Christmas Gift Guide Part Two: Books

*Edit*: I know the beauty books images are clicking through to the wrong places, and I cannot seem to fix it. Try the links below instead.

I have always loved receiving books for Christmas. As anyone who knows me will attest, I spend more time with my nose between the pages of a book than doing anything else. While I could not list all my most-loved books here (in fact, take a look at last year's guide for some of my favourite fiction), I curated a list of books that I think would make excellent gifts. Click either on the images of the books or the links below and you'll be taken to Amazon, which I chose because it is universal, not because I'm being sponsored. I encourage you to look in your local bookstore as well.

A good coffee-table book makes a great gift for a fashionable friend; pick up the new Sartorialist book for the fashion blog savvy, Design*Sponge At Home for those who peruse the interiors blogs, and for those with a more graphically inclined eye, why not Taschen's offering - Fashion Ads of the 20th Century?

For big-city friends or avid travellers try Paris Versus New York, another blog-turned-book with fun, witty graphics about the two cities. Everyone, man or woman, should ready a copy of Caitlin Moran's How To Be a Woman, and for young women you shouldn't go amiss with Tavi Gevinson's Rookie Yearbook One.

For children (and, let's be honest, most adults) there is no more perfect gift than a collection of A Series of Unfortunate Events, one of the most remarkable sets of children's literature ever.

Finally, for those who love beauty as much as you (presumably) do, a set of three: Makeup Is Art for editorial lovers, Lauren Conrad Beauty for readers of the lovely Beauty Department and The Wah Nails Book of Nail Art for polish obsessives.

S xx