giftmum Christmas often means buying for our nearest and dearest, which of course includes trying to find the perfect gift for mum. In this spirit, we've asked Readings Monthly editor Jo Case to come up with a few likely books for the next part in our gift ideas series - below are a range of titles that should please any mum come Christmas day, from the wicked humour of Caitlin Moran to the brilliant storytelling of local talents Charlotte Wood and Peggy Frew.

9780091940737 How to Be a Woman
Caitlin Moran

If your mum is feisty and funny, if she likes a good laugh injected with a bit of thoughtfulness, she’ll love Caitlin Moran’s How to be a Woman, in which she 'rewrites The Female Eunuch from a bar stool and demands to know why pants are getting smaller'. Looks at botox, Brazilians, babies, careers and the vagaries of fashion.

the-paris-wife The Paris Wife
Paula McLain

The Paris Wife is just the thing for the literary mum with a thing for the days of Fitzgerald and Hemingway. It’s set in Paris between the wars: the same achingly glamorous era Woody Allen pays tribute to in his new film Midnight in Paris. McLain tells the story of Ernest’s fairly conventional first wife Hadley. She’s a quiet character, set against a noisy backdrop, and this is an engrossing novel.

22914782_000_a Home Made
Yvette Van Boven

Home Made is perfect for foodie mums who want to master home-made basics - and try inventive twists on staple ingredients. It’s all about making good food with your own hands; recipes range from making your own jam (like pear and star anise) to pickled vegetables, chutneys and tea and drinks. Sublime. Our food and wine expert Justine Douglas calls this 'quite possibly one of my favourite cookbooks of the year'.

9780230753051 Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
Tom Franklin

Is your mum into crime? Does she read all the usual suspects as they’re released? This gem, set in America’s South, flew under the radar a bit this year. It’s absolutely gripping, moving and will keep you guessing throughout. The past resurfaces for Silas Jones, the sole law officer in small-town Amos, Mississippi. Someone tries to kill his childhood friend Larry Ott, who has been under a cloud of suspicion since a local girl’s murder twenty years ago, when another local girl goes missing. Nothing is at it seems here – least of all the connection between Silas and Larry.

HouseofSticks_LR House of Sticks
Peggy Frew

This stunning local debut novel from Art of Fighting bass player (and Age Short Story comp winner) Peggy Frew is the perfect gift for any mother. A revealing and suspenseful novel about family life, it centres on stay-at-home mum Bonnie and her mounting disquiet at the insistent looming presence of her husband’s socially inept friend and employee in their home. The resulting tension is, of course, about so much more than Doug’s presence. Kate Veitch aptly called it ‘Helen Garner meets Henry James’.

Read our review

resized_9781742376851_224_297_FitSquare Animal People
Charlotte Wood

A terrific Australian novel from one of our best writers, Animal People follows a day in the life of the hapless-but-thoroughly-decent Stephen (the brother from The Children – though you by no means have to have read that book), as he plans to break up with his girlfriend Fiona, despite having nothing but affectionate thoughts towards her. This is a romantic comedy of sorts, and also a brilliant observational novel, telling the story of the city as well as the story of Stephen and Fiona. Sharp, funny, moving and full of heart.

Read our review

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jo-case Jo Case is the editor of Readings Monthly and associate editor of Kill Your Darlings journal. You can follow her on Twiiter - @jocaseau.