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I have liked everything I've ever read by Nick Hornby - and I've read almost everything he's written, including his columns and other non-fiction. So I was confident I would enjoy this, and I did, very much. It's not up there with High Fidelity or About a Boy, which are both superb, but it's tender, heartwarming and satisfying and was just the thing I needed.

"Just Like You" is about the romance between Lucy, a 42 year old white divorced teacher of English at a secondary school, and Joseph, a 22 year old Black guy who works a few odd jobs, coaches football (soccer) and is trying out his hand at being a DJ. It's set in - and this will not surprise you if you read Nick Hornby - North London.

Brexit makes an appearance - it is set before and after the original vote - and is used to explore some of the differences around race and class that the pairing naturally raises. But it's handled lightly, without serious depth or analysis - or rancor.

The book is told from the perspectives of the two characters, alternating. I think Hornby does a bit better job of being inside the head of the woman than the man, which is not really that surprising. But he doesn't make a hash out of it - does reasonably well, I think.

If you need a light and pleasant read, with a happy ending, that is, yes heartwarming, but is also not naff or syrupy, and has some heft to its consideration of the issues of its pairing poses, you'll enjoy this.

A few years back, I added this to my list of Christmas reads - books I reread (or at least think about rereading) every year during the holidays, books that get me in the mood, because of content (this one, obviously) or past associations (Lord of the Rings) or because somehow they seem to me to suit the season, in the same way that fires, green branches inside, lights, rich food and so on do, that contribute to the hygge.

Hogfather is set in Discworld, where most of Terry Pratchett's books are set. Like most of his books, it riffs off some aspect of our world - in this case Christmas - in a satirical but loving and insightful way. In this book, the Hogfather - a Santa Claus/Spirit of the Solstice figure - is incapacitated by some creatures who are opposed to human creativity. And Death has to step in. It's wonderful.