John

Give John a book with their name on the cover and plenty to discover inside. John: The Owner's Manual brings together researched name history and affectionate adult humour for a present that is personal and offers more than an amusing introduction.

Explore the name's journey from Hebrew through Greek and Latin into English, and discover Joon, a spelling recorded in the Wycliffite Bible of 1395. Alongside origins and historical usage come famous bearers and cultural appearances across art, science, sport and literature: a surprisingly varied reading itinerary for four familiar letters.

The chapters range through personality and habits, friendship and love, work, money, luck and possible futures, with dry British observations about absorbing interests, shared attention and the considerable business of actually finishing something.

Read it from beginning to end, dip into a favourite subject or try the closing questions and small tests. For a birthday, Christmas, name day or just-because present, give John something enjoyable to open again after the wrapping has gone.