Five books to read during your Christmas break

2015 has been a big one for books, with everything from a new Mog adventure to the late great Terry Pratchett’s last foray into fiction. Christmas break is the perfect time to curl up and catch up with some of the year’s best releases.

 

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Written as a series of letters to the author’s teenage son, Between the World and Me is a musing on what it means to be black in America – but don’t discount its relevance. Eye-opening, fairly short and profoundly moving, this is a definite must-read for 2015.

 

 

 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Rachel is everything a heroine shouldn’t be – overweight, alcoholic and obsessed with her ex – so much so that she rides a train past his house every day to spy on him. Hailed as the next Gone Girl and set to be adapted in 2016 with Emily Blunt playing the lead, this is the kind of gripping thriller you’ll have to plough through in one sitting.

 

 

 

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

The long-awaited sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, and worth a look not just because of its contents but because of its long and slightly controversial journey to publication, and the debate it’s sparked about the place of racism in fiction. 20 years after Mockingbird, Scout returns home to visit her father, shedding new light on the much-loved cast of characters.

 

 

 

 

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Winner of 2015’s Man Booker Prize, Seven Killings is a fictionalised account of the events surrounding a 1976 assassination attempt on Bob Marley. Reading as barely controlled chaos and bursting with characters, Seven Killings might seem a daunting read, but its richness and imagery make it thoroughly rewarding.

 

 

 

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

Covering everything from her brief fling with a member of President Obama’s staff, to her show The Mindy Project and what TV make-out sessions are really like, Why Not Me? is Kaling’s continuing journey of finding joy in her adult life. Lighthearted, inspirational and often laugh-out-loud funny, Kaling is just as absorbing on the page as in real life, and her latest essay collection will make the perfect Christmas read.

 

 

 

 

Natasha Furlong