The power of ideas - A book is for life

IN a time of flux and worry certainties are to be cherished.

One is that time spent with books is nearly always enriching and empowering.

Today we publish suggestions about recently published books that might make good Christmas presents. They, along with great time-honoured classics, can inspire and strengthen those who read them and the lucky recipient can, in time, celebrate that gift by sharing it with others.

Though cobalt, the 26 symbols and shredded trees are no longer the only way to share great literature books retain an intimacy and emotional interaction that has yet to be surpassed by technology.

How ideas and knowledge are shared is not as important as sharing it. And, as history has confirmed, ideas change worlds. Was that truth ever more important?