The Big List of Books for Christmas shopping

Updated Fri. Nov. 28 2008 3:58 PM ET

Carla Lucchetta, Special to CTV.ca

A book is one of the most time-honoured gifts you can give during the holidays and just in the nick of time there's a whole new bumper crop of them to choose from. No matter what the category there will be one that is sure to please the bibliophile on your list. Prices quoted are publisher's recommendations, but if you shop around or online they will vary and will often times be discounted.

FICTION

The Hour I First Believed, Wally Lamb, Harper Collins, $31.95

Lamb's first two books, She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True enjoyed immense popularity and brisk book sales thanks to Oprah's Book Club. Now, after a 10-year wait, The Hour I First Believed has finally hit the stores. The story takes place in Littleton, Colorado where a husband and wife survive the Columbine High School shootings and return to their roots in Three Rivers, Connecticut. Once there, the husband finds diaries and letters that trace his family tale, spanning five generations, rich in intrigue, tragedy and surprising revelations.

Just After Sunset, Stephen King, Simon & Schuster, $32

Prolific storyteller Stephen King debuts his first book of short stories in seven years, featuring his trademark dark wit and imaginative scenarios. Lately King has been publishing digitally so a new hardcover will be a treat for any die-hard fan on your list.

A Most Wanted Man, John Le Carré, Penguin, $32

Any new book from this prolific and dynamic writer is reason to celebrate. His works include The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Constant Gardener. A Most Wanted Man, his 21st book, centres around a Russian Muslim boy smuggled into Germany, protected by a German civil rights lawyer and fought over by those who have interests in The War on Terror.

Through Black Spruce, Joseph Boyden, Penguin, $ 34

Author of the acclaimed Three Day Road, Joseph Boyden's second novel Through Black Spruce is the winner of the 2008 Giller Prize. In this novel about contemporary aboriginal life, model Suzanne Bird, originally from James Bay, goes missing in New York. Her sister Annie traces her steps from the streets of Toronto to the modelling studios and A-list parties of New York, until she becomes caught up in the fast nightlife of celebrities. Meanwhile back home, her brother is dealing with serious family problems. Both come to the realization that they cannot escape their past. The Giller Prize jury said of the novel, "In spare prose that ranges from lyrical to brutal... Joseph Boyden shows us unforgettable characters and a northern landscape in a way we have never seen them before."

The Flying Troutmans, Miriam Toews, Knopf Canada, $32

Winner of the Roger's Writers Trust Fiction Prize, The Flying Troutmans is the much anticipated new novel by Miriam Toews, whose last novel, A Complicated Kindness, picked up the Governor General Literary Award. After her relationship breaks up, Hattie returns to Canada from Paris to look after her sister's three kids and ends up taking them on a memorable road trip to find their long lost father. The Roger`s Writers prize jury called the novel, "a love song to young people trying to navigate the volcanic world of adult emotions."

The Origin of Species, Nino Ricci, Doubleday, $34.95

Nino Ricci's writing career began with the Governor General Literary Award-winning Lives of the Saints, the first in a coming-of-age trilogy about a young Italian immigrant to Toronto. It was later turned into a television mini-series starring Sophia Loren. Not a bad start. His latest book, The Origin of Species, which recently won him a second governor General Literary Award, is set in 1980s Montreal. It connects a young man's struggle to get past a strange experience in the Galapagos Islands -- and to begin a relationship with a son he never knew he had -- with the historical figure, Charles Darwin. The Governor General's jury said,"this exquisite novel is both tough and tender and, in the end, confirms our belief in the resilience of the human heart."

Alice Munro's Best: Selected Stories, McClelland & Stewart, $34

Alice Munro has a world renowned gift for crafting evocative, thought provoking and entertaining short stories that hold up and still resonate through the 40 years of her career. This gift-edition presents 17 of Munro's most distinctive stories, including The Bear Came Over the Mountain, the story that inspired the film, Away from Her. With an introduction by Margaret Atwood, who calls Munro "among the major English fiction writers of our time," this best-of is ideal for the collector on your list, or as a comprehensive introduction to Alice Munro's vast body of work.

Politics

Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, Barack Obama, Vintage Paperback. $19.95

Americans bought into the dream of renewed hope and now everyone is rushing out to buy the U.S. President-elect's books. Developed from a 2004 speech given by the then junior senator from Illinois, the Audacity of Hope grounds Obama in centrist ideology where politicians can overcome partisan beliefs and work together to create a more equitable, stable country. Obama has a dream to restore America for Americans and to gain back the respect and co-operation that America once knew in the international community.

Hell or High Water, Paul Martin, McClelland & Stewart, $37

Former prime minster Paul Martin recounts his life from his childhood summer job as a deckhand and his early career in business to his humble political beginnings; from his time as Jean Chretien's finance minister to his brief stint as Prime Minister of Canada, and eventual loss of its helm. Martin addresses the divide in the Liberal party as a result of his rivalry with Jean Chretien and discusses his belief that the sponsorship scandal weakened the Liberal party's reliability within its own ranks as well as in the Canadian public.

A Fair Country: Telling Truths about Canada, John Ralston Saul, Penguin, $34

One of this country's greatest thinkers offers a vision of Canada that shatters its three founding "myths:" peace order and good government. Ralston Saul argues that the phrase is a revision of the original "peace, welfare and good government" putting the well-being of the population first. He also argues that Canada has been influenced by and owes a great deal to aboriginal ideas; equality, a healthy balance between the individual and the group, and the preference for negotiation over violence. Ralston Saul is an award-winning writer of the influential philosophical books, Voltaire's Bastards, A Doubter's Companion, The Unconscious Civilization, and Equilibrium.

Current Affairs / Big Ideas

Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth, Margaret Atwood, House of Anansi, $18.95

Margaret Atwood puts fiction aside to tackle the concept of debt through the ages and how it touches on literature, religion, politics and the structure of societies. Her thoughts and ideas on the topic are timely given the global economic crisis, as she shows how debt affects us socially and psychically. Publisher's Weekly said, "Atwood's book is a weird but wonderful mélange of personal reminiscences, literary walkabout, moral preachment, timely political argument, economic history and theological query, all bound together with wry wit and careful though casual-seeming research."

David Suzuki's Green Guide, David Suzuki and David R. Boyd, Greystone, $19.95

This compendium offers practical and easy to execute advice from Canada's leading environmentalist on what individuals can do everyday to reduce their carbon footprint and conduct a responsible, eco-friendly lifestyle. Includes household tips on saving energy and water usage, transportation solutions, where to find fresh, locally grown food, and how to create a healthy indoor environment. Suzuki also lends his expertise on how to ensure governments work toward sustainability. Founder and chair of the David Suzuki Foundation and Order of Canada recipient, Suzuki is also the author of more than 40 books on environmental topics. His co-writer David Boyd is one of Canada's leading environmental lawyers.

The Wordy Shipmates, Sarah Vowell, Putnam, $28.50

If you love American history and culture, this popular armchair historian, social observer and quirky storyteller then Sarah Vowell is your gal. The Wordy Shipmates tells the story of a group of Puritan dissenters, led by John Winthrop, who left England for America in 1630. Winthrop became the first governor of Massachusetts. Vowell contends that the Puritans and their view of themselves as worthy beyond reproach is what has taken America down roads that have led to events such as the Vietnam and Iraq wars. Now that might not sound like a topic that inspires wit, but writer and humorist David Sedaris calls Vowell a "funny historian." He recently told CNN, "If she wants to write about pyramids and make me laugh, I'll read it," he said. "I'll read whatever she wants to put in front of me, knowing that it's going to make me laugh."

Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Shaping Your World, Don Tapscott, McGraw Hill, $30.95

Businessman, University of Toronto professor and author Don Tapscott presents a definitive guide to the progress and activities of the "Net Generation" and how it is shaping our future. He looks at how to hire and manage this cohort, how to reach them at home and in the classroom, how their participation in news and culture is changing democracy, how they move entertainment and information around the internet, and how they have changed forever the ways in which they acquire and process information and knowledge. If you have children, or just want to keep up to date on the rapidly altering digital universe, this is your window to that world.

Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell, Little Brown, $30

Pop culture guru Malcolm Gladwell investigates how the most successful and talented people find their way to the top. He discovers it has more to do with time and place of birth, specific styles of upbringing, and circumstances of family through the generations, than education and hard work. Gladwell claims that it would take the average person 10,000 hours of repetitive practice at any one thing to be as successful as someone like Bill Gates, or Wayne Gretzky, who have had the advantage of being born at the right time, in the right place with the exact right set of circumstances ushering their success. Interesting theory well worth the read from this New Yorker staff writer who has made a name for himself with his thoughts and theories on the way we live today in books like The Tipping Point and Blink.

Personalities

Izzy: The Passionate Life and Turbulent Times of Izzy Asper, Canada's Media Mogul, Peter C. Newman, Harper Collins, $34.95

One of Canada's foremost biographers takes on one of Canada's most successful businessmen and visionaries. Izzy Asper began a small television station out of a converted supermarket in Winnipeg and grew it into a media empire encompassing various CanWest Global TV properties and 60 newspapers across the country, including the National Post. Newman uncovers the media mogul's tenacity, risk-taking, enemy-making and ultimate dedication to family. It will be all the more interesting to read this book in light of CanWest's recent stock market losses and subsequent staff layoffs. Speaking on that topic to the Globe and Mail recently Newman says, "He shouldn't be rolling in his grave because most of it is his fault."

Call Me Ted, Ted Turner & Bill Burke, Grand Central Publishing, $33

Perhaps one of the world's greatest multi-taskers, Ted Turner has created media juggernauts, including the ground-breaking CNN, won the America's Cup in sailing, and the World Series as the owner of the Atlanta Braves. In this tell-all autobiography he covers his life from a difficult and lonely childhood, his sister's death at seventeen and his father's suicide when Ted was in his 20s, to the careful steps he took to become on of the world's successful, admired and richest men. He also talks about his marriage to Jane Fonda and she contributes some words on what drives him toward such success.

Otherwise, Farley Mowat, McClelland & Stewart, $32

Farley Mowat is one of Canada's enduring and endearing writers. In his 40th, and by his own account, final book the eighty-seven year old Mowat writes on the beginnings of his environmental activism, between 1937 and 1948, when a scientific expedition he took after the war set the stage for his work on behalf of the Inuit, and became the basis for much of his writing. Mowat recently told CTV, "I went to the Arctic and I was meeting wolves and caribou and all sorts of other animals and they helped me find myself -- re-establish a feeling of worthiness of existence, and that's really what the book is all about."

In Spite of Myself, Christopher Plummer, Knopf, $37

We know him, and love him best, as Captain von Trapp and he's one of Canada's most acclaimed actors. Born in Toronto and raised in Montreal Christopher Plummer candidly traces his life in acting from the early days of Stratford to his Broadway debut, his time at Peter Hall's Royal Shakespeare Company with Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave and Peter O'Toole, his film debut in Sydney Lumet's Stage Struck and of course his starring role in The Sound of Music opposite Julie Andrews.

Here's the Story, Maureen McCormack, Harper Collins, $27.95

TV's beloved Marcia Brady, admired and emulated by millions of young women, didn't have such a happy life behind the scenes. In Here's the Story she reveals her life dealing with the demands of show business beginning at age 6, through the phenomenal success of The Brady Bunch, her battle with drug addiction, depression, and various family traumas. Now at age 52, with a family of her own, McCormack offers her own brand of hard-won insight and inspiration. This is a great book to help you bask in '70s nostalgia with revealing backstage glimpses of one of television's most successful family programs.

Well-Being

O's Big Book of Happiness: The Best of O, The Oprah Magazine: Wisdom, Wit, Advice, Interviews and Inspiration, Sunset, $32.95

That's quite a long title but the book is filled with articles compiled from a year of O Magazine, and including advice from Dr. Phil, Suze Orman, Martha Beck, Suzy Welch, and Oprah. It's split into four categories; Your Mind / Your Body, Dreaming Big, Dating Mating, Relating and Do Something. Each is designed to inspire and spur the reader towards a more meaningful life. This is an essential for the person on your list that just can't get enough Oprah wisdom.

La Dolce Vita Cookbook, David Rocco, Harper Collins, $39.95

Popular TV chef David Rocco's love of Italy and Italian food translates well in this cookbook, which blends breathtaking food and scenic photography with stories about the origins of his basic, wholesome and easy to make recipes. As a companion piece to this book, a CD of the music from his show is also available. It includes 17 music tracks collected over three seasons of Dolce Vita, as well as selected recipes. Buono appetito!

Nigella's Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities, Nigella Lawson, Knopf, $31.50

The Domestic Goddess' go-to guide for the holidays, this cookbook features easy to follow recipes and reassuring words on stress-free entertaining. It includes traditional favourites like Christmas cake and pudding, turkey, ham and dressings. She tells you what you can freeze ahead and what needs to be served fresh, as well as recipes for slow cookers. She offers ethnic and vegetarian holiday menus, and shows you how to prepare homemade gifts of cookies and chutneys.

Martha Stewart's Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook, Crown Publishing, $52

Who in their wildest fantasies doesn't want to have Martha Stewart's domestic skills? In her new book she gives detailed explanations on everything from how to hold a knife and how to choose vegetables and meat, to how to truss a chicken, cook a no-flaw pot roast and make the perfect pie crust. The book boasts over 500 photographs, which can be important in a sweeping how-to like this one. Containing over 200 recipes the book aims to teach you how to cook, starting at square one. "It's a good thing" for the novice cook on your list.

Cooking for Friends, Gordon Ramsay, Harper Collins, $34.95

TV's favourite bad-boy chef presents modern British recipes in this new book. Continuing his buy fresh, buy local philosophy he shares dishes that he likes to cook and eat when he's off duty and at home with family and friends. Included are Chorizo, broad bean and mint couscous, Scallop brochettes with coriander and chilli butter, Smoked salmon and horseradish cream tarts and Toffee and chocolate steamed pudding. Yum! The book also includes candid photos of Ramsay's softer side with his wife (who incidentally also has a cookbook out, Home Made) and children.

The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book: The Essentials of Home Baking, Elizabeth Baird, Transcontinental, $34.95

This is an essential guide to the basics of baking, with step-by-step instructions for ingredients, techniques and equipment. The book includes over 100 photographs of finished baked goods, clear and easy to follow recipes complete with nutritional values. Elizabeth Baird is the executive food editor of Canadian Living magazine, which features tested recipes in every issue. Their published cookbooks, such as The Canadian Living Complete Cookbook, Canadian Living Make It Tonight and The Canadian Living Christmas Book, are compilations of some of the most popular recipes.

Sports

Don Cherry's Hockey Stories and Stuff, Random House, $19.95

Written in his trademark feistiness, with the help of sports writer Alan Strachan, Don Cherry tells stories as if the reader is standing right next to him at Coach's Corner. He says, "I'd like this book to be just like we're sittin' down tellin' stories in my own language. I know I'll be criticized because for some reason people are not too thrilled with the way I speak." A Canadian icon, Cherry also knows the game like only a coach can, and his stories shed a very specific and entertaining light on our most venerated game.

No Limits: The Will to Succeed, Michael Phelps, Simon and Schuster, $29.99

Audiences were captivated this past summer as swimmer Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the Bejing Olympic Games, for a total of 14 gold medals overall, more than any other swimmer. Fans will love finding out what inspires him, how he trains and prepares for competition; hearing from his coach, teammates and will generally discover what it was like behind the scenes at last summer's Olympics.

Coffee Table Books

Wisdom: 50 Unique and Original Portraits, Andrew Zuckerman, Abrams, $55

Award-winning photographer and filmmaker Andrew Zuckerman interviewed and photographed fifty world renowned personalities to get their personal takes on wisdom. Participants include Nelson Mandela, Frank Gehry, Judi Dench, The Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Clint Eastwood, Ted Kennedy, Robert Redford, Vaclav Havel, Lou Reed, Willie Nelson, Madeline Albright, Jane Goodall, Burt Bacharach, Vanessa Redgrave and Nadine Gordimer. A companion DVD is also available.

Visions of Paradise, National Geographic Society, $40

Some of the most breathtaking places on earth captured and collected complete with commentary from the photographers about their finds. The book includes photos of re-naturalized habitats of New Zealand, the Congo jungle, the world's undiscovered waterfalls, swimming penguins in Antarctica and page after page of stunning reproductions of the earth's phenomena. This is not just a book, it's part your home's decor.