I could start this blog by reiterating quite how shit this year has been, socially and politically, and in fact every instinct tell me to do so. But today, right now, sitting with a coffee and the last of the mince pies, I want to celebrate the good things about 2019, because there have been some, buried deep down in the midst of everything awful, and we need to start out 2020 determined and inspired. And where better to start than with books?

It’s become a habit of mine to sit down at the end o...