Struggling to buy a book thi Christmas? Here's our helpful Huddersfield hand

Dec 4 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

JAMIE Oliver is flying off the shelves in Huddersfield.

And the town is getting more and more obsessed with meerkats.

The reason is that these are two of the books being snapped up in the town as the run-up to Christmas gathers pace.

Catherine Oinonen, assistant manager at Waterstone’s in Kingsgate, said: “Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals is our biggest seller at the moment. He’s such high profile and people leading busy lives just need something quick, simple and tasty to cook when they get home.

“And with the meerkat adverts on TV all the time A Simples Life: My Life And Times by Aleksandr Orlov is selling really well. I think people see this as something extra.’’

Other big sellers range from hard rocking and even harder living Keith Richards and straight-talking Jeremy Clarkson through to historical characters such as Catherine Of Aragon and heartwarming tales for children.

So here are some ideas for bookish Christmas presents this year.

FOR HIM

How Hard Can It Be?: The World According To Clarkson Volume 4 by Jeremy Clarkson (Michael Joseph, £20)

The outspoken TV presenter and writer has another volume of witty and acerbic rants from his column in the Sunday Times Review – just the ticket as an antidote to too much festive cheer. Subjects include how rhubarb will become the new crack and that a combover will end anyone’s quest for global domination.

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson (Bloomsbury, £18.99)

Winner of this year’s Man Booker prize, Jacobson’s work is a funny and unflinching novel about Jewishness, regret, male friendship and rivalry, centring on two old school friends and their former teacher who come together for an evening of reminiscences.

FOR HER

Comfort And Joy by India Knight (Fig Tree, £14.99)

This wonderful contemporary novel – her first since 2002 – takes place over three chaotic Christmases as Clara, the hostess, tries to meet all the expectations of her extended family. While trying to manage her life, she notices that the ho, ho, ho has gone out of her marriage, but ultimately it’s a heart-warming, schmaltzy and very funny tale.

Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver (Ebury, £18.99)

It’s been another pukka year for the campaigning chef and anyone who has slaved long and hard over a hot stove this Christmas will welcome his string of delicious recipes which, he insists, you can cook in 30 minutes.

HISTORICAL

The Fort by Bernard Cornwell, (HarperCollins, £18.99)

Set in 1779 – the third year of the American War Of Independence – this epic novel charts the Penobscot expedition in which a small contingent of British infantry were sent to build a garrison in what is now Maine and was then part of Massachusetts. The rebel government in Boston was determined to expel that garrison, sending an army of around 900 men to kill the soldiers – but underestimated their enemy.

Catherine Of Aragon by Giles Tremlett (Faber & Faber, £20)

Fans of Tudor history will lap up this incredibly detailed account of Henry VIII’s first wife, who so often was overshadowed by the more sensual Anne Boleyn. Yet Catherine was a tenacious woman whose marriage lasted twice as long as those of Henry’s five other wives put together. It draws on fresh material from Spain to trace the dramatic events of her life through Catherine of Aragon’s own eyes.

REAL LIFE

The Fry Chronicles, by Stephen Fry (Michael Joseph, £20)

There are so many memoirs out in time for Christmas, but this one is the real deal. His second autobiography takes up the story where Moab Is My Washpot left off, covering this hugely talented comedian and writer’s life up to 1987. It features a plethora of funny stories about university life and the rise of alternative comedy, as well as admissions of his crippling self-doubts, needinesses and the greed of his addictions.

Keith Richards: Life (Weidenfeld, £20)

The Rolling Stones star has packed enough in his life to fill several volumes, but this sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll memoir will keep Stones fans – and many more from that generation – engrossed in his tales of excess with the rest of the band.

A Simples Life: My Life And Times, by Aleksandr Orlov (Ebury, £9.99)

As founder of comparethemeerkat.com, this book tells the story of Aleksandr’s family, from their humble but tasteful origins in the Kalahari to the present day and successful meerkat comparison business which Aleksandr runs from the small village of Meerkovo near Moscow.

THRILLERS

Edge by Jeffery Deaver (Hodder & Stoughton, £18.99)

Classic Deaver page-turner based in Washington DC, about a federal agent who risks his life to protect a police detective from a ‘lifter’ hired to extract information using any means at his disposal. This particular lifter prefers to get an edge on his target by kidnapping or endangering their family.