What will you want to find under your tree this year?
Erica Wagner recommends the best books for a cosy Christmas

Stuck in at the stove
Catching a wild turkey is one way to ensure an interesting Christmas dinner, but reading Lawson, Slater, Oliver et al is probably a better option.

Of course, every schoolboy knows. . . umm better just go and look that up
Philip Howard reviews the year's best reference books

Painting and its patrons
Richard Cork casts an eye over the year's best art books

Read a book? Get a life
Iain Finlayson assesses the year's best biographies

Happy quarkmas
Anjana Ahuja examines the best of the year's science books

What makes an athlete great?
Simon Barnes wonders whether even the heroes themselves know

Lives thru a lens
Geoff Brown says get out of the cinema and read the latest and best tomes about the silver screen

All the world's a page
From a survey of 20th-century British drama to anecdotes of much-loved luvvies, find out which were the best books on theatre released this year with Benedict Nightingale

The best travel books of the year
Louise Nicholson reviews tales of far-flung places, from Portugal to Abyssinia

The best children's books of the year
Sarah Johnson reviews fairytales, legends and popular picture books

The best history books of the year
Ian McIntyre casts more than a cursory glance at the best historical tomes from 2000

Go wandering in a musical grove
There is nothing like a thorough index to wet the appetite for a good book. Geoff Brown reviews the musical offerings

Great art brought to book
The best writing inspires and entertains - without threatening the legs of your coffee table, says Philip Howard

Books for deserving cooks
Throw another log on the fire and curl up with a scrumptious cookery book this Christmas Henry Harris picks eight of his favourites

Plant these under the tree
Jane Owen browses through the best of the gardening books on offer this Christmas

Bestsellers 2000
What were the bestsellers of the year in fiction, sport, biography and science?