THE First Minister has revealed her list of favourite books of 2019, ranging from crime to classics.

Nicola Sturgeon, who often speaks about her love of reading, named her favourite book of the year as Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo.

She said the book she hopes to read over the Christmas period is Lucy Ellmann’s Ducks, Newburyport – even though she was “slightly daunted” given it is 1000 pages long but a single sentence.

In a Twitter post, she said: “I love reading – it gives me a lot of joy and helps with the stresses and strains of work. I try (though don’t always succeed) to get through a book every week or two.”

Authors on her list include Val McDermid, Deborah Levy, Jeanette Winterson, George Orwell, Ali Smith and Margaret Atwood.