Favourite non-relative

Germania by Simon Winder was one of my favourite books this year. It’s the history of Germany. No, don’t run for the whisky decanter just yet. It’s entertaining, obsessive, informative, totally OTT, and I adored it. Blows most myths about what we think of as “Germany” to pieces, while offering a fresh and often funny look at a country of good music and odd food.

Turns out there was never really any such thing as “Germany”. Just don’t tell Chancellor Angela Merkel.

If you’re looking for local, then our best political commentator, Justice Malala, has pulled no punches in We have now begun our descent, a reminder of how great we can be, and why we aren’t.

Children, school age and, um, somewhat older: There’s a wide range of Alice

books around: yes, it’s the 150th anniversary of the Lewis Carroll classic and the shops are thick with books, DVDs, and even (the latest trend), adult colouring-in books, several of which were about Alice. I was taken with the children’s book that included the original illustrations by Sir John Teniel. I

Dame Maggie Smith, born in 1934, is a legend. With her famously acerbic wit, not confined to her role in Downton

Eiger Dreams by Jon Krakauer. While his book on Everest, Into Thin Air is the classic, this collection of 12 essays on mad and dangerous climbs – not always on mountains – is the book I have given most often, ever, as a gift: to friends who were bed-bound, those far from home, and the armchair traveller. Can be read over and again, especially when you need to know that there’s someone worse off or crazier than you are.