Christmas Edition One: Holiday Reads

Christmas is a time for luxuriously long baths, post midnight scurries to the kitchen, lazy afternoon naps by the fire/ radiator, and lengthy country walks or faux country walks, if like me you live comfortably within the M25.

 For me and my inner bookworm, which excepting the occasional escapade and commute to work has been in semi-hibernation over the past year, Christmas is a time to catch up on the many reads currently collecting dust on my book shelves.

Kicking off my three part series of Christmasy related posts, here are my recommendations that deserve some one-on-one time during the festive period. 

p.s Excuse my pathetic attempt at festive "arrangement" - the things I do for Christmas.

Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood | A real treat for the lover of modern history, this Isherwood classic paints a semi-autobiographical account of pre-Nazi, 1930s Berlin, the diverse range of people he encountered and the struggles of the decaying society. What I found most fascinating is the discreet way that Isherwood addresses his own homosexuality, which at the time the book was first published would have been illegal.

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer | Filer's haunting and poignant novel debut, is written through the eyes of 19 year old Matthew Homes, whose all-consuming guilt at the death of his brother leads him on a tragic journey through the dark depths of mental illness. This prize winning novel is not for the fainthearted but if you choose to persevere, you are in for a thought-provoking and moving ride. 

Before I Go To Sleep  by S J Watson | This psychological thriller is most definitely an  #underthecoversuntiltheearlyhours read. I remember reading this all through the night and painfully regretting it the next morning when I was dragged to the nightmare of the boxing day sales. The subject of Watson's debut is Christine, a woman suffering from anterograde amnesia, a rare condition that leaves her waking up every day with no knowledge of who she is. I will stop right there as I have a well-known habit of ruining plots for family friends but please whatever you do, do not watch the movie first - though Nicole Kidman is mesmerising (when is she not?), the book is so much better. 

You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik | Though the themes (power, idealism and mortality) are nothing new, this novel made the cut due to Maksik's beautiful and poetic writing. Who doesn't love a teacher-student love affair set in enchanting Paris?

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide | The purchase of this wafer thin book was the result of a recent pre-brunch trip to Daunt Books. I am fully aware of the saying never food shop on an empty stomach but this surely doesn't apply to book shopping too? This light-hearted and poetic novel is centred around a couple in their thirties and features the transient and idiosyncratic intricacies of everyday life. I particularly enjoyed Hiraide's flowery and expressive style, typical too of two of my favourite authors and Hiraide's Japanese peers, Haruki Murakami (Norwegian Wood and 1Q84) and Kazuo Ishiguro (Never Let Me Go).

Dear Lupin...Letters to A Wayward Son by Roger Mortimer and Charlie Mortimer | No book list is complete without a taste of something a little "get close and personal". Dear Lupin is a collection of letters from The Sunday Times racing correspondent, Roger Mortimer to his errant and wayward son, Charlie Mortimer, spanning almost 22 years. Evoking a multiplicity of emotions from humour to compassion and sympathy to sorrow, this memoir of the relationship between father and son will leave the reader with feelings of nostalgia for their own personal connections.