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Bookish Lists

Ten Favorite Holiday Reads-2022 Edition

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Happy Tuesday y’all! Happy December! Who’s ready for the holiday season? Not me, but I hardly ever am. I know it’s the same time of year every year, yet it always seems to catch me off guard. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is a Freebie, a great gift from Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Last year I put together a list of Holiday Books That Don’t Mention the Holidays in Their Titles; you can check out that list here. This year I’m going to share ten favorite holiday reads.

Ten Favorite Holiday REads-2022 Edition

Some of these titles may be repeats from that list from last year, and I read others years ago and haven’t mentioned them on my blog before. One thing is for sure; they are all books I’ve enjoyed reading, and a few have even been adapted.

All titles will lead to Goodreads.

Now let’s check out my ten favorite holiday reads!

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

  • Genre: Contemporary, Holiday
  • Release Date: November 2005

Deep in the southernmost part of Alabama, along the banks of a lazy winding river, lies the sleepy little community known as Lost River, a place that time itself seems to have forgotten. After a startling diagnosis from his doctor, Oswald T. Campbell leaves behind the cold and damp of the oncoming Chicago winter to spend what he believes will be his last Christmas in the warm and welcoming town of Lost River. There he meets the postman who delivers mail by boat, the store owner who nurses a broken heart, the ladies of the Mystic Order of the Royal Polka Dots Secret Society, who do clandestine good works. And he meets a little redbird named Jack, who is at the center of this tale of a magical Christmas when something so amazing happened that those who witnessed it have never forgotten it. 

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

  • Genre: Contemporary, Humor, Holiday
  • Release Date: November 2001

Luther and Nora Krank are fed up with the chaos of Christmas. The endless shopping lists, the frenzied dashes through the mall, the hassle of decorating the tree… where has all the joy gone? This year, celebrating seems like too much effort. With their only child off in Peru, they decide that just this once, they’ll skip the holidays. They spend their Christmas budget on a Caribbean cruise set to sail on December 25 and happily settle in for a restful holiday season free of rooftop snowmen and festive parties.

But the Kranks soon learn that their vacation from Christmas isn’t much of a vacation at all and that skipping the holidays has consequences they didn’t bargain for.

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

  • Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Holiday
  • Release Date: November 2001

Disillusioned journalist Tom Langdon must get from Washington to Los Angeles in time for Christmas. Forced to travel by train, he begins a journey of rude awakenings, thrilling adventures, and holiday magic. He has no idea that the locomotives pulling him across America will actually take him into the rugged terrain of his own heart as he rediscovers people’s essential goodness and someone very special he believed he had lost.

Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

  • Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Holiday
  • Release Date: October 2017

August 1914. England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for the front, she believes—as everyone does—that it will be over by Christmas, when the trio plan to celebrate the holiday among the romantic cafes of Paris.

But as history tells us, it all happened so differently…

Evie and Thomas experience a very different war. Frustrated by life as a privileged young lady, Evie longs to play a greater part in the conflict—but how?—and as Thomas struggles with the unimaginable realities of war, he also faces personal battles back home where War Office regulations on press reporting cause trouble at his father’s newspaper business. Evie and Thomas share their greatest hopes and fears through their letters—and grow ever fonder from afar. Can love flourish amid the horror of the First World War, or will fate intervene?

Christmas 1968. With failing health, Thomas returns to Paris—a cherished packet of letters in hand—determined to lay to rest the ghosts of his past. But one final letter is waiting for him.

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

  • Genre: Mystery, Holiday
  • Release Date: December 1938

Christmas Eve and the Lee family’s reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture and a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed.

When Hercule Poirot offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man. 

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

  • Genre: Historical Fiction, Holiday
  • Release Date: October 2017

Charles Dickens should be looking forward to Christmas. But when his latest book, ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’, is a flop, his publishers give him an ultimatum. Either he writes a Christmas book in a month, or they will call in his debts, and he could lose everything. Dickens has no choice but to grudgingly accept.

Cheddar Off Dead by Julia Buckley

  • Genre: Cozy Mystery, Holiday
  • Release Date: September 2016

The Christmas holidays are one of Lilah’s favorite times of the year, filled with friends, family, and, of course, tons of food orders for her Covered Dish clients. But Lilah’s Yuletide cheer ends when she sees a most Grinch-like crime: the murder of a Santa in a school parking lot.
 
It turns out the deceased Kris Kringle was a complicated tangle of naughty and nice, with a long list of people who might have wanted him dead. And whoever did the deed wants to make sure that Lilah keeps quiet. Now, Lilah will have to team up with her former fling, Detective Jay Parker, to unwrap the mysteries of a deadly Christmas killer and stay alive long enough to ring in the New Year.

If You Take A Mouse to the Movies by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond

  • Genre: Picture Book, Holiday
  • Release Date: October 2000

If you take a mouse to the movies, he’ll ask you for some popcorn. When you give him the popcorn, he’ll want to string it all together. Then he’ll want to hang it on a Christmas tree. You’ll have to buy him one.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell by Lucille Colandro and Jared Lee

  • Genre: Picture Book, Holiday
  • Release Date: 2006

The hungry old lady swallows a bell, bows, gifts, a sack, a sleigh, and some reindeer this time! She’s about to swallow a candy cane for dessert when she hears a jolly “Ho! Ho! Ho!” Santa Claus is waiting for a ride! Watch what happens when she whistles, with amazing results!

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner

  • Genre: Picture Book, Holiday
  • Release Date: September 2005

Snowmen at Night shared with us the magical, slip-sliding adventures of snowmen after dark . . . but have you ever wondered what snowmen do for Christmas? Well, now’s your chance to find out! The snowmen are back, and this time they’re celebrating Christmas–the snowman way!

And that’s my list of ten favorite holiday reads. I know I missed a few classics, and I love those too. But I wanted to be different! Have you read any of these holiday reads? What are your favorite holiday reads?

Ten Favorite Holiday Reads-2022 Edition

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.

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41 thoughts on “Ten Favorite Holiday Reads-2022 Edition”

  4. I am loving your list. I just love Christmas books. I haven’t read a Fannie Flagg book yet and this one sounds great. I’ve read Skipping Christmas and The Christmas Train by David Baldacci. Baldacci is one of my husband’s favorite authors. I absolutely loved reading the mouse series with my children. So clever and the pictures are fabulous.

  12. I’m not a big reader of Christmas themed books because the few I’ve read are just too sweet for me. Maybe I’m just picking the wrong ones. I obviously went an entirely different direction…. 🙂 Thanks for the visit.
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

  15. Never ready for the Christmas season over here either. Always intend to be but never quite get there. 🙂 I don’t think I’m familiar with any of these, but do love reading about cozy or Christmas-y reads! Thanks so much for sharing and for visiting my website. 🙂

  17. They look great. I read Skipping Christmas last year and loved it. I have never managed to finish watching the film, but loved the book!

    Have a great week!

  18. I’m never ready for Christmas either, even though I have all year to prepare! I’m especially unprepared this year since I’m still waiting for painters to come do some touch-up painting so our remodel will FINALLY be (almost) completely done. I can’t do much decorating until they paint and it dries, so…at least I have an excuse? LOL.

    I enjoyed MR. DICKENS AND HIS CAROL and SKIPPING CHRISTMAS. I don’t remember much about the latter, but I do love the Christmas With the Kranks movie. It’s hilarious. My favorite holiday reads are A CHRISTMAS CAROL and THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER.

    Happy TTT!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

  22. I am never ready for Christmas either. I love this list of holiday books. I am interesting in Mr. Dickens and his Carol.

  23. Yes! You have so many great Christmas books here. I need to add A Redbird Christmas to my wish list. I enjoyed Mr. Dickens and His Carol. I think The Christmas Train and Skipping Christmas were fun. Last Christmas in Paris is one of my favorites.

  28. I really love the variety you have on this list! I need to give the story about Charles Dickens a go, that sounds like fun. Also, the story about skipping Christmas! He he.
    Have a great week! X

  29. What a great post, Pam. I have read the first 3, and 2 of the picture books, but I like the look of the Snowman one. Of course, the one I reread every year is Christmas Carol. I think I will listen to it this year though. 💞🎄📚

  32. I don’t tend to read many holiday books, but this looks like a great mix! One that I read with my book group a few years ago was Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman — it’s short, but very emotional.

  33. Fun list! I’ve read Skipping Christmas, which was fun, and Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, which I liked a lot. I’d like to read Mr. Dickens and His Carol, and the Snowmen At Night series is always a delight! Same for the “If You Give a Mouse…” series 🙂

  34. Haha, I’m not ready for the holidays! The trees aren’t up, and I’m still trying to figure out gifts for people. I think I only have one Christmas book on my shelf. Yeah . . . I’m not ready.

  35. Such a fun list! I have read several of these including Skipping Christmas which is so fun and Mr Dickens and His Carol which was fascinating and we love Snowmen at Christmas! I’m adding Last Christmas in Paris to my TBR — sounds like a great read! Thanks for stopping by my TTT earlier 🙂

  36. Honestly, who’s ever ready for anything other than festive reading, when it comes to the holidays?! I hope you can feel festive soon (but more importantly, I hope you enjoy some festive reading soon!).

  37. I have had a few of these on my TBR for a while now; Also, didn’t realize there was a ‘There was a old lady..’ book for Christmas too!

  38. I don’t usually read holiday-themed books, but I’m curious about the Hercule Poirot Christmas book and the one about Dickens.

    Of course, If You Take a Mouse to the Movies will always be a great holiday choice! 🙂

  39. All of these look so good! Skipping Christmas is on my list to read this month. I saw the Hallmark movie version of The Christmas Train and I loved it. The book is on my TBR. The Agatha Christie and Samantha Silva books you listed look like ones I would enjoy, so I’ll add them to my TBR. I used to be an elementary school teacher and during that time of my life I read If You Take a Mouse to the Movies and Snowmen at Christmas. They’re both good, but I especially loved Snowmen at Christmas. All great choices!! 🙂

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