Is there a book that you have received as a present that you absolutely loved

Not a present to me but my DD received a book called ‘good night stories for rebel girls’ & I love reading this!

That book gave me the rage like nothing before. What a load of sanctimonious twaddle. I know memoirs can be partly fictional but her made up characters were like stick people “ hello. My name is Dan. I am a filthy capitalist. I walking the path quickly because I don’t appreciate nature. I am rude to bar staff and kick dogs for fun” .

The House of Sleep - Jonathan Coe
Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight
Bridget Jones Diary ( first edition)

All from my BFF who knows me v well!!

Possession by A.S. Byatt. It was a while ago that I read it, but it was glorious.

Piranesi - absolutely wonderful book! loved by me, my professor and my 10 yr old daughter

A Gentleman in Moscow - the most perfect book

The Secret life of Bees. Just wonderful 😊

Patrick Leigh Fermor: A Time of Gifts. I never read travel books, and so would never have bought this myself. God I love that book

OT but have you read Fermor's Between the Woods and the Water? it comes after A Time of Gifts. It's an utter delight on every page, shot through with the melancholy knowledge that within a few years the way of life he describes would be gone forever.

I couldn't get into it either, to be fair. But my mum loves it!

Interested to see the love for the Salt Path. I couldn’t get into it at all! Maybe I should give it another go.

Yes - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Salt Path was absolutely loved by my mum. I liked Driving Over Lemons (And its sequel The Parrot in the Pepper Tree'). On a slightly difference level, my brother gave me Josh Widdicombe's Watching Neighbours Twice a Day a couple of year ago and I absolutely love that. But then JW and I are roughly the same age and had similar childhood experiences, so that probably helped.

This -

Miracle In The Andes: The True Story of Surviving 72 Days on the Mountain Against All Odds https://amzn.eu/d/8Cu8OK7

It may not be everyone’s “thing” but it absolutely changed my life. The idea being everyone has their own “mountain” to climb. It got me through some very dark times in my life. I absolutely adore it.

I was given The language of flowers as a gift years ago. It was such a perfect gift from a friend I did not know that well but I grow cut flowers and it was very personal and touching

As a child:

Kipling’s The Jungle Book and his Just So stories, which taught me that language could be beautiful.

Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox, which was full of joy and energy.

C S Lewis: Narnia books (still love them to this day)

As an adult:

Patrick Leigh Fermor: A Time of Gifts. I never read travel books, and so would never have bought this myself. God I love that book.

Virginia Woolf: Orlando (triggered a lifelong obsession with her)

P G Wodehouse: Jeeves Omnibus (can’t imagine life without my beloved Wodehouse)

Yes, thanks, I've seen it. I did enjoy it, and Nicole Kidman is always brilliant, but the book is better. 🙂 I loved how the characters of the "strangers" developed from unlikeable to lovable as their stories unfolded. It was laugh-out-loud funny in places, but made me tearful in others. It is set in Australia, but the tv series is set in the US, so didn't quite have the same charm for me.

Amazon Prime have also made a series of Big Little Lies with Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon.

When I was about 13 my grandparents got me "The Amulet of Samarkand", the first book from The Bartimaeous Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. I had never heard of it but it's an amazing book. I finished it and when I found out it was the first of a trilogy I asked my grandparents if the next Christmas they could get me the second book which they did, and the following Christmas the third one.

The author released a fourth prequel a few years later as well which was great.

Probably not the best suggestion for you OP as they are young adult/teenage books, however I am re-reading them for the first time in years and I had forgotten just how witty the books are. Such an underrated series! So it anyone has a teenager to buy for, or an adult who doesn't usually read and would want something really easy to get into I would thoroughly suggest these books.

Maybe a bit niche, but The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace & Babbage by Sydney Padua.

It’s a graphic novel about an alternative universe where Ada Lovelace & Charles Babbage build the Difference Engine and use it to fight crime - of sorts.

The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo is excellent

Ooh I have the Wool series on Kindle - through the 99p deals. That's my Christmas reading list sorted.

I got given Wool (Hugh Howey) a few years ago and loved it. It’s one of the few books I’ve read in recent years that I’ve reread.

SIL passed The Last Summer by Karen Swan on to me in the summer and I really enjoyed that and am enjoying her other books too.

I was also passed on Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason which has stayed with me but not sure I’d give it as a gift as it’s quite depressing.

Nine Perfect Strangers is available on Amazon Prime @withbelzon and @Needmorelego. Nicole Kidman is particularly good in it - she does charming nuttiness well!

Hamnet. Life-changingly good.

I'll go to bed at noon by Gerard Woodward about alcoholism in a family. Brilliant.

@withbelzon My sister gave me Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty a few years ago. I had finished it by Boxing Day and searching out all her other books soon after.
(oddly though I have yet to get around to reading Nine Perfect Strangers)

A couple of Christmases ago someone bought me Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty, which I loved. It's about 9 people who go to a health farm which isn't all that it seems. I've now read some other books by the same author, and enjoyed them all.