IT'S A CRIME! (OR A MYSTERY...)

Books for Christmas 2010 – Chris Nickson and Bill Kitson pick…

New on the block, but with firm foundations for the future, making them both crime fiction authors you’d be sore to miss, in the UK Bill Kitson debuted with Depth of Despair (Robert Hale) in 2009 and Chris Nickson has debuted with The Broken Token (Crème de la Crime) in 2010.  These are the books they’d like to see in your stockings this Christmas, with a [fantastically worthy - my opinion] pre-order required on times.  Over to Chris and Bill:

Books for Christmas 2010

Stuck for ideas?  Want to be inspired?  The Books for Christmas 2010 Series kicks off tonight with something for family fun.  This year will see a more eclectic mix.  In addition to some of my own suggestions, I have invited a few authors to contribute and they are not all in the crime contingent!  We'll also have some DVD suggestions from a film critic.  Wonderful contributors thus far include: Elizabeth Buchan; Marika Cobbold; L C Tyler; Chris Nickson; Bill Kitson; Lynn Shepherd; Simon Rose and more.  Do drop by over the next two weeks to see what these lovely people recommend this year!

Crimeficreader’s Books for Christmas – Family Fun

Fun and Games for the 21 st Century Family (£9.99 from Old Street Publishing)

As Christmas is a time for family, let’s kick off with the perfect book for some fun and games.  I loved the quirky Complete and Utter Zebu these gentlemen produced in 2009; this year, our very modern fathers Steve Caplin and Simon Rose excel with Fun and Games for the 21 st Century Family.

This is a wonderful compendium of games to play within your cosy home or well wrapped up outside.  Fun and Games blends old favourites (sometimes updated) with the contemporary, utilising our digital world.   Here’s a selection:
Egg and Toothbrush Race (vibration for extra challenge)
Geocaching (the new global GPS-based treasure hunt phenomenon)
How to Googlewhack (to take your searching skills to another level)
Rock, Paper, Pixels (the modern version).

There are loads of suggestions involving cameras and photographs, as well as homemade videos including a 6-Step Film Course.  I loved the ‘Techno’ section which goes creative on the computer.

You can approach this book in an organised fashion, working your way from start to finish, or you can simply dip in as the mood takes you.  Very quickly, I had a certain someone in mind when it comes to a Christmas stocking pressie.  And I think this nine year old’s family will love dipping into it too.  This one’s for staying conventional with surviving vintage family games or for being a properly 21 st century family having festive fun.  Not restricted to the festive season either.  Enjoy!

More information here.

[Simon Rose is a film critic for the BBC’s General News Service and the author of the Classic Film Guide and the Essential Film Guide.  He has very kindly contributed a seasonal DVD selection for this Christmas series, so please revisit later to see his comprehensive range of picks.]

A highly unusual and wonderful Christmas present perhaps? And for charity…

**Early warning alert: at the time of writing you have only 2 days left (just over) to bid for this!**

Not so much Books for Christmas, but a fantastic offering for bookworms and writers, whilst also raising money for Autistica, the charity that is ‘science in the service of autism’.  A group of authors have come together to auction two offers:

- bid to have your name or a loved one’s name in the author’s next book as a character, or
- bid to have an MS critiqued by a published author (synopsis and ten pages in the usual double-spaced format).

Authors offering character names are Glenn Cooper, Catrin Dafydd, Louise Doughty, Ken Follett, Patrick Gale, Maggie Gee, Jane Green, Peter F Hamilton, Kate Harrison, Melissa Hill, A L Kennedy, Hari Kunzru, Deborah Lawrenson, Susan Lewis, David Mitchell, Darren Shan and Allan Warner.

Authors offering feedback on the synopsis and ten pages are R J Ellory, Roopa Farooki, James Sallis, L C Tyler and Patricia Wood.

That’s pretty special, yes?

BID NOW to win & make someone’s Christmas!

Books for Christmas 2010

This weekend sees us twelve weeks from Christmas.

Back in 2007, in the lead up to Christmas, I ran a series on this blog where some of our favourite published authors offered up their festive book picks; their selections for books ‘not to be missed’ from that year, which made ideal presents.  I plan to bring this back in 2010 and I have started sending out invitations for contributions.  There will be a couple of ‘enhancements’ this year: it will remain mainly crime fiction, but I’ll be inviting some non-crime authors too, and the book recommendations can be of any type.

[If you don’t receive an invitation in the coming three weeks and would like to contribute, please get in touch.  This also applies to anyone representing authors in the various formats.  My email address is in the contact section, if you don’t have it already.]

So, if you’re looking for some fabulous recommendations for books for Christmas presents this year, keep your eyes peeled for the above picture from the 1st of November 2010.  (That’s about eight shopping weeks by the way.)  I’ll post later in October with news of some of the wonderful people who will be contributing.

Let’s all make 2010’s festive book presents extra special!

(Reminder of the 2007 series here.)