The countdown to Christmas has started and we’re all starting to come up with present ideas for family and friends.
A good book is always a great gift, so we’re looking at the year’s best to give you a few ideas.
Waterstones has become one of Britain’s biggest booksellers since being established in 1982 and each year choose their favourites.
From children’s books to thrillers, and educational books to cookbooks, here are their 15 picks of the year.
13. Shakespeare's First Folio, A Children's Edition by William Shakespeare
"Published in association with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Shakespeare's Plays is the first-ever illustrated children's edition of the First Folio, one of the greatest books ever published which celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2023. The sumptuously illustrated book, with luminous and detailed artwork by Emily Sutton, includes all 36 plays in the original volume, in the same order. The plays preserve Shakespeare's original dramatic language, but have been skillfully abridged by Dr Anjna Chouhan so they can be performed by a minimum of eight children in under twenty minutes. The perfect accessible introduction to Shakespeare in his own words for a child, this is a very special gift book that will be returned to time and time again." | Contributed
14. Long Island by Colm Tóibín
"A man with an Irish accent knocks on Eilis Fiorello’s door on Long Island and in that moment everything changes. Eilis and Tony have built a secure, happy life here since leaving Brooklyn - perhaps a little stifled by the in-laws so close, but twenty years married and with two children looking towards a good future. And yet this stranger will reveal something that will make Eilis question the life she has created. For the first time in years she suddenly feels very far from home and the revelation will see her turn towards Ireland once again. Back to her mother. Back to the town and the people she had chosen to leave behind. Did she make the wrong choice marrying Tony all those years ago? Is it too late now to take a different path?" | Contributed
15. Butter by Asako Yuzuki
"Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can’t resist writing back. Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body, might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought?" | Contributed