10 Best Christmas Books To Read This Winter
Christmas is the perfect time to wrap up in a blanket with a hot drink and a book and enjoy a cozy evening in. Here are 10 Christmas books to read this winter that will get you into the festive spirit.
1.A Christmas Carol
A classic Christmas novel, Dickens inspires the feelings of kindness and giving in the story’s primary antagonist and in its readers. Most people are familiar with this story, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy its detailed descriptions and the ultimate celebration of Christmas.
A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.
2.The Polar Express
A beloved story about Christmas, this book has been made into a popular film which is shown every year. See where the films unique ideas originated by reading this classic, perfect for children and adults alike.
One Christmas Eve many years ago, a boy lies in bed, listening hard for the bells of Santa’s sleigh, which he has been told by a friend do not exist. Later that night he hears not bells but a very different sound. He looks out his window and is astounded to see a steam engine parked in front of his house! The conductor invites him to board the Polar Express, a train filled with children on their way to the North Pole.
The train takes the children to the center of the city, where Santa and the elves have gathered for the giving of the first gift of Christmas. The boy is chosen to receive this first gift. Knowing that he can choose anything in the world, he decides on a simple gift: one silver bell from Santa’s sleigh. Santa cuts a bell from a reindeer’s harness and the delighted boy slips it into his bathrobe pocket as the clock strikes midnight and the reindeer pull the sleigh into the sky.
When the children return to the train, the boy realizes the bell has fallen through a hole in his pocket. Heartbroken, he is returned to his home. In the morning, his little sister finds one small box with the boy’s name on it among the presents. Inside is the silver bell! The boy and his sister are enchanted by its beautiful sound, but their parents cannot hear it. The boy continues to believe in the spirit of Christmas and is able to hear the sweet ringing of the bell even as an adult.
3.The Nutcracker And The Mouse King
The story that inspired the ballet (The Nutcracker), this book is another Christmas classic that you have to read this winter. Perfect for children and enjoyed by adults, this book will satisfy all your Christmas feelings.
Young Marie Stahlbaum’s favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.
4.Christmas In London
A sweet Christmas themed love story that focuses on relationships and the seasonal theme of forgiveness, this book is sure to complete a cozy evening in.
Set during London’s most festive time of year and filled with delicious food, Christmas in London is about love and friendship, and the season’s most important lesson: learning how to ask for and give forgiveness.
5.Morna’s Magic & Mistletoe
As part of a fantasy series, this book included many different things to entertain all readers. From time travel to magic to romance, this book is perfect for curling up by the fireplace this winter.
Kenna McMillan would do anything for her grandchildren. She would even accompany one of them hundreds of years into the future for a week of Christmas celebrations with the old witch, Morna, just to make him smile. But unexpected guests at the inn upend all of their holiday plans. As she learns more about her new acquaintance, she starts to wonder if her week away might take a romantic turn…
When a trip to Conall Castle with his granddaughter results in Malcolm Warren bumping into old friends, their quick trip out of Edinburgh quickly turns into days away from the city. While there, Malcolm meets the first woman in years to stir something long neglected inside his heart. When it comes time to return to the city, his granddaughter wants to remain behind with her new friends. He invites Kenna to come with him, promising her a tour of all of the best Christmas sights in the city.
Time together ignites their passion for one another, but the undeniable truth that they live worlds apart threatens their bond.
Kenna also holds a secret—can she trust Malcolm with the truth of Morna’s magic? If she does, will their new love for one another be enough to convince him to leave the life he’s always known?
6.The Girl Who Saved Christmas
This Christmas book is perfect for children but also enjoyed by adults, as it explores the more childlike aspects of the holiday. The character of Amelia will inspire young girls and boys alike as she helps to save Christmas in this charming book.
If magic has a beginning, can it also have an end?
When Amelia wants a wish to come true she knows just the man to ask – Father Christmas.
But the magic she wants to believe in is starting to fade, and Father Christmas has more than impossible wishes to worry about. Upset elves, reindeers dropping out of the sky, angry trolls and the chance that Christmas might be cancelled.
But Amelia isn’t just any ordinary girl. And – as Father Christmas is going to find out – if Christmas is going to be saved, he might not be able to do it alone . . .
7.Hiddensee
Hiddensee is the retelling of the classic The Nutcracker, exploring ideas and themes that haven’t been explored before. This story is perfect for distracting you from winter blues this holiday.
Gregory Maguire returns with an inventive novel inspired by a timeless holiday legend, intertwining the story of the famous Nutcracker with the life of the mysterious toy maker named Drosselmeier who carves him.
8.Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
Perfect for the mystery lovers amongst us, this book combines the themes of Christmas and mystery to create a perfect story that will keep you reading and guessing this holiday.
In Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, the holidays are anything but merry when a family reunion is marred by murder–and the notoriously fastidious investigator is quickly on the case.The wealthy Simeon Lee has demanded that all four of his sons–one faithful, one prodigal, one impecunious, one sensitive–and their wives return home for Christmas. But a heartwarming family holiday is not exactly what he has in mind. He bedevils each of his sons with barbed insults and finally announces that he is cutting off their allowances and changing his will. Poirot is called in the aftermath of Simeon Lee’s announcement.
9.A Little Women Christmas
An illustrated version of the Christmas themes in Little Women, this book is perfect for literature and art lovers alike. With its images of cozy Christmas scenes this book is sure to warm your heart this winter and get you into the holiday spirit.
A cherished holiday scene from a beloved classic comes to life in this festive, cozy picture book homage to Little Women.
It’s almost Christmas, and Jo March is determined that this year, unlike the last, there will be presents. It is in this spirit that she and her dear friend Laurie build a snow maiden for poor, sick Beth. The next day, Beth is thrilled with her present, and each of the girls, in turn, receives a little something from the others. But the best gift of all arrives when Papa, who has been away at war and ill, makes a surprise return home for Christmas dinner.
With a timeless message of goodwill and giving and stunning painted artwork, A Little Women Christmas makes a perfect gift for fans of Louisa May Alcott’s literary treasure as well as for anyone who appreciates the true meaning of Christmas.
10.The Big Book Of Christmas Mysteries
This collection of Christmas themed mystery novels is perfect for the detective story lovers, and a perfect gift or read this holiday. Packed full of new and old mysteries to uncover, this book will provide endless entertainment this winter.
Have yourself a crooked little Christmas with The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries.
Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler collects sixty of his all-time favorite holiday crime stories–many of which are difficult or nearly impossible to find anywhere else. From classic Victorian tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Thomas Hardy, to contemporary stories by Sara Paretsky and Ed McBain, this collection touches on all aspects of the holiday season, and all types of mysteries. They are suspenseful, funny, frightening, and poignant.
Included are puzzles by Mary Higgins Clark, Isaac Asimov, and Ngaio Marsh; uncanny tales in the tradition of A Christmas Carol by Peter Lovesey and Max Allan Collins; O. Henry-like stories by Stanley Ellin and Joseph Shearing, stories by pulp icons John D. MacDonald and Damon Runyon; comic gems from Donald E. Westlake and John Mortimer; and many, many more. Almost any kind of mystery you’re in the mood for–suspense, pure detection, humor, cozy, private eye, or police procedural—can be found in these pages.
FEATURING:
– Unscrupulous Santas
– Crimes of Christmases Past and Present
– Festive felonies
– Deadly puddings
– Misdemeanors under the mistletoe
– Christmas cases for classic characters including Sherlock Holmes, Brother Cadfael, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Ellery Queen, Rumpole of the Bailey, Inspector Morse, Inspector Ghote, A.J. Raffles, and Nero Wolfe
