There’s no season better suited to avid bookworms than the winter. Filled with perpetual darkness, perennial gloom and a glorious excuse to stay indoors with a warming blanket, a cup of tea and an engrossing read – literature lovers look forward to hibernating in the comfort of an at-home reading nook all year long.
The festive season also means Christmas, which translates to ravenous readers as an opportunity to buy and receive brand-new reads. If you’re lucky enough to have been gifted a Waterstones gift card this year, there’s no better time to ensure it goes the distance than during the beloved bookseller’s Boxing Day sale.
Last year, Waterstones offered up to 50 per cent off RRP across a vast range of Fiction, Non-fiction, Children’s books and more during their Boxing Day sale. If that’s anything to go by (which it certainly is), we can expect some brilliant bargains this year.
If you’re the type of reader who thoroughly enjoys the ritual of leafing through a sturdy hardback, but no longer feels like it’s a good idea to shell out a small fortune on one within a week of its publication, relatively recent hardback releases are often on sale over at Waterstones on Boxing Day.
We’ve rounded up a selection of the deals worth investing in this season, so you’ll have ample material to ponder after you speed through that stack of Christmas reads. Keep scrolling for the best bargains on best-sellers.
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Paperbacks – Fiction
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
A classic from the moment it was published in 2020, Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club is about a group of four septuagenarians who meet up every week to discuss murderous cold cases. Proving you don’t have to be young to get into the thick of mystifying investigations, Osman’s brilliant novel puts the unorthodox gang of retirees at the centre of a crime which takes place on their very doorstep.
WaS: £9.99
Buy now £7.99, Waterstones
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
A novel that tugs on just about every heartstring imaginable, Hoover explores complicated and triggering topics including domestic abuse and heartbreak through the tried and tested love-triangle plotline. She nevertheless manages to treat these incredibly emotionally vulnerable subjects with a gentle warmth that ultimately feels like a much-needed hug.
Was: £9.99
Buy now £7.99, Waterstones
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Filled to the brim with heart-racing twists and turns, the first in McFadden’s Housemaid trilogy is a thrilling yarn about a recently paroled maid named Millie who is employed by the wealthy Winchesters. She soon learns that her strange employers have countless skeletons in the closet, and that the lady of the house Nina Winchester is seemingly out to get her.
Was: £9.99
Buy now £7.99, Waterstones
Babel by R.F. Kuang
If you’ve ever found yourself enraptured by the mythological concept of the Library of Alexandria, then R.F. Kuang’s Babel is for you.
The capital of all knowledge and progress in the world is an alternate, mythical re-imagining of Oxford, England. At its centre lies the Royal Institute of Translation (nicknamed Babel), and our orphaned protagonist Robin Swift can think of no better location to spend his days. Following themes of the power of language and imperialism, Swift quickly discovers he must do all he can to battle the systemic injustice brought about by the world's most prestigious institutions.
Was: £9.99
Buy now £7.99, Waterstones
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
The Morisaki bookshop has been in 25-year-old Takako’s family for generations. Tucked away in a quiet street corner in Jimbocho, Tokyo, the book lover’s paradise seems to appeal to everyone but the heir apparent to the hidden second-hand institution.
That is, until Takako learns of her boyfriend’s desire to marry someone else. Heartbroken and with nowhere else to turn, she begrudgingly accepts her Uncle Satoru’s invitation to live rent-free in the room above his beloved bookshop.
A treatise on the healing power of literature, enjoy the rather meta-fictional journey of Takako as she attempts to mend a broken heart.
Was: £10.99
Buy now £9.49, Waterstones
The Cloisters by Katy Hays
A young intern arrives in New York City in the hopes of spending her summer working at the infamous Metropolitan Museum of Art, all the while escaping her dark past. However, Ann Stilwell is assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its collection of medieval and Renaissance art.
Before she can even blink, Ann is drawn into the interwoven web of a few enigmatic researchers who share their outlandish theories. The curator of the museum, Patrick Roland, is convinced that tarot has the very real ability to predict the future – but when Ann discovers an ancient deck integral to his theory, she finds herself in a dangerous position. Filled with high-academic passages about the history of art, Hays’ novel is for dark academia enthusiasts looking for a narrative which is 50 per cent fantasy, and 50 per cent high academics.
Was: £9.99
Buy now £8.49, Waterstones
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
A ferociously passionate fantasy tale which follows an enemies-to-lovers trope taking place within the mythical lands of Prythian, where faeries and humans live in violent opposition.
Whether you’ve come across A Court of Thorns and Roses via social media platforms such as TikTok, or are simply in the market for a new erotic fantasy series to devour, you’re in the right place. The first of Sarah J Maas’ five-book series, A Court of Thorns and Roses follows the plight of a huntress named Feyre who kills a wolf in an act of survival to feed her family. However, the wolf that Feyre killed was not what it appeared, and her violent act had untold consequences for the young huntress and her people.
For her actions, Feyre is kidnapped and taken away from her family. While held captive by the masked Tamlin, Feyre’s feelings become complex – turning from hatred to lust, as the two lovers attempt to navigate the bloody consequences of their relationship and fight to break an ancient curse.
Was: £8.99
Buy now £6.99, Waterstones
Weyward by Emilia Hart
An interwoven narrative which follows the journeys of three intrepid young women over five centuries, Emilia Hart’s best-selling Weyward is a spell-binding tale of power and survival in the face of deadly patriarchal structures. Who says that spellbinding tales of witchcraft are limited to cosy winter evenings? We’re taking this thrilling novel straight to the English countryside this summer, where we can read of protagonist Kate’s fleeing to her inherited Cumbrian cottage in peace.
Was: £9.99
Buy now £8.49, Waterstones
The Iliad by Homer
Known as the first and greatest literary achievement of the Ancient Greeks, The Iliad is the foremost epic poem whose cultural influence knows no bounds. A story that needs no introduction, Homer’s panoramic piece begins in the last year of the Trojan War.
Was: £14.99
Buy now £11.99, Waterstones
Paperbacks – Non-fiction
Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken
If working towards a healthier lifestyle in Western society feels like a thankless task in contemporary society, it’s because it is. As Chris van Tulleken explains, it’s not you, it’s the food. While he doesn’t have all the answers, Tulleken takes readers on a journey of discovering how to exist when we’re living in a food environment which is out to destroy us.
Was: £10.99
Buy now £9.49, Amazon
Emperor of Rome by Professor Mary Beard
After shining a spotlight on the century-long history of the Roman Empire in SPQR, Beard homed in on the emperors that ruled throughout the nation’s storied history in Emperor of Rome. Rather than offering a simple chronological account of the emperors from Caesar to Augustulus, Bears offers her signature expansive analysis on everything from the actual role and duties of the Roman Emperor and the intricate infightings that led to such deadly power struggles.
Was: £11.99
Buy now £9.99, Waterstones
