A year of books

[lula103]

Hi,
Hoping you can help suggest some fabulous books for a gift idea. My MiL (81) loves reading and is a member of a book club. I thought about buying 12 books (new or used) and wrapping them individually with a bit of a blurb on each one. I wondered if I could get 12 books which have some sort of link/theme with each month. I saw a great idea at a WI stall where books had been wrapped in papers and then a brief description written on them - kind of a blind date book choice. I wanted to do something like that.
Please give me some suggestions.
January-
February-
March-
April-
May-
June-
July-
August-
September-
October-
November-
December-

Thank you

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent was universally loved by our book group. Might be good for January or February, as it's set in Iceland.

I'll have a think about others. Lovely idea OP.

One of my all time favourite books. I am constantly recommending it.

11.22.63. By Stephen king for November...loved this book!

This is a great shout. It's a brilliant book.

Thank you- I can't wait to shop for this one. I haven't read either of these so it may be a double purchase 🤦‍♀️

The Sealwoman's Gift by Sally Magnusson is another good one set in Iceland (and Algiers). Not particularly a wintertime one.

I wish someone would give me a year long seasonal set for Christmas! A few ideas:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows – starts in January
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The Darling Buds of May by H.E. Bates (haven’t read it)
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon – set in the heatwave of the Summer of 1976
Billy Summers by Stephen King
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
Wonder by R.J. Palacio – about a boy called August
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters – set in Summer
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah – set in Autumn
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson – set in December
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney – set in Winter
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield – main character is called Vida Winter
A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman – set over a whole year

Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet series:

Autumn
Winter
Spring
Summer

Rosamunde Pilcher’s Seasons series (I haven’t read anything by her):

Coming Home (Spring)
The Shell Seekers (Summer)
September (Autumn)
Winter Solstice (Winter)

Also by Pilcher:

Snow in April
Voices in Summer
The End of Summer

Thank you so much - fantastic ideas. I will share my list once I have bought them. It may turn out to be quite expensive as I may be buying some for myself too :)

A bit expensive but I would love this:
https://persephonebooks.co.uk/products/a-book-a-month

@Cappuccinfortwo

A friend of mine was given this book a month for Christmas and she was really pleased - she is a bookworm, but, yes, not cheap.

Agatha Christie - Murder for all Seasons books
Sinister Spring
Midsummer Mysteries
Autumn Chills
Midwinter Murder.

I absolutely love The Darling Buds of May. One of my comfort reads.

A book called October, October won the Carnegie a couple of years ago. It's aimed at older children, but I loved it.

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Armin

The Fortnight in September by R C Sherriff

Both read and enjoyed this year by many in the Rather Dated thread.

October october is a great shout..I really enjoyed it too!

What a brilliant idea, OP. I'll add A Month in the Country, by J L Carr. Not sure what month it actually is, but it feels early to mid summer.

I have started my book shopping so will share the list when it is complete but I am really enjoying the shopping / bookshop browsing. Thank you all for your suggestions. I am finding the April- August months the most challenging.

I gave the 'Year of books' box to my MiL and she seemed to like it. Time will tell if I have managed to choose genres that she likes and books that she hasn't read!
The books were:

January - The Essex Serpent
February - The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
March - The Woman in the White Kimono
April - A Year of Marvellous Ways
May- The Shadow of the Wind
June - Photographing Fairies
July - Night Train to Marrakesh
August - The Summer Reunion
September - The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
October - The Miniaturist
November - House of Orphans
December - The Christmas Mystery

I was quite tempted to create one for myself but my pile to be read is towering!
I did receive a lovely £50 Waterstones voucher though :)

It was a really thoughtful present, OP. Enjoy spending your voucher!