“Home Work is sweetly old-fashioned and the perfect present for the in-law in your life,” your piece on celebrity books of the year says (Review, 30 November). How disappointing to be fobbed off with the “opaque cliche” of Julie Andrews’ biography when I could have been reading Debbie Harry’s “terrific” book or Elton John’s “celebrity memoir of the year”. Note to my offsprings’ partners: I don’t want slippers or bath cubes either.
Jane Bakowski
Tunbridge Wells, Kent
• Simon Jenkins’ article (This election will be all about identity. The Tories know it, Journal, 29 November) reminded me of an incident when I was knocking on doors canvassing for the Doncaster local elections in 1975. A man came to the door and explained: “I have always voted Labour. But I’ve bought a car. And now that I’m a motorist I think I should vote Conservative.”
Digby Sewell
Driffield, East Yorkshire
• Michael Horan’s praise of the use of “attendant” (Letters, 29 November) overlooks the fact that the meaning of “attendee” is universally understood. Does he prefer to think of himself as a “pedant” or a “pedee”?
Ian Broadbridge
Bristol
• We’ve just had Black Friday. Now how about a White Friday – maybe the first Friday of each December – as a day for giving to charities or to individuals who are needier than us?
Hilary Wakeman
Norwich
• Jonathan Miller did not say “I’m not really a Jew, just Jew-ish” in an interview (Letters, 29 November); it is from a Beyond the Fringe sketch.
Judith Milnes
Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters
• Do you have a photo you’d like to share with Guardian readers? Click here to upload it and we’ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition
