Tis the season to spend beyond our limits.
UK consumers are expected to fork out over £700 per household for Christmas this year, despite a cost of living crisis and over 7 million low-income households going without essentials in 2024.
The logic of these two realities seems strange at first – yet upon further consideration suddenly becomes clear when one considers the pressures associated with the festive season. A time where people are placed under intense pressure to consume, to purchase, to spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need. With UK advertisers expected to spend £10.5 billion on Christmas marketing, you’d be hard-pressed to navigate this time of year without feeling at least some external pressure to buy-in (literally) to the status-quo of high-intensity consumption.
So how does one navigate this time of year effectively? Well, one option of course is to go without presents: simply to not give-in to the marketing and do Christmas your way (you’d not be alone here – other people have done this for years). Yet it is undeniably also true that for many people, the act of gift giving, is an important part not just of Christmas; but a way they stay true to themselves by showing generosity towards others.
It is here that we hope to catch your attention. As shoppers dash to the shops to bundle in their last-minute Christmas gift purchases, filling baskets with plastic tat that will end up in landfill within days, and taking out loans to pay for them, we come offering gift suggestions of our own. These are ethical, more environmentally sustainable, and don’t break the bank.
We’re talking, of course, about books.
Books make the best stocking fillers for so many reasons. Literature performs the basic magic of what things look like though someone else’s point of view; it allows us to consider the consequences of our actions on others in a way we otherwise wouldn’t; and it shows us examples of kindly, generous, sympathetic people. What’s more, books provide a better service than any VR headset can in terms of creating new worlds and realities. At a fraction of the cost and no need for rare earth minerals. The stories contained in literary tomes give us access to a range of emotions and events that would take you years, decades, millennia to try to experience directly. In other words, literature is the greatest reality simulator — a machine that puts you through infinitely more situations than you can ever directly witness: it lets you – safely: that’s crucial – see what it’s like to get divorced. Or kill someone and feel remorseful. Or chuck in your job and take off to the desert. Ultimately: it lets you speed up time and transports you to all possible corners of the infinite universe of the imagination. These are just some of the reasons we read.
But what literary delights could you pick up for your friends and loved ones this year? We have brought a small collection of ideas for you below – and in doing so, we have tried wherever possible to find ways that you can also support independent publishers and bookstores, as well as brilliantly talented writers and artists. This hopefully means you can feel confident in knowing your Christmas generosity extends beyond the lucky recipient of your gift.
The shortlist: the best literary stocking fillers
Breakthrough Books put power (and money) into the hands of authors, with 90% of their profits going straight to the writers and artists they publish. Their recent collection, Elemental brings dozens of brilliant writers together in an array of excellent short stories guaranteed to satisfy any literary taste. Meanwhile, their latest illustrated children’s book, Figgles & Flo has been described as “A beautiful, helpful and emotional story filled with understanding and hope for any child (of any age) dealing with grief. Just wonderful.” There’s something for everyone here in their catalogue.
The anticipation, frustration, despair, ecstasy and uncertainty associated with the festive season are laid bare in Sansom’s latest collection. December Stories will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you wonder how on earth we ever survive this darkest of months. Published by the brilliant indie publishers No Alibis Press (of the equally excellent No Alibis bookstore), this is a fantastic book for anyone to unwrap at Christmas. Plus – there’s also a sequel! So you have next year sorted, too.
Okay, so not an indie publisher this time. But regardless, this collection features some of the most festive of yuletide stories, from legendary writers like Chekov and Angela Carter. A generous selection of some of the greatest festive stories of all time. When we talk about stories having the power to transport you (and being better than a VR headset), these certainly have the power to do just that.
Tim Leach is not just a friend of Nothing in the Rulebook, he is an absurdly talented writer with the power to transport you through time. Know any fans of ‘the rest is history’ or ‘Fall of civilisations’ podcasts? Then start them off with Leach’s ‘A Winter War’ (fitting title, yes?) and over the next three years you’ve got your gifts to that person sorted as you work through his excellent trilogy, which has just concluded with the unmissable conclusion The Hollow Throne.
Keeping with the historical theme (and did we mention the ruddy brilliant Fall of Civilisations’ podcast just then? Oh yes, we did!), pick up the podcast in book form and explore how a range of ancient societies rose to power and sophistication, and how they tipped over into collapse. Paul M. M. Cooper – the talent behind it all – is also just the best. You heard it here, first.
- Atmospheric Disturbances by Helen Grant, published by Swan River Press.
In her second collection, award-winning author Helen Grant visits Flanders, Paris, and the remotest parts of Scotland, examining themes of transgression, repercussion, and revenge. All great topics to grip your attention through the cold winter months as you snuggle up in a cosy corner and brace yourself against the grim realities of the outside world. Published by the brilliant folk at indie publishers Swan River, another great way of supporting talented writers and publishers helping to get their work out there.
Finally setting the record straight and revealing the philosophical genius of the canine species, the first book from Nothing in the Rulebook’s own Samuel Dodson and Rosie Benson demonstrates how Marx, Socrates and many other celebrated intellectuals shamelessly pilfered their pooches’ theories. Beautifully illustrated and filled with both puns and philosophy, it’s the perfect gift for dog lovers, philosophical enthusiasts, and anyone in need of some festive cheer.
Still looking for Christmas gift inspiration? You might like to check out our list of 50 independent and alternative publishers to buy books from. Or perhaps visit our list of top drawer independent bookstores, who kept going even through the trials of the COVID pandemic. There’s bound to be something on their shelves that fits the bill for your loved ones this festive season.
Looking for a totally free, zero cost option? Why not take your friend, loved one or child to your local public library and help get them set up with a library card? That way you’ll get unlimited access to brilliant books all year round. And what could be better than supporting our libraries while you’re at it?
nothing in the rulebook 
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