For those looking to gift fresh reading material for the new year, Crown Lane by former chief executive of the National Beef Association Robert Forster could be your next stocking filler.

Described as ‘a rural boomer’s tale’, Crown Lane is fiction with sharp elbows that outlines a number of social themes including the enduring problems faced by family farms.

The story follows Ben Robson, a character steeped in work ethic, he is always grafting and is careful with money. Growing up on his family farm in the UK his fondness for cattle and challenge takes him to distant Pagamba in the South Pacific. It’s tragedy that leads him back to Britain where he works as a campaigning farm photo-journalist working with a senior official from Whitehall as his main informant.

Crown Lane by Robert Forster bills itself as a rural boomer's taleCrown Lane by Robert Forster bills itself as a rural boomer's tale Robert Forster’s protagonist describes events that dominated agriculture between 1950 and 2002 from an insider’s position. As a character he cannot hide his dismay at Britain’s obsession with underpriced food.

Crown Lane underlines the gifts offered to, and the difficulties faced by, the maligned post-war bulge. Including the many assaults on livestock farming such as BSE then Foot and Mouth Disease, as well as Britain’s destructive addiction to super-cheap food.

If you are perhaps inclined towards more realism then the non-fiction Rift Valley Fever might be one to add to the Christmas list.

Written by former vet Hugh Cran, the book details his experiences working as a British Vet in Kenya.

Based on his personal diaries, the story follow’s Hugh after he finishes his vet training in Edinburgh. After answering a small advert, he finds himself whisked away to the wild mountains of Kenya where he spends the next 50 years treating the cattle of the Maasai herdsmen, as well as wild animals, horses, and pets of ex-pats and military government and everyone in between.

Travelling miles on rough roads, performing impromptu surgery by torchlight with dirty water. Hugh fell in love with the chaotic life and colourful people he worked for, from dawn to dusk, seven days a week.

An honest and insightful memoir, Hugh punctuates his account of his professional life with enthralling descriptions of beautiful landscapes and the wildlife surrounding his practice in the Rift Valley in Kenya.

Throughout the book, Hugh’s dedication to his work shines through both the people and the animals he cares for.

The story illustrates first hand what it is to work at the sharp end.

This is the perfect gift for anyone interested in the true stories from those working in agriculture internationally, providing a true comparison of life in Scotland to life in Kenya.

These books should give some inspiration for reading this festive season.