This year, the sexiest Christmas gift is reading. Discover, as every season, the book selection from @reading_is_sexyy: those you devour, savour and keep close to your heart.

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<li style="text-align: left;">The Empty House &ndash; Laurent Mauvignier &nbsp;</li>
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If Steinbeck and Zola had met, if they had ever written a novel together, they would undoubtedly have given birth to The Empty House . How can one fail to see, in this novel, the vibrant legacy of the great classics of literature? This family saga, worthy of the Rougon-Macquart series, is a rich, dense, and profoundly alive fresco. The author navigates between centuries, between an almost obsolete past and the voices of the present, those who still try to understand what we pass on without even intending to. Like Zola, he explores lineage, secrets, and the traces left by generations. But where Zola saw heredity as a social determinism, Laurent Mauvignier is interested in silences, buried wounds, the invisible scars we bequeath despite ourselves, and the intimate flaws we inherit unknowingly. With a resolutely contemporary style, Laurent Mauvignier reopens the door to the French novel and confirms that our era can still produce literary geniuses! A delightful and unforgettable read. A well-deserved Goncourt Prize for this masterful work. &nbsp;

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<li>Night at the Heart &ndash; Natacha Appanah &nbsp;</li>
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A doctor once recounted the impact of domestic violence on children. She described a hiker encountering a bear: the body reacts, prepares to flee. Then she added, "Imagine that this bear comes into your home every night." A stark image to convey the constant fear that wears down the body and diminishes life. It is this invisible fear that Natacha Appanah explores in *La Nuit au c&oelig;ur* (Night at the Heart ): a violence that permeates the walls, gestures, and silences, long after the moment it erupts. The author names the victims, reveals the complexity of their lives, and exposes the terror that prevents any escape. She also denounces a judicial and social system that is often too slow, too blind. &nbsp; The 2025 Femina prize is shockingly accurate, and serves as a reminder that survival is not enough and that only protection prevails.

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<li>Well-being &ndash; Nathan Hill</li>
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This novel by Nathan Hill is brilliant and captivating. It subtly traces the stages of a love affair: the early, romantic, and magical years when everything is still to be created; what happens to the lovers when they become parents and their own childhoods catch up with them; and then the mundane reality when, drained of security, they become whole again, simply yearning for freedom. Escaping the ravages of time and daily life becomes vital, and to do so, each character draws on their own inner resources to save themselves and experience life one last time. Skillfully blending psychoanalysis with a fascinating analysis of our times, this book shows us love from different perspectives, proving that the ideal doesn't exist and that sometimes all it takes is a fresh look to make things shine again.

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<li>I lost a Bedouin in Paris &ndash; Arthur Essebag &nbsp;</li>
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Arthur, the well-known television host and producer, reveals another side of himself in this account: the side truly known only to those who experience antisemitism daily. In this testimony, he recounts the shock of October 7th, the violence of words and stares, the fear, the loneliness, the incomprehensible injustice. Without political analysis, he shares the intimate experience of a man confronted with the resurgence of an age-old hatred of Jews. "I Lost a Bedouin in Paris" is a defiant cry, a statement against indifference and fear. It is a text that poses the question: how can one continue to live fully when one's very identity becomes grounds for condemnation? Arthur answers with the raw honesty of a man who refuses to bow his head.
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<li>Your Promise &ndash; Camille Laurens</li>
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In *Ta Promesse * (Your Promise), Camille Laurens tells a love story that spirals into manipulation, revealing how illusions can become a prison. The subject of narcissistic perverts has often been explored, but the author offers a sharp perspective by dissecting the psyche of these manipulative individuals, devoid of empathy, capable of plunging their victims into a state of shock. Gilles initially appears as a seductive, refined man, a brilliant puppeteer with a chaotic past. Little by little, details become clues: his egocentrism, his authority, the tightening grip. He identifies weaknesses, weaves his web, and all those who venture into it find themselves trapped. Facing him, Claire, a successful writer, slowly crumbles. Between lies, gaslighting, and isolation, she loses her bearings, her freedom, and then her lucidity. Camille Laurens has written an incisive novel about the mechanics of control and the slow destruction caused by psychological violence, where everything had begun as a promise of love.

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<li>Kolkhoz &ndash; Emmanuel Carr&egrave;re</li>
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&ldquo; Doing a kolkhoz&rdquo;: this is what H&eacute;l&egrave;ne Carr&egrave;re d&rsquo;Encausse called the tender ritual of gathering her three children in her bed to sleep together. Behind the public image of authority, rigour, and knowledge, Kolkhoze reveals a complex, fascinating, and sometimes disconcerting woman. In this captivating portrait, Emmanuel Carr&egrave;re explores the private life of the first woman to become Permanent Secretary of the French Academy. A woman with sometimes troubled friendships, a perfectly controlled image, obsessed with discipline and effort. Her son unveils the shadows as much as the irresistible allure of an extraordinary personality, honoured by the Republic and marked by an exceptional career. Structured like a journey through the century, the book traverses the birth of the Soviet Union, Georgian exile, the construction of intellectual Europe, and the major historical upheavals that H&eacute;l&egrave;ne Carr&egrave;re d&rsquo;Encausse analysed throughout her life. A powerful, scholarly tribute that sheds new light on a woman whose culture and ambition have transcended history.

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<li>So that's good &ndash; Cl&eacute;mentine M&eacute;lois</li>
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With *Alors c'est bien* (So That's Good) , Cl&eacute;mentine M&eacute;lois delivers a wonderful story imbued with sensitivity and humour. By accompanying the narrator through her father's final moments, she gently and delicately transcends grief without resorting to pathos. She offers us an endearing portrait of a free-spirited, unconventional, and joyful father. *Alors c'est bien* is not just a novel; it's a celebration of life, an invitation to transform sadness into creativity, a testament to filial love that moves us with its sincerity and poetry. A truly wonderful read.

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