This is absolutely not to be confused with Wednesday's "Christmas book list" in which I made recommendations for those seeking to buy their nearest and dearest presents that won't draw them looks suggesting that Voluntary Transitioning (assisted, incentivised suicide) would be a good idea.
This is stuff I want. Sadly, however, the ranks of people who buy me Christmas gifts at 36 are down about 87 per cent on those who did when I was eight, so my chances are bleak. But hey, you don't ask, you don't get, right? (And being the helpful type, I've made sure the links go straight to a well-know online retailer).
So here goes:
Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson - I am very fortunate to be sent quite a few books by publishers, and usually have an endless stack on my to read table, which can make it difficult to justify buying books that I want when there are other priorities for the cash (food for children, vintage claret etc). I usually make an exception for Robinson , but just haven't gotten around to it. This is Alan Banks' 17th outing in a series that has maintained a very high quality. I would expect this to be no different at all.
The Reavers by George MacDonald Fraser - I don't really approve of GMF writing books that are not Flashman, but you have to take what you can get, and such a brilliant and funny author is he that I can't believe this Elizabethan romp will be any less uproarious than any of his other books.
The Albigensian Crusade by Jonathan Sumption - There is something about the Languedoc that stirs a deep interest inside me. The very land itself seems to wear its ancient battles and history and it feels like there is mystery, intrigue and a story as ancient as the earth itself in the rugged landscape. This is a highly-regarded history of the church's crusade against Catharism, and it's been on my wish list for too long.
Chancellorsville by Stephen Sears - Sears has a gift for unravelling the most complex military campaign and walking the reader through it without prejudice and illustrating what happened to who, where and why. His histories of both Antietam and Gettysburg are magnificent works, and I would expect this description of Hooker's disastrous campaign to be equally illuminating.
Battlestar Galactica Series 3 - As a kid I was a fan of the original 1970s series where the Colonial Vipers were made of papier mache and the rest of the sets (and quite a bit of the acting) were carved out of MDF. But this reimagining of the old story knocks the original into a cocked hat. OK, so it can get confusing keeping up with who is a cylon and who is not (so far I've got the blonde amazon and the guy who looks a bt like Kevin Spacey) but its plots are great, effects brilliant and Katee Sackhoff's an upgrade over Dirk Benedict.
It's in the Blood: My Life by Lawrence Dallaglio - LBND is not everyone's cup of tea, but there's no questioning his greatness as a rugby player nor the contribution he has made to English rugby down the years. Nor Wasps indeed and as a long time fan I've almost grown up with Dallaglio and love him to bits. Given his reputation as a straight talker with plenty to say, the book ought to be good.
Audi TT Roadster - What?