Christmas books gift guide

Whether it’s for Grandma, Dad or your nerdy niece, there’s something for everyone.

For that hard-tobuy-for friend Gustav Klimt, by Tobias G Natter. Here’s an eye-wateringly glamorous book for that person whose home is oh so Instagramable. Klimt is best known for his erotic, opulent and beautiful art nouveau paintings. This book showcases them in all their gorgeousness.

For a precocious teenager Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green. The author of The Fault in Our Stars brilliantly captures the intensity of adolescence, especially when whipsmart teenagers face tough challenges. Sixteen-year-old Aza Holmes, who has obsessive-compulsive disorder, and her friends are hunting for a dodgy billionaire who has abandoned his sons and the pet reptile that is his designated heir.

For the avid family cook Maggie’s Recipe for Life, by Maggie Beer with Professor Ralph Martins. It’s a relief to read that Maggie eats bread, butter and pasta (in moderation). She’s teamed up with an expert on Alzheimer’s to create delicious, nutritious recipes for brain health, bursting with facts and flavours.

For parents of small tyrants The Daily Struggles of Archie Adams (aged 2 ¼), by Katie Kirby. Archie has the mouth of a sailor and the spirit of a honey badger. He’s not without compassion, though: on Mother’s Day for a treat he “let mummy go the toilet alone, even though I’m not really sure she deserved it”. Past and present parents of toddlers will hoot with hilarity and recognition at the lives of his frazzled stick-figure mum and dad.

For hardcore history buffs Munich, by Robert Harris. Not only has the superb

Robert Harris thrillingly brought to life the nail-biting negotiations of Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier and Mussolini at the Munich Conference of 1938, he’s wrapped it into an exhilarating spy thriller.

For lovers of the Wild West Savage Country, by Robert Olmstead. A superbly written Western that pulses with immediacy and originality. We’re in Kansas, 1873, and tough loner Michael Coughlin is in town to settle his dead brother’s debts. What follows is a perilous journey “south of the dead line and west of the Indian meridian”. It's as brimful of baddies, buffalo and Indians as you'd want it to be while never succumbing to the formulaic.