"... a sideways look at what happens when, eventually, your beloved Kindle dies ... "
Buy for: the luddite in your life Photograph: PR
" ... stamps tell a story. Since the Penny Black first burst on the scene in 1840, they have made and mirrored history as it happens - from the 'British Empire Exhibition' of 1924 to the Austerity Olympics of 1948, from the Coronation to the death of Diana, from the advent of computers to the new millennium ... "
Buy for: sometime philatelists; those with good eyesight Photograph: PR
"... from the early sketches of philosophers and explorers through to Google Maps and beyond, an examination of how maps both relate and realign our history ... "
Buy for: Your dad. Or my dad. Really, anyone's dad Photograph: PR
"What do reading a book, smoking a cigarette, throwing confetti and voting in an election have in common? The answer, of course, is paper. Paper serves nearly every function of our lives. It is the technology with which we have made sense of the world. Yet the age of paper is ending ... "
Buy for: Your spouse, if it's your first anniversary (neat, huh?) Photograph: PR
"Artemis Cooper has drawn on years of interviews and conversations with Paddy and his closest friends, as well as having complete access to his archives ... "
Buy for: Armchair explorers; wannabe adventurers Photograph: PR
"We talk about the weather a lot. It exasperates, confounds and on occasion delights us. Our national conversation is dominated by it, but how much do we really know about it? Charlie Connelly sets off on the trail of our island obsession ... "
Buy for: UK residents only. Michael Fish Photograph: PR
"Hans Christian Andersen's tragic tale of naive greed and dissatisfaction is retold through the beautiful and intricate illustrations of Finnish illustrator Sanna Annukka ... "
Buy for: any child of your acquaintance whose parents you wish to impress Photograph: PR
"The Horologicon (or book of hours) gives you the most extraordinary words in the English language, arranged according to the hour of the day when you really need them ... "
Buy for: pedants and/or geeks Photograph: PR
"... the book loos the length and breadth of the land have been waiting for - a humorous celebration of the facts and foibles, manners and mores of contemporary British middle class life ... "
Buy for: self-explanatory, this one, surely? Photograph: PR
" ... a wonderful new Christmas poem, retelling the carol of King Wenceslas, illustrated by Stuart Kolakovic ... "
Buy for: anyone Photograph: PR
