Tower and Town, December 2019 (view the full edition)Book ReviewsChristmas is coming. You heard it here first (!) and may I offer a tiny word of advice for gentleman readers? 15.00 on 24 December is not really the optimum time to begin one's Christmas shopping. All the best stuff has been taken (and the retail assistant's good will is evaporating). Just saying. It's cold, it's dark, and if you're anything like me it's all teeth-gritting busyness in the run-up to You Know What - and then on Christmas Eve that little lad at King's College Chapel sings Once in Royal David's City and everything feels OK again. I Saw Eternity the Other Night by Timothy Day is a history of the development of the choral traditions and style. Scholarly in the research, but readable and anecdotal, just the thing for musical friends or family. Books make ideal gifts (I would say that), even for people who 'don't read'. If you have a hard-to-buy-for person on your list, may I suggest any of the following. The Dishoom Cookery Book for cooks, recipes from the restaurant chain and descriptions of Bombay - useful, interesting and pretty! To dip into there's a new volume of Lunch with the FT, forty-two interviews with a range of people (the famous, the important in their field and, to me at least, the ??). Artists, architects and travellers will like Soviet Metro Stations, especially if they've already got Soviet Bus Stops, Vols I & II by the same author. Brilliant Maps by Ian Wright is a must for those 'did you know?' fact-addicts. If you want a sweet, poignant story, read Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. What would you change if you had the opportunity to go back in time? If you enjoy Antoine Laurain, then try this slim little novel. Finally, Priya Basil's Be My Guest is a contemplation of eating and hospitality, the importance and limits of the roles of guest and host, the sharing of food and time. Not much evokes more emotion, positive and negative, than food. The book is a call for more kindness, warmth and welcome to friends and strangers, and as such it's a perfect read for Advent. Whether your Christmas involves stirring industrial quantities of gravy, or spending time alone, try to take some time to relax with a good book. All good wishes for the season, from all of us at the WHB. Debby Guest |