Books are top of the agenda for this week's Red Lines. I've got a seller of books and two writers of books with me today to talk about some of the publications that have stood out for them over the past year. And if you still have Christmas presents to buy, perhaps this conversation will give you a bit of inspiration on what to look out for. Let me introduce my guests. Susan McKay is a writer and commentator who's

no stranger to this podcast. Her latest book, Northern Protestants on Shifting Ground, was published

to considerable acclaim in May this year. Henry MacDonald has covered Northern Ireland as a print

journalist for many years, most of them with The Guardian and The Observer. He's published several

books on the conflict here,

and in recent years he's turned to fiction, publishing two novels, the most recent of which

two souls appeared in 2019. And David Torrance runs the No Alibis Bookshop on Belfast's Botanic

Avenue. And if there's something in the local publishing scene that David doesn't know about,

you can assume it's not worth knowing about.

Welcome to all of you.

Thanks for joining us on Red Lines today.

David, these are strange times it has to be said.

Are people buying books for Christmas this year?

Oh, my goodness, yes.

This has been an absolute bumper year for us in those guys. I know it's been

helped by various schemes and vouchers that have been allocated to so many of the people in the

country, but it has really been a bumper, bumper year. So before we talk to Henry and Susan

about their choices, the books that have really stood out for them,

what's been the big seller for you over the past 12 months? Give us a flavour of what's flown off the shelves.

Well, I don't want to be bolstering Susan's ego there, but I would have to say that Northern Protestants has been possibly one of our biggest selling books of this year.

And actually, within the realms of book sales, it is nonfiction that has been,

that has really been at the forefront.

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