So, you're looking for a good book

Back in December, the Courier Mail asked me for a list of five books I would consider to be welcome additions under the Christmas tree. Seeing as there's never a bad time to read or to give someone a book, I thought I'd reprint the list here:

1. The Woman In Black by Susan Hill

A deliciously spine-chilling ghost story: billowing mist, an isolated house, a tragic family secret, and things that go bump-bump in the night. Really, what more could you ask for in a book? 

2. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

One of those rare books you’ll disappear inside and won’t emerge from until the last page is turned. Du Maurier evokes brilliantly the ominous atmosphere of a grand country house, swelling with secrets from the past, and the effect it has on a young woman who falls victim to her own vivid imagination. 

3. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman’s gothic take on The Jungle Book is the coming-of-age story of a little boy called Nobody Owens, abandoned in a graveyard and taken in by a motley collection of ghosts and ghouls. A story written for young people that touches on truths about the happy-sad, unavoidable fact of growing up.

 4. Crooks Like Us by Peter Doyle 

Every so often a book comes along that makes you wonder why you'd never heard anything about its subject before. This is one of them. Glorious, intriguing, wonderful photographs of real-life Australian criminals, circa 1930, posing in their own clothes for informal mug shots. I’m not sure why; neither is the author, but the book is a curious and fascinating glimpse into the past.

 5. The River Cottage Family Cookbook

Okay... full disclosure: I’m addicted to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage documentary series. I have all the DVDs, I covet a cottage in Dorset, I have attempted (and failed) to make a sourdough starter twelve times this year and yet I persist because Hugh says it's possible. The Family Cookbook takes Hugh's approach to sustainable farming and feeding, and runs with it. Not only is it packed with recipes, but also heaps of information about growing, storing and getting the best from natural produce. Now, if I could just get on top of that sourdough starter...