Lists of books for Christmas lists

If you're being asked by anxious relatives what they should get you for Christmas and you're not sure what to answer, these are all good, short (under 250 pages) books that will improve your life and may fit in your stocking...

• God's Lavish Grace by Terry Virgo. If you want to know how God relates to Christians, what He thinks of them, what's He's done for them, then you should read this. Foundational.

• The Good God by Michael Reeves. There aren't enough good books written about God. This is one of them.

• Humility by Andrew Murray. Very clear, very shaped by Jesus, and therefore very challenging. For most of us, this is a massive deal.

• Simply Jesus by Tom Wright. An immersive description of what was happening when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. It seemed weaker towards the end but I wouldn't have missed the first two-thirds for anything.

• The Dangerous Duty of Delight by John Piper. The redux version of Desiring God is so short you won't miss its message. I love the truth in here.

I've also been asking and searching for other book lists. I'd recommend some recommenders more than others, but here they all are...

• Andrew Wilson: Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung, Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering by Tim Keller, Paul and The Faithfulness of God by N.T. Wright "if you're feeling bold" - and strong, I'd add, as it's 1,680 pages.

• Phil Whittall: "Go classic and read Bonhoeffer's Life Together, go big with Mike Bird's Evangelical Theology, go to anything by Tim Keller or N.T./Tom Wright."

• Phil Moore: The Story of Christianity by David Bentley Hart

• Terry Virgo: Paul and The Law by Brian S. Rosner

• Nick Sharp: The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy

• Matthew Clifton-Brown: Christian: A Praying Life by Paul Miller, Jesus Is ... by Judah Smith, Paul, Apostle of God's Glory in Christ by Thomas Shreiner, The Man Christ Jesus by Bruce Ware, Love Walked Among Us by Paul Miller. Fiction: The Warsaw Anagrams by Richard Zimler, 1356 by Bernard Cornwell, The Generals by Simon Scarrow, A Man Without Breath by Philip Kerr, Dominion by C.J. Sansom.

• End-of-year lists from The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, The Spectator, The New Statesman, The Observer, The New York Times (be warned, there's 100 here), The Times Literary Supplement.

• Nomination lists for Costa Book Awards and Man Booker Prize 2013.