Under the Covers

The season for giving is upon us and what better gift for those dark winter nights than a great book. Lynsey May picks some literary highlights guaranteed to delight any bookworm

Christmas crackers

Festive-themed books to curl up and get cosy with

MAKE YOU MINE THIS CHRISTMAS BY LIZZIE HUXLEY-JONES

Warm your cockles with this delightful queer Christmas romcom. The loveable Haf kisses Christopher under the mistletoe, agrees to pretend to be his girlfriend for the annual family gathering, then sets her eyes on his gorgeous sister. Holiday hijinks ensue. Hodder & Stoughton

STAY ANOTHER DAY BY JUNO DAWSON

A chaotic and compulsive feelgood story about a family with three very different siblings who want very different goodies under the tree. Fern would like everyone to love her new boyfriend, Rowan wants to be out on the pull and Willow would like to cancel Christmas altogether. Quercus

THE CHRISTMAS BOOKSHOP BY JENNY COLGAN

Step into the magical world of The Christmas Bookshop for a heartwarming festive read. After being made redundant, Carmen accepts her sister’s invitation to Edinburgh and an ailing bookshop, but will she be able to conjure up a miracle to save them all? Sphere

The dark side

Embrace long, wintry nights with gothic and dramatic novels

ORPHEUS BUILDS A GIRL BY HEATHER PARRY

Based on an utterly chilling true story, this is the tale of Wilhelm von Tore and his unhealthy obsession with his first love. It’s an obsession that prompts him to plunder her grave and attempt to put into practice his scientific belief that death doesn’t have to be the end. Gallic Books

WAKENHYRST BY MICHELLE PAVER

A manor on the edge of the Suffolk Fens is home to a whole host of dark and disastrous occurrences in this Edwardian thriller. The uncovering of a painted medieval devil in the house’s graveyard unleashes unhallowed forces that haunt the family. Head of Zeus

LUCKENBOOTH BY JENNI FAGAN

See Edinburgh in all of its murky, deceitful and enchanting glory as you follow the devil’s daughter on her dramatic entrance into the city atop a boat made from a coffin. Discover the stories and secrets left by the inhabitants of one tenement flat in a novel that glitters darkly. Windmill Books

Facts of life

Captivating biographies and memoirs that prove truth is often stranger than fiction

ONE BODY BY CATHERINE SIMPSON

A warm and witty memoir about how we treat our bodies and how our bodies treat us. Novelist and memoirist Catherine Simpson charts a diagnosis of breast cancer and all of the thoughts, fears, memories and feelings prompted by her treatment in a darkly comedic book. Saraband

THIS IS NOT A PITY MEMOIR BY ABI MORGAN

Screenwriter and playwright Abi Morgan had a huge and utterly normal to-do list the day her husband Jacob suffered a traumatic brain injury and everything changed. Acerbic, charming, relatable and real, Morgan documents their experiences in a memoir that pulses with life. John Murray

FAITH, HOPE AND CARNAGE BY NICK CAVE & SEAN O’HAGAN

A deeply personal conversation between an icon of music and a well-established journalist turns into an utterly absorbing read. Meditating on grief, life, art and everything in-between, this book is a balm for the soul. Canongate

Blast from the Past

Not ready to face 2023? A historical read could be just the escape you need

SHRINES OF GAIETY BY KATE ATKINSON

Step into the seedy and delirious delights of Soho in the 1920s. The clubs are filled with starlets, foreign dignitaries, gangsters and girls; and nothing is as it seems. Atkinson’s post-WWI novel is a glittering story of ambition and betrayal that will transport you to another era. Doubleday

PEACH BLOSSOM SPRING BY MELISSA FU

An epic story spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring follows one family’s difficult journey across China en route to America. As the characters search for refuge, they are inspired by ancient fables and wisdom, and the reader will be too. Wildfire

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY BY BONNIE GARMUS

In the early 1960s, chemist Elizabeth Zott is ready to shake up the establishment but her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute isn’t so sure. Love, motherhood and divorce follow, setting her on a new path; one that could have explosive results for women everywhere. Doubleday