Christmas came early for the Roy household this year. Our greatest gift came in a 9 lb. 15 oz. bundle topped by dark auburn hair and one very loud cry. Our grandchild’s name is Henrietta Josephine, and she is truly lovely. I am beyond thrilled to finally have a girl sharing some of my DNA.

For those of you who may not be lucky enough to find a baby girl in your stocking this happy holiday season, I do have some alternatives. And in keeping with my personal preference for gifts for all ages — the suggestions are all books.

This year topping my list is Grant Lawrence’s book Adventures in Solitude — What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck. I love reading anything that makes me laugh out loud, and this book certainly met that criteria. Parts of it are so funny that they should be required reading for all the grumps on your Christmas list.

An added bonus to this book was seeing and hearing Grant present at the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts in August. He’s as easy on the eyes as he is on the funny bone. A terrific young man, he managed to be entertaining and cordial to everyone, in spite of having wrecked his knee at a party a few days prior to his appearance. I don’t know how he’ll top that book, but when he writes the next one, I’ll be first in line to buy it.

Next up is a door-stopper of a book I read in anticipation of this year’s FOWA. Mistress of the Sun, penned by Sandra Gulland, is everything a romantic, historical book should be — lengthy, lusty and lavish.

This was a book that seriously interfered with my sleeping habits in late July. I just could not put the book down; it is so well written. Gulland turned out to be just as marvellous as her books; she was a charming woman with a delightful sense of humour. Her comments on the research of the book were much appreciated by the early morning crowd that came to see her on that sunny August day. I have Gulland’s Josephine trilogy to read now and a new reason to love the name of Napoleon’s darling.

A book that I read earlier this year stayed with me a long time. Steve Burgess’ book, Who Killed Mom, is heart-wrenching. The treatment, or I should say lack of, that the poor woman received over the years is mind-boggling. But lest you think this is a sad sack sombre tome, let me put your mind at rest. The author’s whacked sense of humour and his writing skills put this book at the top of any must-read list. He is so entertaining, I could not put the book down. And I see by its inclusion on many Canadian reviewers best-of-2011 lists that many readers feel the same way.

Ironically, after reading a book about the shortcomings of the medical profession, my next book to recommend is written by a local doctor. The Doc’s Side by Dr. Eric Paetkau is great on several levels. It’s funny, relevant to the Sunshine Coast and informative. If you’ve lived on the Coast for more than a few years and have had surgery, chances are good that the man wielding the scalpel was this good doctor. I give him full credit for my being able to practise my profession — without his skill in carpal tunnel surgery, I likely would not be able to write or type. I’m glad I ran out of wrists before he retired. Now I just have a pesky trigger thumb, but that’s a whole other story.

So there you have it. For my money, the only thing that beats a book is family. The perfect gift is to combine the two. Buy the ones you love books, and they’ll have a treasure for always.