Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Spirit of Holiday Reading



From 2023 - all have mini-review on my First Roundup of 2024 post:
  1. A Christmas Secret, by Anne Perry
  2. Murder at an Irish Christmas, by Carlene O'Connor
  3. The Shortest Day, by Colm Tóibín

From 2021 - all have mini-reviews on my December Potpourri post
  1. Winter Solstice, by Rosamunde Pilcher 
  2. The Best Worst Christmas, by Kate Forster
  3. Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas, by Stephanie Barron


From 2020
  1. The Man Who Invented Christmas, by Les Standifold

From 2018

  1. The Twelve Clues of Christmas, by Rhys Bowen
  2. The Nutcracker, by E.T.A. Hoffmann
  3. Winter Solstice, by Elin Hilderbrand
  4. The Holly-Tree Inn, by Charles Dickens, et al
  5. The Ghost of Christmas Past, by Rhys Bowen
All are reviewed on my single post Wrapping Up Holiday Reading

From 2017

  1. A Very French Christmas: The Greatest French Holiday Stories of All Time - reviewed and recommended by Lucy at Fictional 100. Turned out not to be my cup of tea. Review here.
  2. A Redbird Christmas, by Fannie Flagg
  3. Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop, edited by Otto Penzler
  4. Winter series, by Elin Hilderbrand, including Winter Street and Winter Stroll

From 2016

  1. Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb - really enjoyed this nostalgic family romp.
  2. Christmas with Anne, and Other Stories by L.M. Montgomery - 2 with Anne and a sweet set of other stories to get you in the Christmas spirit.
  3. The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories by P.D. James - the setting is Christmas but the stories deal with murder most foul.  


From 2015...
  1. Christmas Bells, by Jennifer Chiarverini - not as good as I had hoped it would be, but an okay 3-star book to kick off the season with.
  2. Christmas at Thompson Hall & Other Christmas Stories, by Anthony Trollope - a mixed bag with some winners and some so-so selections.
  3. The Father Christmas Letters, by J.R.R. Tolkien - a wonderful set of letters that Tolkien wrote to his children over the years, pre-dating the LOTR books.
  4. A Christmas Journey, by Anne Perry - a fun, interesting Regency story--pretty implausible, but that's not really a drawback in this case.  I've never read anything by Perry before, and since she has lots of Christmas novels, I can see reading one a year.
  5. Happy Christmas, by Daphne du Maurier - loved this short story.  Read it!
  6. A Christmas Story, by Jean Shepherd - so much fun!
  7. A Christmas Memory, by Truman Capote - absolute gold.  I can see rereading this annually.




7 comments:

  1. Great to have your recommendations! I will check out the du Maurier and Capote selections for sure!

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  2. You read some interesting books for this challenge.

    As I mentioned previously I never know that Trollope or Tolkien had wrote the above books.

    It sounds as if the Tolkien book is worth seeking out.

    Have a Happy New Years.

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  3. I knew of most of these, but I still really need to get my hands Tolkien's. However, I was not aware of Capote's work, and based on your review, that will be a definite in 2016 Christmas reading list.

    BTW Jane, you are invited to place a link to your blog on my "Other Bookish Blogs" page. I hope you do. Cheers.
    http://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/p/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none_31.html

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the invitation to link up--just did so!

      Delete
  4. Happy New Year Jane; hope 2016 is a good year for you.

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  5. These are great recommendations! I need to check them out, I had no idea most of these existed. I'm especially intrigued by the Daphne Du Maurier short story. What a great challenge. I think I need to look for it and join if it happens next year. I love Christmas books and short stories.

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  6. What a charming idea, reading Christmas novels and stories in December! I never thought of it, but I think I will start this as my new holiday tradition. And I never knew so many famous writers were movbed to write holiday stories. Thanks for the inspiration!

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