Are you looking for your next great read? Why not try out the books from across the pond? Despite from what governments say, books are essential and are needed now, more than ever. So if you are need of a variety and want to read diverse stories, then I suggest you try out some British and Irish titles!
We may have left 2024 behind, but the pain and struggles of last year are still being faced, especially independent bookstores. Continue to support indie bookstores by shopping on Bookshop.org and Hive.co.uk.
Waterstones currently ships to the United States but there will be an international shipping fee. You can also try with the British bookstore, Blackwell’s, also with Wordery.com. Now on with the recommendations!
December is usually a slowdown of newly published in the UK and Ireland, so for the rest of the post I will highlight books that make perfect gifts for the holiday season!
The Life Trilogy Boxset: Signed Edition by Sir David Attenborough
David Attenborough’s Life Trilogy is a complete introduction to the animals and plants found on Earth. The three books – published to accompany the classic BBC TV series – are essential reading for anyone interested in the Natural World.
The Life Trilogy Boxset contains special editions of David Attenborough’s three most important books.
Life on Earth.
David Attenborough’s unforgettable meeting with gorillas became an iconic moment for millions of television viewers. Life on Earth, the series and accompanying book, fundamentally changed the way we view and interact with the natural world, setting a new benchmark of quality and influencing a generation of nature lovers.
Told through an examination of animal and plant life, this is an astonishing celebration of the evolution of life on earth, with a cast of characters drawn from the whole range of organisms that have ever lived on this planet. Attenborough’s perceptive, dynamic approach to the evolution of millions of species of living organisms takes the reader on an unforgettable journey of discovery from the very first spark of life to the blue and green wonder we know today.
Living Planet.
Nowhere on our planet is devoid of life. Plants and animals thrive or survive within every extreme of climate and habitat that it offers. Single species, and often whole communities, adapt to make the most of ice cap and tundra, forest and plain, desert, ocean and volcano. These adaptations can be truly extraordinary: fish that walk or lay eggs on leaves in mid-air; snakes that fly; flightless birds that graze like deer; and bears that grow hair on the soles of their feet.
In Living Planet, David Attenborough’s searching eye, unfailing curiosity and infectious enthusiasm explain and illuminate the intricate lives of the these colonies, from the lonely heights of the Himalayas to the wild creatures that have established themselves in the most recent of environments, the city. By the end of this book it is difficult to say which is the more astonishing – the ingenuity with which individual species contrive a living, or the complexity of their interdependence on each other and on the habitations provided by our planet.
The Trials of Life.
‘This is, quite simply, the best thing I’ve ever done’ Sir David Attenborough on the TV series The Trials of Life, upon which this book is based.
This is the third and last of Sir David’s great natural history books based on his TV series and competes his survey of the animal world that began with Life on Earth and continues with Living Planet. (Credit: HarperCollins)
Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm: Exclusive Edition by Charlie Mackesy
Exclusive Edition with violet real-cloth quarter bind, updated cover illustration, exclusive dedicated page, satin ribbon and printed with Charlie’s handwritten script
‘One day you’ll look back and realise how hard it was, and just how well you did’
Charlie Mackesy’s four unlikely friends are wandering through the wilds again. They’re not sure what they are looking for. They do know that life can be difficult, but that they love each other, and cake is often the answer.
When the dark clouds come, can the boy remember what he needs to get through the storm? (Credit: Ebury Publishing)
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen: Waterstones Exclusive 250th Anniversary Edition by Jane Austen
Jane Austen’s masterworks in a single beautiful Penguin Clothbound edition with special endpapers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.
Few novelists have conveyed the subtleties and nuances of their own social milieu with the wit and insight of Jane Austen. Here in one volume are her seven great novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Lady Susan. Through her vivacious and spirited heroines and their circle, Austen vividly portrays English middle-class life as the eighteenth century came to a close and the nineteenth century began. Each of the novels is a love story and a story about marriage: marriage for love, for financial security, for social status. But they are not romances; ironic, comic, and wise, they are masterly evocations of the society Jane Austen observed. (Credit: Penguin Books)
Padella: The secret to cooking iconic pasta at home by Tim Siadatan
This is the ultimate book of pasta. With over 100 recipes – all pasta – it is for pasta lovers everywhere. There are recipes for simple weeknight store-cupboard pastas, such as Spaghetti with Garlic, Capers & Black Pepper and there are recipes for mastering fresh pasta from scratch, like Ravioli of Ricotta with Sage Butter.
Padella is one of London’s most iconic fresh pasta restaurants. When they first opened in Borough Market in 2016, they put sensational pasta outside of Italy on the map thanks to iconic dishes like Beef Shin Ragu and Pici Cacio e Pepe. These delicious recipes, paired with their buzzy ambience and stylish aesthetic, saw queues around the block.
This book brings the magic of Padella into home cooking. It includes all their best loved recipes such as Tagliarini with Crab, Chilli, Lemon & Parsley, and Fettuccine with Nduja, Lemon & Mascarpone along with many off-menu favourites shared in this book for the first time. Most importantly it teaches home cooks the simple steps to take their home cooked pasta to the next level. (Credit: Bloomsbury Publishing)
Mystery in White: A Special Christmas Edition by J. Jefferson Farjeon
‘The horror on the train, great though it may turn out to be, will not compare with the horror that exists here, in this house.’
On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the village of Hemmersby. Several passengers take shelter in a deserted country house, where the fire has been lit and the table laid for tea – but no one is at home. Trapped together for Christmas, the passengers are seeking to unravel the secrets of the empty house when a murderer strikes in their midst. (Credit: British Library Publishing)
You Are Elizabeth Bennet by Emma Campbell Webster
‘Is it a truth universally acknowledged that a young Austen heroine must be in want of a husband?’
You are in the world of a Jane Austen novel. As the events of Pride and Prejudice – and Austen’s other novels – start to unfold around you, you must choose your own path, avoiding social scandal and unsuitable engagements, and write your own destiny, whether it’s to marry a single man in possession of a good fortune or to become a famous author yourself.
A witty and irreverent celebration of Jane Austen and her novels, this literary game will test all your powers of propriety and prudence. (Credit: Faber & Faber)
The Spooky Season Handbook: The ultimate guide to celebrating the best time of year by Bea Witched
The ultimate guide to celebrating the best time of the year: Halloween! This book is packed full of everything you need to get into the spooky spirit.
Within these pages, you’ll find:
· Crafts, like how to create A Bouquet for the Undead, Simple Ways to Carve a Pumpkin and Hand-Poured Halloween Scented Candles.
· Curated films, books and playlists that let you sink your teeth into the eerie atmosphere
· Perfectly pumpkin recipes, including Autumnal Pumpkin Soup, Pumpkin Pie Brownies and of course the ultimate Pumpkin Spice Latte.
· Seasonal bakes and sweet treats, such as Witch Finger Cookies, Spiderweb Cheesecake, and Graveyard Chocolate Mousse.
· Devilish drinks, like Blood Orange Margaritas, Poison Apple Cider and a G&T with Blackberry Brains.
· Rituals to soothe your soul and quiet meditations to guide you in honouring the season with purpose, reverence and a little mischief.
Discover ideas and recipes for hosting a Halloween party, whether you’re throwing a haunted house party or an intimate autumnal dinner. There are also Ghost Stories to Whisper After Dark, Tarot and Journaling Prompts, Horrorstrology and guidance on How to Summon the Spirits.
Perfect for fans of Wednesday, Halloween and horror, The Spooky Season Handbook will appeal to anyone into the witchier things in life, however you identify on the spooky spectrum. (Credit: Bloomsbury Publishing)
Five Survive: Collector’s Edition by Holly Jackson
A stunning collectors edition of this breathtaking standalone thriller, presented in a beautiful hardback format with an introductory letter from the author, sprayed edges and a ribbon bookmark.
Eighteen year old Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach for Spring Break.
Spirits are high. Until the RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere. And as the wheels are shot out, one by one, the friends realise that this is no accident.
There’s a sniper out there. He’s watching them and he knows exactly who they are. One of the group has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for.
As a game of cat-and-mouse plays out, the group desperately tries to get help. Buried secrets are forced to light and tensions within the group reach deadly levels. Only one thing is for sure. Not everyone will survive the night … (Credit: HarperCollins)
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