I've got him Jeremy Black's Metropolis: Mapping the City which is more of a coffee table book for grown ups but I think he will love it (and I'll enjoy it too!).

He's also into rugby and football so there'll be books about those too, the DK Geography encyclopedia (although that might go to DH as he often wonders about things he notices around us like the weather or landscape that I learnt in Geography O or A level at school).

They've both got several other books coming that I can't remember right now - will update if I remember what they are!

DH is getting Carol Vordeman's Help Your Kids with Music as he loves music and is learning to play instruments himself, and is trying to encourage the dc to love music too, so I hope this will help all of them. He's getting more but I can't remember what they are off the top of my head.

I've bought a few books for me too for dh to give to me - have been buying way too many books for all of us from The Book People as they have so many enticing books at such good prices. However we have way too many books in the house and are trying to cull them to a more manageable level (let's just say that I've stopped counting books and now count the metres of book shelf plus height of piles of books so I'm trying not to buy too many more otherwise we're not going to have any space left to live in the house...

[gingercat12]

I bought Purity by Jonathan Franzen for DH and Top of the Class Tom Gates by Liz Pichon for DS. I have asked for the new Robert Galbraith book (I am so glad angemorange liked it), but told DH that is he has no time to order it, I am happy with Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (which I have already bought just in case).

As DS reads voraciously over holidays I have a few Big Nate books and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan stashed away.

I am starting a new job soon, and I might buy myself The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by GRRM as a present.

[minsmum]

I have bought for my dh a set of six of the Man Booker prize short list. Then I can read them too. I am asking for the new Robert Galbraith.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

The new Stephen King - if I can keep myself away from it for so long!

Might buy dp the new Galbraith.

[Dolallytats]

I want the Hairy Bikers and Sue Perkins autobiographies. I have bought The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser and Le Mort D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory for DH, who is a lot more high-brow in his reading choices than I am!
DS has a football annual and DD has some Bing books. There were other books I wanted, but I never write the title down when I see them and then forget what they are called

[NomNomDePlum]

I'm hoping for:

All my puny sorrows - Miriam Toews
Maddadam- Margaret Atwood
An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It - Jessie Greengrass

[coffeeisnectar]

Teen has bought me the new bill bryson book, the road to little dribbling. I am a huge fan of his and I'm going into hospital for five days in the new year so that's going with me.

I have bought my dsd an eagle in the snow by Michael morpurgo. She's 12 and my 10 year old loves his books too.

I've bought through fire and water by Mark higgit for dp as well. The author was on the Falklands and its his story of his war.

[Bombaybunty]

I'm going to ask for M Train by Patti Smith.
I love her music and have always been intrigued by her life. The book is getting very good reviews.

[Sgtmajormummy]

I am going to buy a facsimile copy of Tolkien's Christmas Letters for both my DC as we regress to all lying on the same bed and reading aloud in the two week hibernation period.
Last year it was The Box of Delights and the year before it was the original Christmas Carol.

[JamJar1]

I will be buying the new Helen Simpson collection Cockfosters, Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread and Shirley Hughes, Lucy and Tom at Christmas.

[AgentProvocateur]

I'm hoping for the new Robert Galbraith book (although I may download it before - patience is not one of my virtues!), Purity and A Little Life. I'll be buying Scott (as in Antarctic) for DH, the Bill Bryson book for DS2, and some music books for DS1.

[ihaveabookaddiction]

Ds1 loves Alex rider so he is getting the box set. His birthday is on new years day so I wrap up for his birthday three books that are the next three in the series he reads so this year he will be getting the next Tom gates, wardstone chronicles and secret breakers. I am a bit of a fantasy fan so for Christmas he is also getting his first Neil gaiman (coraline), Terry pratchett (truckers) and George 'RR Martin (the ice Dragon) he has Steve bacshall's deadly sixty diary and the Haynes manual of the death star. All split between Christmas and birthday.

Ds2 is harder because he prefers to write and draw so I am hoping Barry Loser may tempt him. I have also got him the illustrated Harry potter and some Michael morpurgo as he loves being read to.

Ds3 is 3 so we are dipping into David walliams books for little people. Another Mog or two and some Quentin Blake.

Christmas in our house is more a bookmas and I love it :-)

I would like The taxidermists Daughter by Kate Mosse and Career of Evil but we shall see. I have a lovely store of books on the kindle to keep me busy.

[jellyjiggles]

Following! I need inspiration.

[SkaterGrrrrl]

My Own Story by Emmaline Pankhurst - the basis for the Suffrage movie.

I will be buying DS (3) Barefoot Books - he's obsessed!

[BikeRunSki]

I'm giving DM the new Vivienne Westwood edition of Alice in Wonderland. She collects different illustrations of Alice (DF collected different translations; their entire collection is fabulous).

I would love to receive the autobiography of Beryl Burton. She was a racing cyclist from Leeds and dominated Brtish (and world) cycling for 25 years. Very ordinary working class woman from Leeds, yet almost no one has ever heard of her. Her achievements put all other cyclists in the shade! Her autobiography Personal Best is out of print, but available second hand from specialist book shops for around £150!!

[ARichVernacular]

DH will be getting Rupert Thomson's new novel from me (and then I can read it as well).

DS is 7; I'll get him How To Train Your Dragon and maybe a couple of old classics like Charlotte's Web and the Box of Delights.

DD is 4, so possibly some more Mog books.

I would need to consult my Amazon wish list to remember everything that I want...

[HannahHobbins]

whippet she will love Chaos Walking, it's my fave trilogy of all time!

I have just bought a fiction book bundle from whsmith for £15 so I will see what I get.

Imwill see what happens, we always end up with about 30 books between us in my family for Christmas, this year I am buying my dd cricket books, Joe Root's biography and Stuart Broad's too!

[HannahHobbins]

Robert Galbraith and Rupert Thompson books added to amazon wish list!

[Hygge]

I expect I'll be getting a voucher to choose my own books.

On my wish list are:

I Saw A Man by Owen Sheers.

A God In Ruins by Kate Atkinson.

The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck.

How To Make A Friend by Fleur Smithwick (curiously unfindable in any shops locally).

The Loney by Andrew Michael.

Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback.

[slev]

I've got "After you" by JoJo Moyes for myself (and some colouring books,but that's not fiction!). But I'd be happy with any fiction - I read so much, I don't mind what it is!

DH has chosen "Great Lego Sets" for himself, so that'll be much reminiscing on Christmas Day, along with some adult comic books.

And DS (5) doesn't know yet, but he'll getting some of the Deadly 60 books and maybe some Jurassic World or Dinosaur Cove books. He's more fact than fiction - unless it involves dinosaurs.

Must go onto Amazon and set up my wishlist for random relatives!

[gingercat12]

Perhaps I should stop reading this thread, my list is already a mile long. [heading over to Amazon. Again.]

I saw DH hiding something, so my Robert Galbraith must have arrived.