Suggestions for K's Mum

K writes (as he does around Christmas and his Mum's birthday): "The time has come for me to think about Christmas presents for my mom and, thus, the time has come for my semi-annual request for suggestions from the two of you. Would either or both of you have any suggestions for books that she might enjoy?"

Well... here are a few I really liked. This year I found the Man Booker shortlist excellent and the Orange Prize list very strong too.

Fiction
The Gathering, Anne Enright,
The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan
The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid
Mr.Pip, Lloyd Jones (which finally inspired me to read Great Expectations for the (gulp!) first time)
Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Laments, George Hagen
The Meaning of Night, Michael Cox (with perhaps one of the best opening lines of all time: "After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper..."
Of course HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, J. K. Rowling.

Nonfiction
The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism, Ross King
Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World, Simon Garfield
Riding with Rilke: Reflections on Motorcycles and Books, Ted Bishop

Here are a few other places to look
The Costa Prize List
Guardian List
Buzzfeed's List of Lists

PS: these are also very good links from frequent visitors to the cafe: short reviews of good books and Pete's Picks