Good books – recommendations from Bookazine
Looking for a winter holiday book to curl up with? Or maybe you need a couple of extra gifts for the kids? Here, the team at Bookazine recommends some exciting new books, and good books to read on holiday including nonfiction titles for younger and older readers alike.
Best books for kids
Santa & Son – David Walliams
It’s the night of Christmas Eve, and in the most famous toy shop in the world, a robbery is underway. The shop’s Santa and his son are locked inside with the baddies. Can our heroes stop them using just the toys in the shop as weapons? Pogo sticks, bouncy balls, remote controlled helicopters, bubble guns, and stink bombs! Santa & Son is a hilarious action-adventure and sure to become a Christmas classic.
The Lone Husky – Hannah Gold
April Wood is no stranger to adventure. After all, she lives in the Arctic and her best friend is a polar bear. But when she finds herself volunteering for the Polar Race – a long-distance dog sled race across the frozen tundra – even April wonders if this is an adventure too far. Competition will be fierce, including experienced dog sledders and new boy Finn, who’ll go to any lengths to win. But April has something the other teams don’t: Blaze the husky, who may just prove to be a secret weapon!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper (Book 20) – Jeff Kinney
You’re Invited – RSVP for fun! Over the years, Greg Heffley has chronicled his mishaps and misadventures in a series of diaries – make that journals; however, book 20 of Wimpy Kid series really takes the cake! Expect gobs of fun and over-the-top antics as Greg throws an epic birthday party for none other than himself. Celebrate and laugh alongside Greg, his family and the entire world of Wimpy Kid fans.
Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm – Charlie Mackesy
Charlie Mackesy’s four unlikely friends are wandering through the wilds again. They’re not sure what they are looking for. They know life can be difficult, and that they love each other, and that cake is often the answer. When the dark clouds come, can the boy remember what he needs to get through the storm? This anticipated new book revisits the much-loved world of international bestseller The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.
Dog Man #14 Big Jim Believes – Dav Pilkey
The mischievous Space Cuties From Space have returned, and our caped crusaders Dog Man (aka Scarlet Shedder), Commander Cupcake and Sprinkles, along with Mecha Molly, discover that the city has changed, and nothing is how it should be. Can Big Jim’s positivity and innocence help our heroes? Will Dog Man, Big Jim, Grampa and Molly have the courage to trust each other and save the day? And who is the chosen one?
We Fell Apart: A We Were Liars Novel – E. Lockhart
An invitation arrives for Matilda to meet a father she’s never known – Kingsley Cello, a reclusive artist and visionary, who asks her to spend summer at his seaside home, Hidden Beach. Matilda expects to find a part of herself she’s never fully understood. Instead, she finds Meer, her long-lost brother; Brock, a former child star battling demons; and wild and brooding Tatum. Matilda must delve into the twisted heart of Hidden Beach to uncover the answers she craves. And everyone here is lying…
Good books for the holidays for adults
Mate – Ali Hazelwood
Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left – if he’ll have her.
1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in History and How It Shattered a Nation – Andrew Ross Sorkin
In 1929, the unstoppable Wall Street bull market went into a free fall, igniting a depression that would reshape a generation. But behind the flashing ticker tapes and panicked traders, another drama unfolded – one of visionaries and fraudsters, titans and dreamers, euphoria and ruin. Sorkin takes readers inside the crash, with unparalleled access to historical records and newly uncovered documents.
The Art of Spending Money: Simple Choices for a Richer Life – Morgan Housel
Can money buy happiness? Yes. Can spending it make you happier? Absolutely. Yet, many of us struggle to unlock its full potential – either by spending on things that don’t bring as much joy as they should, or by avoiding investments that would truly enhance our mental wellbeing. Award-winning author Housel offers a refreshingly practical approach to managing wealth while finding deeper meaning and contentment.
The Widow – John Grisham
Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, struggling to pay bills while his marriage falls apart. Then into his office walks Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow in need of a new will. Apparently, her husband left her a small fortune, and no one knows about it. Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar, but soon her story begins to crack. When she’s hospitalised after a car accident, Simon realises nothing is as it seems, and he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder.
Half His Age – Jennette McCurdy
Seventeen-year-old Waldo is endlessly wanting – and the thing she wants most is Mr Korgy, her creative writing teacher with the wife, kid, mortgage and growing paunch. She doesn’t know why she wants him. Is it his passion? His life experience? Or is it rooted in their unlikely connection, the similar filter through which they see the world? Or, perhaps, it’s just enough that he sees her when no one else does.
Remain – M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks
Architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod hoping to make a fresh start. Recently discharged from an upscale psychiatric facility, he’s still wrestling with the pain of losing his beloved sister. Sylvia’s deathbed revelation – that she can see spirits, a gift that runs in their family – sits uneasily with Tate. But when he takes up residence at a bed-and-breakfast on the Cape, he encounters a beautiful woman named Wren who’ll challenge his assumptions about his logical and controlled world.
The Land Trap: A New History of the World’s Oldest Asset – Mike Bird
Our obsession with land is the driving force behind human history. It has sparked revolutions and fuelled economic booms and financial crises. The world’s oldest and most important asset governs the course of our lives more than any other form of wealth. But this immense power is also what makes it so dangerous, as this sweeping global history reveals.
Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts – Margaret Atwood
How does one of the greatest storytellers of our time write her own life? Find out in this long-awaited memoir from one of our most lauded and influential cultural figures. Atwood unfolds the story of her life, linking seminal moments to the books that have shaped our literary landscape, from the cruel year that spawned Cat’s Eye to the Orwellian 1980s Berlin where she wrote The Handmaid’s Tale.
Me and Mr Darcy – Alexandra Potter
After a string of nightmare relationships, Emily Albright has had it with modern-day men. She’d rather pour a wine, curl up with Pride and Prejudice, and step into a time where men were dashing and devoted. Things take an interesting turn when she books a coach tour of Jane Austen country, only to come face-to-face with none other than Darcy himself. Every woman’s fantasy becomes one woman’s reality…
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This article on good books to read on holiday first appeared in the Winter 2025 issue of Expat Living magazine. You can purchase the latest issue or subscribe so you never miss a copy!
