That's the story for under the tree

Booksellers, who know more about the books we love than anyone else, give us their favourites for this Christmas.

UNITY BOOKS

Carolyn Alexander

Baudolino, Umberto Eco (Secker & Warburg $54.95) is a big, provocative historical novel, set in the Middle Ages, full of the usual Eco invention.

The Life Of Pi, Yann Martel (Canongate $35). The Booker Prize-winning novel about a boy and a tiger adrift on a boat.

The Crimson Petal And The White, Michel Faber (Canongate $35) is an 864-page doorstopper. Set in Victorian London, it's the story of Sugar, a 19-year-old whore.

The Little Friend, Donna Tartt (Bloomsbury $39.95). Huge advance publicity for this Southern-set novel of murder, childhood, family and revenge.

Dirt Music, Tim Winton (Picador $37.95). Shortlisted for the Booker, this paperback edition has been eagerly awaited. The northern Australian setting is something a lot of New Zealanders relate to.

Dead Air, Iain Banks (Little Brown $34.95). Banks' wicked humour and twisted storylines appeal to a wide audience.

WOMEN'S BOOKSHOP

Carole Beu

Feminine Gospels, Carol Ann Duffy (Picador, $34.95) is one of the most stunning books of the year. Recognised as one of Britain's greatest living poets, Duffy's Gospels is feisty and full of brilliant language and ideas. The exhilarating narrative poem, The Laughter of Stafford Girls' High, is essential reading for all secondary teachers coping with NCEA.

Unless, Carol Shields (Fourth Estate $31.95) constitutes her final comments to the world on the role of writers, women, and the importance of caring about each other. Beautifully written and wonderfully wise, it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Fingersmith, Sarah Waters (Virago $44.95). Waters was the surprise hit of the last Auckland Writers & Readers Festival. Since then she has gone on to international acclaim, with Tipping the Velvet being televised by the BBC and Fingersmith shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

No Bones, Anna Burns (Flamingo $24.95) is an unforgettable debut novel set amid Belfast's troubles. Violent, extremely funny and beautifully written, it was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction this year.

Bel Canto, Ann Patchett (Fourth Estate $21.95) won the Orange Prize this year and remains my favourite novel of recent times.

The Little Friend, Donna Tartt (Bloomsbury $39.95) requires attentive reading but is certainly worth the effort.

Middle Age, Joyce Carol Oates (Fourth Estate $24.95) is a sparkling satire on wealthy middle America.

The Shag Incident, Stephanie Johnson (Vintage, $26.95) is audacious, hilarious, astute. Sacred cows of every hue are subjected to her bold satire.

The Hopeful Traveller, Fiona Farrell (Vintage, $26.95) is intricately crafted, delightfully inventive. Written in two halves, you can start at either end and read to the middle.

Queen of Beauty, Paula Morris (Penguin $27.95) is the first novel by this exciting local writer, and explores Maori and Pakeha family stories with gentle skill.

Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller (Picador $37.95) is an outstanding non-fiction book - a passionate, poignant and extremely funny account of growing up in a racist white family in Africa.

Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Book, Lauren Child (Hodder, hardcover $29.95). Her other children's paperbacks are around $15.95.

Ruby Holler, Sharon Creech (Bloomsbury $19.95) is a delightfully quirky tale full of adventure and kindness; for 8 to 12-year-olds.

The Witch's Children by Ursula Jones and Russell Ayto (Orchard $15.95). There is nothing quite like the magic of a mum.

HARD TO FIND BOOKSHOP

Warwick Jordan

Our shops stock more than 200,000 affordable titles on every topic under the sun, but with few multiple copies. I recommend readers swoop into our shops for unique gifts. Here are some excellent reads which are also good investments - hypermodern, hardcover first editions which have come out this year:

Porno, Irvine Welsh. Does for sex what Trainspotting did for drugs. Already hugely collectable in hardcover with less than 2000 printed. Signed copies around $200.

Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie. A winning mix of lovestory, literature and east-meets-west in Red Guards-era China. First hardcover print run was reputed to be only 500 copies. Signed bookplate copies around $350.

Stonedogs, Craig Marriner. Curious, entertaining mix of homegrown Irvine Welsh meets homegrown Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Only 50 hardcover first editions produced, with overseas success just a matter of time. Signed copies around $250.

English Harem, Anthony McCarten. Kiwi author takes on Nick Hornby on his own turf and shows good form. Only 76 hardcover first editions produced. Signed copies around $240.

Odyssey, Amin Maalouf Balthazar. This Lebanese author living in Paris is overdue for the Nobel Prize. He has won most other awards that matter. His books are sublime, accessible historical romance adventures with a literary bent, shedding a refreshingly alternative light on the Muslim world. Signed bookplate firsts around $100.

A Grand Complication, Allen Kurzweil. This author's second book and a wonderful piece of literary detection. As complex, educational and pleasing as Ross King's Ex-Libris. Unsigned paperback first edition, first issued in Britain, $45.

BORDERS

Corrie Dark

The Little Friend, Donna Tartt (Bloomsbury, $39.95). This is the long awaited murder mystery-style second novel by the author of The Secret History.

Hoot, Carl Hiaasen (Macmillan $10.95). Perennial favourite Hiaasen brings his caustic humour to a young readers' audience for the first time.

History Makers, Vaughan Yarwood (Random $34.95). Profiles some of history's most influential Kiwis including Sir Edmund Hillary and James K. Baxter.

Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (Penguin $26.95). The perfect gift for all the vegetarians in your life. It's not new but this is a steady seller for us.

Buyers Guide To New Zealand Wines, Michael Cooper (Hodder $30). Who could survive the summer without one of these?

War On Iraq, Scott Ritter (Allen & Unwin $12.95). Topical and affordable.

Remarkable Trees Of The World, Thomas Pakenham (Weidenfeld & Nicholson $89.95). A beautifully illustrated arboreal travelogue.

Afghanistan, Where God Only Comes To Weep, Siba Shakib (Random $27.95). The moving story of an Afghan woman.

Zarbo: Recipes From An Antipodean Deli, Mark McDonogh (Random $26.95). Downunder-style recipes from the Zarbo delicatessen.

The M.I.L.K. Collection (Hodder $31.95). Beautiful snapshots of love, friendship and family life, re-released this year in a new format.

WHITCOULLS

Dorothy Vinicombe

I Don't Know How She Does It, Allison Pearson. (Chatto and Windus $27.99). This hilarious and heart-warming novel follows the life of a modern woman juggling a demanding career, marriage and children.

White Gardenia, Belinda Alexandra (HarperCollins $29.99). A great, thumping read in the tradition of The Bronze Horseman, full of romance, intrigue and heartbreak.

Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides (Bloomsbury $34.99). Thought-provoking, entertaining, a glimpse into a Greek-American family with a secret.

The Company, Robert Littell (Macmillan $24.99). The blockbuster, definitive American spy novel captures the life and death struggle of an entire generation of CIA operatives during the Cold War.

Man And Wife, Tony Parsons (HarperCollins $29.99). The sequel to Man and Boy, in which Parsons explores the triumphs and tribulations of modern family life.

The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (Macmillan $37.99). Shocking and beautiful, this story is told through the eyes of 14-year-old Suzie Salmon who is raped and murdered in the first chapter.

New Zealand Food, Wine & Art: A New Journey, Ian Baker, Vic Williams (Chanel $34.99). A companion volume to New Zealand Food, Wine & Art, in which the delights of our cuisine, beverages and artworks are explored afresh.

Meads, Brian Turner (Hodder Moa Beckett $39.99). The definitive biography of this rugby legend.

Chris Cairns, Hamish McDouall (Hodder Moa Beckett $39.99). The finest moments in a remarkable career - and the lowest. Get acquainted with one of the most talented cricketers New Zealand has ever produced.

Wings Over New Zealand, Matthew Wright (Whitcoulls $24.99). A nostalgic look at our aviation history.

Tell No One, Harlan Coben (Orion $22.99). Both an intelligent, fast-paced thriller and a poignant story of lost love with equal appeal for men and women.

The Kiwi Kids' Illustrated New Zealand Encyclopedia (Whitcoulls $29.99). A very useful homework resource, this will be popular with boys aged 10-14 in particular.

DYMOCKS

Gail Woodward

Dead Air, Iain Banks (Little Brown 34.95). For sheer enjoyment, and narrative-driven adventure stories that never ignore the injustices and moral conundrums of the real world, it's hard to beat Banks.

The Crimson Petal And The White, Michel Faber (Canongate $39.95). A monumental, no holds barred recreation of a Victorian morality tale, dominated by sex bought and given, sex as power, and desire as weakness. A sustaining and fulfilling read.

The Book Of The Film Of The Story Of My Life, William Brandt (VUP $29.95). Hooray for William Brandt, move over Nick Hornby: Brandt puts his own mark on the persona of the modern male having a mid-life crisis. With a light, deft touch and genuinely funny moments he succeeds in a genre where many New Zealand writers fail or, more tellingly, don't even try.

The Janson Directive, Robert Ludlum (Orion $37.99). This is the late Robert Ludlum's last financial thriller. As the New Yorker says: "If you want to know about the finance market read Ludlum - he's better informed than the financial pages."

The Victorians, A.N. Wilson (Hutchinson $68). "People, not abstract ideas, make history," writes Wilson. This lively, long book is a magnificent achievement and a full portrait of that epoch.

The Mitford Girls, Mary Lovell (Abacus $29.95). The true stories behind the gaiety and frivolity of the six legendary sisters are as sensational as any tawdry novel, their lives mirroring the political and historical events in the early years of the 20th century.

Wine Atlas Of New Zealand, Michael Cooper (Hodder Moa Beckett $125). This is the foodie book for me ... Cooper has given us a much needed, long-awaited wine atlas for both connoisseurs and amateur wine lovers.

Heaven And Earth (Phaidon Press $99.95). Gorgeously detailed, full- page pictures of the smallest to the largest objects in the known universe, seen through the lenses of microscopes and telescopes.

How To Rule The World, Andre de Guillaume (Allen & Unwin $24.95). Subtitled "a handbook for the aspiring dictator" is a quirky, hilarious guide to help you with the finer points of true dictatorship. Great colour illustrations.

Nine Horses, Billy Collins (Random $54.95). I recommend any of Collins' books of poetry, any time of the day or night. Read aloud to others and this popular poet will make more new fans.