Hullo,

As a nod to my work Christmas party today, I present a list (and a list within a list) of books for your use in Secret Santa lists, Amazon wish lists – or to buy for your family and friends!

One of the many lovely things about this time of year is the articles that people write about what they have been reading in the year. Here's a piece that also talks about rereading, which is a big part of my and probably most people’s reading that is often missed in lists like these:

It’s hard for me to pick a favorite book of the year because I sometimes think I only have favorite books, full stop, and they are books I’ve been reading and re-reading for years with a really high level of guilt about it.

http://www.themillions.com/2014/12/a-year-in-reading-haley-mlotek-the-hairpin.html

On which topic, here’s a book that was out this year that one of my friends is already rereading. It is on my Christmas list and if you like reading (1) about grief, (2) about birds of prey or (3) award winning books by women, it sounds like it’s one for you:

H Is For Hawk: “It is very extraordinary because some people call it a wildlife book but of course it is much more than that. It’s a memoir of mourning, a history of falconry, and has this wonderful special vocabulary of falconry. […] Helen describes the process of training a hawk so vividly, you are right there with her. At one point she talks about holding the hawk Mabel and says she can feel her heart had synchronised its beating with the heart of the terrified hawk. It is wonderful.”

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/04/samuel-johnson-prize-helen-macdonald-h-is-for-hawk

Finally, here is a book aimed so squarely at me it makes me feel a bit queasy, like the highly specific Netflix microgenres:

Reading Bridal Magazines from a Critical Discursive Perspective: The analysis richly illustrates how women are invited to embrace not only the stereotypical idea of bridal femininity but also a consumptive way of experiencing it. Through examination of brides' accounts of their 'big days', the book observes the imprints of the popular gender imagery on their self-portraits and self-narratives

http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/reading-bridal-magazines-from-a-critical-discursive-perspective-ewa-glapka/?K=9781137333575

Alex.