Bookbag's Christmas Gift Recommendations 2010

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A carefully chosen book is always a welcome gift, but it's not always easy to know which books are good and which have had the benefit of clever marketing. We've picked out the best books which we've seen this year and we think that you should be able to find something for everyone on your gift list.

Fiction

Crime

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Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction

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General Fiction

{{topten |author=Maggie O'Farrell |title=The Hand That First Held Mine |rating=5 |genre=General Fiction |summary=Two women come to London as adults, some fifty years apart - one from rural Devon, the other from Finland, yet there is a connection between them whih neither could have imagined. An exquisite story of love in all its forms - highly recommended.

We've yet to meet anyone - male or female - who hasn't enjoyed [[The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The lives of three women - two coloured maids and a white woman collide in nineteen-sixties Mississippi. Brilliant characters, excellent plot and highly recommended - we think it will become a modern classic.

We think that Mari Strachan is a promising new writer and can recommend The Earth Hums in B Flat. Growing up among family secrets in Wales in the late 1950's comes alive in this Dylan Thomas-meets-Nina Bawden five star read. Book groups should definitely browse this wise and accessible book.

Tony and Susan by Austin Wright was first published in 1993 but we're hoping that this book within a book will get the recognition it deserves.

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Literary Fiction

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Historical Fiction

{{topten |author=Michelle Lovric |title=The Book of Human Skin |rating=5 |genre=Historical Fiction |summary= This wonderfully vivid novel set in eighteenth century Venice and Peru is both utterly addictive and utterly strange. It's witty and wise and horrific and clever. Awesomely researched and with some of the clearest fictional voices we've heard in a long time, this one is highly recommended.

The Master of Bruges by Terence Morgan is a fabulous historical read, taking an artist into courtly intrigue and one of British royalty's biggest secrets. Thoroughly recommended.

For a retelling of the Glencoe massacre you can't do better than Corrag by Susan Fletcher - a sociological study of the time, a geographical study of the area, a reflection of our current pre-occupations, but mostly just a beautifully written tale.

You'll find these three books and some other in our Top Ten Historical Novels of 2010. |amazonuk=<amzonuk>140880588X</amazonuk>

Women's Fiction

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