A Reading List for the Christmas Books Obsessed

I don’t mean to alarm you, but December is almost here. Seasonal coffee beverages have been released. Evergreen wreaths have been hung in shopping centers. Christmas trees are for sale. I even heard Christmas carols in a store this week.

What I’m saying is, I realize we haven’t celebrated Thanksgiving yet, but it’s time to talk about Christmas books.

Three years ago, I went on a massive Christmas book binge. Between November and January, I read 15 Christmas-themed books. What possessed me? A potent holiday spirit, I suppose. I probably won’t replicate that gaudy number this year, but I do love reading Christmas. I love it so much that I have a Nook bookshelf dedicated to Christmas books. Full length novels, short stories, novellas, and quite a few classics.

Specifics? Well, if you insist. But first, let’s set the mood:

 

Christmas books I own but have not yet read

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser

This is the newest Christmas book in my collection. I picked up the hardcover edition at a local bookstore and refuse to read it until after we have put up our Christmas tree.

Christmas at the New Yorker: Stories, Poems, Humor, and Art

Another new book. I picked this one up recently in a Nook book sale. While I don’t see myself reading it straight through, it’ll be fun to dip into.

The Burglar’s Christmas by Willa Cather

I’ve had this one on my Nook for a few years. Why have I not read it yet?

Christmas at Thornton Hall by Lynn Marie Hulsman

Apparently, this is a romantic comedy set at an English manor around Christmas. It’s been on my Nook for years, but I’ve not yet read it. Maybe this year … if the mood strikes me.

At Christmas Time by Anton Chekhov

I remember buying this during the Great Christmas Book Binge of 2014.

Annual Christmas books reading list

Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies

The book version of the movie. Last year, I read it over Thanksgiving weekend and might do that again this year.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

This is an all-time favorite. I’ve reread it every year since at least 2000. I am not about to break that streak.

A Highland Christmas by M. C. Beaton

This is the first book I read in Beaton’s Hamish Macbeth murder mystery series. I reread it last year and enjoyed it so much, I’m adding it to my annual Christmas reading list.

A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas

I discovered this one last year and loved it. It’s excellent bedtime reading.

The Nutcracker by E. T. A. Hoffman

Reading this is like reading Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. It’s enchanting. Bonus: Last year for Christmas, my sister gifted me a translation that is new-to-me.

The Night Before Christmas by Nikolai Gogol

I have not read this fantastical, witty short story in a couple of years but adored it when I first read it.

What holiday reading traditions are you looking forward to this year?