Chapter 38 - I'll Be Home For Christmas

I had a good friend text me the other day looking for Christmas themed books for her book club. Good heavens, I haven't even started thinking about Thanksgiving yet much less Christmas! Unfortunately I didn't get back to her in a timely fashion so, as she was with her book club group, they picked something they found online. I explained to her I have at least three pages of Christmas themed recommendations. That started me thinking that there are probably other people and book clubs out there who are looking for the same type of info.

Here are some of my favorite Christmas themed books for your holiday reading or gift giving.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - This is a favorite which I reread every year. A Christmas Carol is a great introduction to Dickens' wonderful prose so if you've always wanted to read Dickens but were afraid of the size of his books, this would be a good pick for you.

Fezziwig by Danny Kuhn - One of the more interesting characters in A Christmas Carol is Mr. Fezziwig, Ebeneezer Scrooge's first employer. This enjoyable tale by Kuhn tells about Fezziwig's life and loves.

Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard - A little darker than Fezziwig but a good read nevertheless, Mr. Timothy is about Tiny Tim, another character in A Christmas Carol. Tim struggles to shrug off the mantle draped on him by the previous book and ends up solving a mystery in the dark streets of 1860's London.

One Day in December by Josie Silver - Coming home from a long day at work Laurie sees a man standing at the bus top as her bus pulls up. Their eyes meet for a magical moment then her bus pulls away. This is a Christmas love story about love, friendship, and missed opportunities somehow regained.

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci - A journalist must get from Washington to LA by Christmas for a sensational story that will bring him back to the top. The only transportation available is a train on which he meets characters who help him reconnect to Christmas again.

The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan - Carmen is laid off from her department store job and gets the opportunity to help out in a book store. The book store needs help badly as its dirt and dust do not engendered customers much less sales. Could this use a Christmas miracle?

Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright - Hope Jensen is a journalist who wants to share the story of Christmas Jars, jars filled with money, which seem to appear to people who need them. Doing so would betray the trust of the family whose tradition it is. What she decides to do has more impact than just a holiday news item.

The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry - Doug Barnes is excited to play a shepherd in his church's Christmas pageant in spite of all the trouble he encounters including the misbehavior of his fellow shepherds, the cute boy playing Joseph opposite the girl he likes as Mary, the illness of the family dog, and his dad's flat tire. I first heard this on audiobook but it has become a favorite reread since then. It is a good family roadtrip audio.

Christmas Books by Anita Hughes - Anita Hughes is an easy, light read and she has many Christmas books to her name including Christmas in London, Christmas in Paris, Christmas in Vermont, Christmas at the Ranch, Christmas at the Chalet, and A Magical New York Christmas.

As you can imagine this is only a handful of the collection of Christmas books I've enjoyed over the years. Do you have a favorite to share? Let me know.