A Dozen for the Festive Season – Presents or Treats!

A Dozen for Christmas – Books from 2020 on Northernreader

I have been asked to suggest some books to give as presents, so I decided to compile a list of a dozen books that I enjoyed. They are not necessarily the ones you will find on other lists, and I have enjoyed so many others this year which are part of series, tricky to find or are a bit obscure. All of these have been reviewed on Northernreader in 2020, and while not all are new, that means that they are not all expensive hardbacks. They do not have to be presents for other people of course…

1. When I Come Home Again by Caroline Scott.  A novel featuring a young man who has lost his memory in the last days of November 1918. Beautifully written
2. Unto This Last by Rebecca Lipkin. An incredible novel of John Ruskin and his unattainable love.
3. City of Spies by Mara Timon. An exciting novel of a woman agent in Europe during the Second World War.
4. Threads of Life by Claire Hunter. A non fiction history of embroidery and its importance to people over the centuries, especially women.
5. Every Woman for Herself by Trisha Ashley. A comedy romance about a new start for a woman in Yorkshire with many Bronte references.
6. A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier. A superb historical novel about women who stitched the kneelers in Winchester Cathedral after the First World War. 
7. Art and Soul by Claire Huston. A romance with art, cake and humour
8. Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire M.R.C. Kasasian. An unusual and very funny novel about a pioneer woman police officer in a small Suffolk town in the 1930s.
9. The Other Bennet Sister By Jennifer Stone. The story of Mary, the other sister in Pride and Prejudice, in a continuation novel with fascinating ideas.
10. Four Minutes to Save a Life by Anna Stuart. A supermarket delivery makes all the difference in a novel of friendship, love and hope.
11. The Second Persephone Book of Short Stories. An excellent collection of short stories by mainly British Women writers of the twentieth century.
12. Payback by R.C. Bridgestock. A tough contemporary crime novel featuring a Detective Inspector who returns to her home town to take on a new challenge

All of the above novels are available as printed copies online or in a good bookshop (many of which offer a telephone ordering service). My reviews are available on this blog by searching under the author’s name. I hope that this has given you a few ideas!