The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald

I really enjoyed this novel based on the based on the early life of Friedrich (Fritz) von Hardenberg (1772-1801), the German romantic poet and philosopher later known by the pen name of Novalis. 
However,It is a bleak novel; The plot is driven by Fritz Hardenberg falling in love with a girl of twelve when he was twenty-two and there is death! 

A House For Mr Biswas by V.S. Naipaul

This tells the story continual struggle of Mr Biswas who wants to live his life with the opposing forces of obligation to family and the desire for independence as he struggles to delineate himself from the larger identity of the family that he is born into and then of the family that he marries into and the desire to have his own house!
It's not a page-turner - in fact in parts the plot is barely perceivable at all. However, this fits in well with the realism - the monotony of Mr Biswas' life!
The descriptions of family life, of community, and of the natural and social landscape of mid-twentieth Trinidad are beautiful. 

The Brain: The Story of You by David Eagleman

 
It is quite a basic book, only scratching the surface of neuroscience. But if you are looking for a well written & accessible introduction into the brain it is great way to start.

The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories by P. D. James

Village Christmas: And Other Notes on the English Year by Laurie Lee

Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days by Jeanette Winterson

Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries by Martin Edwards