The 2008 Exclusive Books The List consists of the 53 best books to give or receive this festive season. Formerly known as Publishers? Choice, The List is billed as the "essential guide to the most delectable titles available".

"This year?s List is, as always, a mix of comedy, tragedy and everything in between," says Batya Green-Bricker, marketing manager of Exclusive Books.

"It offers a fascinating and intriguing insight into the current concerns and passions of our society. The development of The List is a labour of love on the part of our staff and we believe that it is the definitive Festive Season buyers? guide to the very best books on the market."

With the recent theatrics of our politics and the dramatic turns of the global economy, the truth is indeed stranger than fiction and the 2008 List reflects just that. So The List caters for all tastes, from fiction and humour to biographies, from political commentary to cookery and art. A strong ecological theme has surfaced on this year?s List with titles such as 'Love Green Food' by Larissa Green and 'Hot, Flat, and Crowded' by Thomas L Friedman.

The List also contains a strong ?making sense of the world? theme with books such as 'The 2009 Flux Trend Review' by Dion Chang and 'Playing the Enemy' by John Carlin.

South African titles make up 40 percent of The List. Some of the Afrikaans authors featured on The List include Deon Meyer, P.G du Plessis, Steve Hofmeyr and Dana Snyman. They appear alongside the likes of renowned authors and political commentators Jeremy Gordin, author of 'Zuma: A Biography'; Max du Preez, author of 'Of Tricksters, Tyrants and Turncoats'; and Nechama Brodie, author of 'The Joburg Book'.

Stand a chance of winning a hamper consisting of 'Shane Warne's Century' (Shane Warne), 'Azincourt' (Bernard Cornwell), 'The American Future' (Simon Schama), 'Entirely up to you, darling' (Richard Attenborough), 'Norrevok' (C. Johan Bakkes), 'Madam and Eve Unplugged' (Stephen Francis and Rico), 'The duck that won the lottery' (Julian Baggini), and 'Hot, flat and crowded' (Thomas Friedman).

All you need to do to stand in line for this prize is answer this simple question: