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Penguin’s Christmas reading list

From the master of spy thrillers, bloody battlefields during the Wars of the Roses and finding hope for the future for our planet by Jane Goodall, Penguin’s top twelve essential Christmas reading guide is here.

All of these books can be found in the Another Place library for you to borrow during your stay.

Reading a book in the library at Another Place with the light shining in from a window
John Le Carre Silverview

1. Silverview by John le Carré

Master of spy fiction, the late John le Carré finished this novel before his death in December 2020.

Released in October 2021, John le Carré delves into ‘the soul of the modern Secret Intelligence Service’ with the story of a bookseller who becomes embroiled in a spy leak.

Stanley Tucci Taste book

2. Taste by Stanley Tucci

Filled with anecdotes about growing up in Westchester, NY, falling in love over dinner and teaming up with his partner to create conversation-starting food for their children. A gastronomic journey through good times and bad, five-star meals and burnt dishes, each as heartfelt and delicious as the last. Written with Stanley’s signature wry humour and nostalgia.

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

3.The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

A novel that illuminates the tensions between desire and safety; the legacy of tragedy and the crimes and misdemeanours of families.

Renegades by Barak Obama and Bruce Springsteen

4. Renegades by Barak Obama and Bruce Springsteen

Preseident Barak Obama and musician Bruce Springsteen converse in this entertaining dialougue, exploring everything from their origin stories and career-defining moments to the growing distance between the American Dream and reality.

5. Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn

A journey in love, how relationships work and evolve over a lifetime. Authors and experts share their experiences in this celebration of love in all its forms.

Manifesto by Bernardine Evaristo

6. Manifesto by Bernadine Evaristo

2019 Booker prize winner presents this unique read about staying true to yourself and to your vision. A manifesto about never giving up.

Cecily by Annie Garthwaite

7. Cecily by Annie Garthwaite

An epic feminist retelling of the War of the Roses. Journey behind the closed bedchambers and bloody battlefields of the first days of the Wars of the Roses, a war as women fight it.

Jane Goodall The Book of Hope

8. The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall’s latest book inspires positivity in the face of climate change, championing the intelligence of humans to innovate ourselves out of the crises.

Europe's 100 Best Cathedrals by Simon Jenkins

9. Europe’s 100 Best Cathedrals by Simon Jenkins

Arguably, the most sensational group of structures anywhere in the world. A visual journey through Europe’s cathedrals outstripping many palaces and castles.

10. An A-Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy

Guardian columnist and award-winning food writer Rachel Roddy condenses everything she has learned about pasta in a practical, easy-to-use collection of over 120 essential pasta recipes.

The Magician by Colm Tóibín

11. The Magician by Colm Tóibín

Thomas Mann found himself on the wrong side of war, cheerleading the German army in WW1 and anticipating the horrors of Nazism in WW2. Fictionalised biography of a man full of great acclaim and contradiction.

12. The Women of Troy by Pat Barker

The ugliness of war is imagined in The Women of Troy as Pat Barker retells one of our greatest classical myths.

Stanley Tucci and John Le Carre

Penguin’s complete Christmas reading guide is available to buy from all good book stores. If you are staying with us, all of the books can be found in the Another Place library for you to borrow during your stay.

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