Once the autumn hits each year, I move into ‘themed’ reading and I seriously love it! In the fall I adore sitting under a blanket with a gothic, dark, mystery or ghost story. It’s even better when it’s dark and stormy outside! Reading the tried and true classics; Frankenstein, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Dracula is fantastic on a creepy fall night. This year I expanded a little to include a few other gothic(esque) novels; The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell, and My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier to name just a few I thoroughly enjoyed. As much as I LOVE fall reading, it is now time to move into holiday reading!!
When it comes to holiday reading, I have a number of books that I read every single year but I also try to read some other Christmas/Winter books in December and January…I do love ‘mood’ reading. 😉 Now, I realize that not everyone has the time to read around the holidays so in this blog I’ll tell you my favorite books along with the version of the movie that I prefer (since many holiday classics have been made, remade, and remade, and remade for film).
Christmas/Holiday Favorites
My all-time favorite Christmas book is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. As you can see from the blog pic, I collect different editions of this story because I love it, basically have it memorized, and read it EVERY Christmas! As ridiculous as it sounds, my favorite movie version of this story is “A Muppet’s Christmas Carol!” Honestly, the music is great, the Muppets nail the characters, and Michael Caine is an amazing Scrooge.
Another one I read every Christmas is Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. Literally, laugh-out-loud funny, even after reading it every year for a decade. “Christmas with the Kranks” is the movie version and it’s ok, not as good as the book but still funny and follows the book pretty well.
“A Christmas Story” is clearly a film classic but there is also a written version of the story (same title) by Jean Shepherd. The book offers a few details that are missed in the movie version and some of the story line is slightly different, but it is certainly worth the read and you may learn a thing or two that you missed in the film. (For example, did you realize that Ralphie’s dad wins the ‘major award’ leg lamp for winning the newspaper crossword puzzle contest?!)
If you’re in the mood for a love story, Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory takes place over Christmas and New Years in London and is a refreshingly modern, non-cloying, story of two adults (who act like adults) who fall in love but still have to deal with ‘real-life.’ This book was recommended to me by Hannah (who knows I do not love this genre) and I thoroughly enjoyed it, so you can rest assured that if both Hannah and I recommend a love story, you’re probably going to like it too. As far as I am aware, there is not a movie version of this book yet.
And finally, because I can’t go through any season without reading some mystery books, Agatha Christie has some Christmas classics: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Poirot #35), Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, A Christmas Tragedy are just a few. Thanks to Hannah and her library’s book sale I have a new one to read this year, The Humbug Murders by L.J. Oliver…I’ll let you know how it goes!
Happy Holiday Reading my Friends!
