Somehow, it’s that time of the year again. Now, you might not be quite ready to deck the halls, break out the selection box, or crank up the Mariah Carey… but surely you’re ready for the Mr B’s Christmas Catalogue, which landed in-store last week, and is ready for some online perusal right here!
Our ultimate guide to gift-giving, the Christmas Catalogue features over 120 books and games, all handpicked and reviewed by the Mr B’s Team. Each team member has an official Book of the Year (featured in our Christmas Catalogue!)… but how can they possibly be expected to be happy with just one?
So, alongside their favourite, we’ve asked the Mr B’s team to give us their top 12 (or close enough!) reads of 2026. Each week we will bring you different members of the team so you can compile a brilliant selection of new favourites to add to your Christmas list.
Sam’s Fave: This is Also a Love Story by Sally Hayden
Our non-fiction Lead Sam has a classic selection of the best non-fic books of the year, with true crime, politics and nature top of his list. But his overall fave offers a tonic to the chaos of our world… Sally Hayden’s magnificent This is Also a Love Story.
Drawing on more than a decade reporting on some of the worst conflicts and natural disasters in living memory, Sally Hayden uncovers the courage, love, and moments of hope that headlines often miss. From Ukraine to Rwanda, Lebanon to Japan, her on-the-ground journalism reveals resilience and romance alive amid displacement and injustice. Sam Says: “Devastating and hopeful, this is reportage transformed: a reminder to look for the best in humanity.”
Rohan’s Fave: You Are the Führer’s Unrequited Love by Jean-Noël Orengo
Rohan’s list has a typically worldwide flavour, with translated fiction from South America and Western Europe featuring heavily. He also tackled two monstrously large Mr B’s faves: Lonesome Dove and The Savage Detectives! His fave, though, was the award winning French take on the life of controversial architect Albert Speer, You Are the Führer’s Unrequited Love by Jean-Noël Orengo…
Albert Speer: high-society Nazi architect, Minister of Armaments and Hitler’s beloved courtier. After serving 20 years in Spandau prison, Speer’s bestselling memoirs whitewashed his public image and transformed our understanding of the Reich’s inner workings, but were they true? Rohan says: “Orengo delivers a masterful account of history’s malleability and our collective willingness to accept comfortable lies. The story of Speer’s manipulations remains ever relevant to life in a post-truth era.”
Laura GM’s Fave: Three Wild Bodies by Eva Baltasar
Laura GM is well known as our expert on translated fiction, so you’ll be unsurprised to find that dominating her faves of the year. But she also can’t resist a great fantasy novel, her standout being The Will of the Many, and found time to tackle some brilliant US fiction from Colson Whitehead and Elizabeth Strout. Her gave, though, hails from her native Catalonia, Eva Baltasar’s Three Wild Bodies, a trio of stunning novellas collected together for the first time…
Eva Baltasar’s loosely connected triptych has been collated for the first time in English. One of the most revered Catalan writers at work today brings her raw and vivid prose and her unflinching gaze to narrators on the verge of madness or finding themselves. Laura GM says: “A ticking bomb. There are cats, toothless shepherds, affairs, baby goats, prostitution, pregnancies, and a few disenchanted Barcelona city lesbians. Three punchy novellas that will make your gut shrink.”
Giuseppe’s Fave: The Anniversary by Andrea Bajani
The most recent addition to the Mr B’s team, Giuseppe, is a philosophy obsessive, and all of his choices feature some element of deep thinking. His fave slot was reserved for a fellow Italian: Andrea Bajani and his smash hit, prize-winning The Anniversary…
It’s been 10 years since a man decided to cut all ties with his parents, leaving behind a family history marked by silence and violence. He soon discovers that leaving is not the same as being free. Giuseppe says: “Unfolding as an interior monologue, The Anniversary slowly untangles the inheritance of trauma and explores the invisible threads that bind us to those who hurt us, and the long, painful journey towards breaking them.”