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There’s nothing like getting a fabulous book as a gift on Christmas morning. On Boxing Day you’re likely to find my whole family cozied up by the fireplace with our noses in a novel or thumbing through the pages of a new cookbook.

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I also love giving books as gifts. There’s really no occasion where the gift of a book is not appropriate. I rarely give something other than a book to children – most kids don’t need more toys, but almost all kids will make good use of a new book. And the best part about it? It’s an easily exchangeable item. If the recipient has already read the book or isn’t interested in it, most bookstores will take the item back for credit. And who doesn’t want a credit at a favorite bookstore?

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Above are some great book suggestions for giving or adding to your own wish list. A Visit From the Good Squad, The Art of Fielding, The Marriage Plot, As Always, Julia, My Bread, Plenty, Heart of the Artichoke, Undecorate, A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life, and The Right Color.

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In other book related news, my quest to read 52 books this year is coming to an end. I read two more this week – Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman and Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M. C. Beaton.

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Nuture Shock was utterly fascinating. It’s a book about how we are raising our kids. Is what we are doing working? or backfiring? If you are a parent of a young child, I urge you to read this book. You may agree or disagree with what the authors have to say, but it will certainly give you something to ponder. It’s quite well written as well.  Broken up into chapters covering different topics means you can just read the sections of the book you are interested in, if you’re short of time.

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I read Christmas books at Christmas time. Most of them are not stellar. I’d put Kissing Christmas Goodbye in the average category. My biggest complaint is that there wasn’t much reference to Christmas. I felt a little misled that it was a ‘Christmas’ book. It really wasn’t.

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Did you read the New York Times Book Review’s list of 10 Best Books of 2011? Have you read any of them?

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