Christmas Gift Guide 2026

Buying for someone who already owns more books than shelves? I usually suggest a book. Having too many has never been much of a deterrent.

So I've been through my shelves and picked out books for the people you know, and the one you always get stuck on. Every book here is a real copy I've photographed myself, so what you see is what arrives. You'll find the full list on my Christmas page . Below are the ones I'd reach for first.

Stocking fillers under £3

A book doesn't have to cost much to be a good present. Everything here is under £3, which leaves something for the chocolate. The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis is about an orphan who learns chess from the caretaker in the basement and gets rather good at it. White Teeth by Zadie Smith and The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George would both fit in a stocking. So would The Making of Pride and Prejudice , for anyone who still thinks about the lake scene.

Title	Author / maker	Price
The Making of Pride and Prejudice	Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin	£2.00
Flaubert's Parrot	Julian Barnes	£2.50
The Queen's Gambit	Walter Tevis	£2.00
White Teeth	Zadie Smith	£2.50
Good Wives?	Margaret Forster	£2.00
The Little Paris Bookshop	Nina George	£2.00
Jacky Ha-Ha Gets the Last Laugh	Chris Grabenstein and James Patterson	£2.50
Lightyear: The Deluxe Junior Novelization	Disney	£2.00

Cosy crime

I like a Christmas mystery where the trouble belongs to someone else. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman has four friends in a retirement village who meet on Thursdays to look into unsolved murders. In The Windsor Knot by S J Bennett, the Queen quietly solves one at Windsor Castle. I also have Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey and a couple of M C Beatons, including Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham .

Title	Author / maker	Price
Death of a Nag	M C Beaton	£2.50
The Windsor Knot	S J Bennett	£2.50
Loch Down Abbey	Beth Cowan-Erskine	£2.00
The Thursday Murder Club	Richard Osman	£2.00
Miss Pym Disposes	Josephine Tey	£2.50
Death Mask	Ellis Peters	£2.00
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency	Alexander McCall Smith	£2.00
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham	M C Beaton	£2.00

For Dads who read history and adventure

If Dad has enough socks, try a book. Shackleton is written by Ranulph Fiennes, so it's one explorer on another. In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick tells the story of the whaleship Essex, the sinking that inspired Moby-Dick. For the one who likes a map, there's Ordnance Survey: Map Makers to Britain Since 1791 . And Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare by Damien Lewis is there for the war history reader. None of these are restricted to dads.

Title	Author / maker	Price
Shackleton: A Biography	Ranulph Fiennes	£8.00
In the Heart of the Sea	Nathaniel Philbrick	£2.00
SAS Great Escapes	Damien Lewis	£2.50
Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare	Damien Lewis	£3.00
The Army That Never Was	Taylor Downing	£4.00
Ordnance Survey: Map Makers to Britain Since 1791	Elaine Pilbeam and Tim Owen	£10.00
British Battleships 1892-1957	Randolph Pears	£5.00
London and its Railways	M D Grant and R Davies	£5.00

Classics and modern favourites

These are for the reader who says they'll get round to it one day. Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim is about four women who rent a castle in Italy to get away from everyone, which feels about right for late December. I also have Emma and My Cousin Rachel . If you want something a bit special, there's a copy of Father Brown Stories by G K Chesterton.

Title	Author / maker	Price
Swallows and Amazons	Arthur Ransome	£3.00
Emma	Jane Austen	£2.00
Enchanted April	Elizabeth von Arnim	£2.00
My Cousin Rachel	Daphne du Maurier	£2.00
The Secret Garden	Frances Hodgson Burnett	£2.50
Captain Corelli's Mandolin	Louis de Bernières	£1.00
Father Brown Stories	G K Chesterton	£12.00
Atonement	Ian McEwan	£2.00

For children who would rather be reading

I've picked adventures with room to get lost in. Swallows and Amazons has children sailing off on their own in the Lake District, which wouldn't happen now. Swarm Rising is co-written by Tim Peake. Yes, the astronaut. There's also The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo and The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant.

Title	Author / maker	Price
Swarm Rising	Steve Cole and Tim Peake	£2.50
Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen	Geri Halliwell-Horner	£2.50
Last Chance Hotel	Nicki Thornton	£2.00
The Eye of the North	Sinéad O'Hart	£2.00
The Christmasaurus	Tom Fletcher	£2.00
The Hatmakers	Tamzin Merchant	£2.00
The Butterfly Lion	Michael Morpurgo	£2.00
Happy to Help (Eventually)	Liz Pichon	£2.00

Festive and wintry reads

In Skipping Christmas by John Grisham, a couple decide to skip Christmas altogether and go on a cruise instead. Their neighbours have other ideas. Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan is the comfort option. Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict is the other option. Choose according to how the visiting is going.

Title	Author / maker	Price
Murder on the Christmas Express	Alexandra Benedict	£2.00
Christmas at the Island Hotel	Jenny Colgan	£2.00
Skipping Christmas	John Grisham	£2.00
Snowed in for Christmas	Sarah Morgan	£2.00
Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop	Jenny Colgan	£2.00
Underneath the Christmas Tree	Heidi Swain	£2.00
A Merry Little Christmas	Cathy Bramley	£2.00
The Kingfisher Treasury of Christmas Stories	Sian Hardy	£2.00

Ghosts and darker reads for Christmas Eve

Not everyone wants a comforting Christmas read. Telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve is an old tradition, and I'm all for it. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters is about a country doctor and a big house that's falling apart, and maybe something worse. Bird Box by Josh Malerman will make you think twice about opening your eyes. I also have Poe's Great Tales and Poems and Stephen King's Everything's Eventual . Best read with the light on.

Title	Author / maker	Price
Great Tales and Poems	Edgar Allan Poe	£3.50
The Little Stranger	Sarah Waters	£2.50
The Hidden People	Alison Littlewood	£2.50
Strange Highways	Dean Koontz	£2.00
Everything's Eventual	Stephen King	£2.50
Bird Box	Josh Malerman	£2.00
The Phantom of the Opera	Gaston Leroux	£2.00
Dracula	Bram Stoker	£2.00

Romance and a bit of escape

For the reader who'd like someone else to have the complicated love life. These are for the days between Christmas and normal life. The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella feels well timed. There's also The Paris Secret by Karen Swan and Coming Home to Brightwater Bay by Holly Hepburn, plus a couple of Danielle Steels for the traditionalists.

Title	Author / maker	Price
Complications	Danielle Steel	£2.50
The Colour of Hope	Danielle Steel	£2.00
Still Thinking of You	Adele Parks	£2.00
Worth Fighting For	Jesse Q Sutanto	£2.50
The Paris Secret	Karen Swan	£2.00
The Secret Path	Karen Swan	£2.00
Coming Home to Brightwater Bay	Holly Hepburn	£2.00
The Burnout	Sophie Kinsella	£2.00

Bookish gifts and prints

For anyone running out of shelf space. My art prints are designed and printed by me. There's an A Christmas Carol print for the season, and an Emma print for the Austen fan. They're £7.50 for A5, and larger sizes are available. The fabric book sleeves are handmade by LoveLexiCrafts and cost £14. The Multicoloured Dogs Book Sleeve is my favourite, but the Cakes Book Sleeve runs it close. Put a book inside one and you've done the wrapping too.

Title	Author / maker	Price
Emma Print	Ali Strange	£7.50 (A5, unframed)
Treasure Island Print	Ali Strange	£7.50 (A5, unframed)
The Picture of Dorian Gray Print	Ali Strange	£7.50 (A5, unframed)
A Christmas Carol Print	Ali Strange	£7.50 (A5, unframed)
Patchwork Style Book Sleeve	LoveLexiCrafts	£14.00
Flower and Bird Book Sleeve	LoveLexiCrafts	£14.00
Multicoloured Dogs Book Sleeve	LoveLexiCrafts	£14.00
Cakes Book Sleeve	LoveLexiCrafts	£14.00

Last order dates

For UK delivery before Christmas, please order by Monday 14 December. For Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada, please order by Monday 30 November. I send UK orders by Royal Mail Tracked 48, and delivery is free on UK orders £15 and over. The post gets busy in December, so I've left a bit of slack in those dates. If you miss them, I'll still send your order. It just might arrive after the turkey.

You can find everything on my Christmas page , or browse the shelves and see what else turns up.