55 Best Christmas Books to Read Around the Holidays

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A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

$15.82 at Amazon

For fans of: Little House Christmas Treasury by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Looking for a short but powerfully packed read with loads of Christmas spirit? Pick up Truman Capote’s classic A Christmas Memory. “The No. 1 book I recommend to readers every holiday season is the novella A Christmas Memory by renowned writer Truman Capote,” says Julianne Buonocore, the president of the Literary Lifestyle, a virtual reading community for women. “This story captures the feeling of nostalgia in words like nothing I’ve read before. And, of course, it also imparts a beautiful lesson about the meaning of the season. I will never stop recommending this book, especially since you can read it in just one hour and then reread it every year thereafter!”

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Miracle on 10th Street and Other Christmas Writings by Madeleine L’Engle

16.007% OFF$14.93 at Amazon

For fans of: Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

From the bestselling author of A Wrinkle in Time comes this collection of beautiful Christmas writings that include poetry, short stories and reflections. The thoughtful, faith-infused pieces are signature L’Engle, exploring Christmas from various events, including Advent and the Epiphany. My fellow L’Engle devotees will be delighted that Miracle on 10th Street, which came out in 1998, includes two Christmasy Austin family short stories.

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A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss

18.0045% OFF$9.90 at Amazon

For fans of: Wrapped with a Beau by Lillie Vale and The Christmas Party by Karen Swan

A December to Remember, a delightful 2023 holiday romp by Jenny Bayliss, whom Christmas rom-com readers know well, centers on three estranged half-sisters whose deceased dad has left many hoops to jump through in order to access their inheritance. As they tackle the challenges together, will they heal the distance between them and find their way back to one another? Funny, heartwarming and not too Christmasy, this cozy read, which came out this fall, is a December TBR list must.

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The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern

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For fans of: The Christmas Stories of George MacDonald by George MacDonald

My family faithfully watched It’s a Wonderful Life every Christmas as part of a weekend Christmas-movie marathon, and this beautifully illustrated book is the original story behind the movie. Philip Van Doren Stern wrote The Greatest Gift in 1943 as a short story after it came to him in a dream and then self-published it as a Christmas card after publishers rejected it. This special edition includes an afterword by his daughter.

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The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman

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For fans of: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

This 2017 novella by New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman may be an unexpected Christmas read, given that it starts out with a father confessing to a killing. Reflective, profoundly moving and a bit dark, The Deal of a Lifetime may leave you with a major book hangover. But contemplating family, love and what makes a life worthwhile is part of the Christmas tradition, right?

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The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman

17.0047% OFF$9 at Amazon

For fans of: The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan and Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic by Lauren Ho

This 2023 humorous holiday treasure from popular podcaster Becca Freeman is about found family, friendship and the joys of growing up. Christmas can be a difficult and even painful season for many. The Christmas Orphans Club is something of a modern-day love letter to those facing a hard or nontraditional holiday. Heartwarming, festive and oh so New York City, this is one book you don’t want to miss, as it explores some of the many forms love—and life—can take.

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A Treasury of African American Christmas Stories, edited by Bettye Collier-Thomas

$19.95 at Amazon

For fans of: The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes and The People Remember by Ibi Zoboi

This powerful collection of stories and poetry, which came out in 1997, is from African American writers and activists who first published the pieces between 1880 and 1953. One of the great things about A Treasury of African American Christmas Stories is that Bettye Collier-Thomas, a professor of American history at Temple University, introduces the different stories to help readers understand their context and significance. In addition to reflecting on typical holiday themes of family and love, the anthology explores racism, violence, poverty, racial identity and civil rights.

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The Christmas Dress by Courtney Cole

18.9936% OFF$12.21 at Amazon

For fans of: The Christmas Promise by Sue Moorcroft

I love comforting Christmas books, but what I really enjoy is a good intergenerational tale of friendship, and this beautiful holiday story about two women and one gorgeous dress is precisely that. Not only is 2021’s The Christmas Dress full of all the feel-good moments, humor and warmth we expect from a book with a title like this, but it also has a bit of magic, fashion and romance sprinkled in. I love that it gives the “home for Christmas” idea a new spin, with one of the characters, Meg Julliard, reluctantly returning home to manage an apartment building full of longtime tenants, including Ellie Wade, who is preparing to move out and into a nursing home. Christmas doesn’t feel much like Christmas for these two women … until it does.

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Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

9.9933% OFF$6.70 at Amazon

For fans of: One Day in December by Josie Silver

Is Christmas even Christmas without all the advertising, marketing and sales getting us to spend more than our net worth in purchases? In 2019’s Christmas Shopaholic, the ninth book of the beloved Shopaholic series, Becky Brandon scrambles to pull together the perfect Christmas when her parents pass the hosting duty on to her. It’s fun, it’s festive and it’s fast—a holiday extravaganza of a book that has Becky learning she might have a little more to give than store-bought gifts.

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Christmas on the Island by Jenny Colgan

14.9920% OFF$11.99 at Amazon

For fans of: Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand

This poignant Christmas tale from 2018, the third in the Mure series (though easy to read as a stand-alone), takes place on the remote and terribly cold Scottish Island of Mure. Although Christmas is supposedly the time you spend with your loved ones, that doesn’t always work out for everyone—like Flora, who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant with her ex-boss’s child, and Saif, a Syrian refugee who made it to Mure with his sons but whose wife is missing. This work of women’s fiction deftly delves into some potentially triggering topics, including death and refugee experiences. While Christmas on the Island is a heavier read, it’s also touching and beautiful.

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Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

17.0035% OFF$10.98 at Amazon

For fans of: In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

This very British forced-proximity holiday tale, which came out in 2017, dealt with a quarantined family a few years before the fictional scenario became reality for so many people. In Seven Days of Us, the Birch family is forced not only to spend Christmas together—but to do so while trapped in the same house. Under these conditions, their secrets stand no chance of staying hidden. If you want a slightly snarky, telenovela-esque level of family drama, pick up this book!

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Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley

17.0047% OFF$9 at Amazon

For fans of: The Holiday Switch by Tif Marcelo

What happens when Christmas, Ramadan and Hanukkah all fall at practically the same time? In 2023’s Three Holidays and a Wedding, you get a perfect sprinkling of chaos and magic with a double dash of romance. Set in a small, charming town, this is a Hallmark Christmas movie in novel form (but with actual diversity). I picked up this book at the Denver airport during my holiday travels and was delighted to discover that the book starts out there too!

Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley have written a beautiful love song for family, sisterhood, culture and traditions in this heartwarming tale. My own copy, brought back to Southeast Asia with me, has made the rounds in my circle of friends. Though we come from different countries and traditions, we have each found something deeply touching in this magical must-read.

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Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker by Gregory Maguire

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For fans of: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

If you love the story of the Nutcracker as much as I do, you should probably get your hands on Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker, a magical and mystical retelling by the author who brought us Wicked. In this almost devastating prequel, which hit shelves in 2017, Gregory Maguire reimagines the tale of the Nutcracker with a beautiful, albeit dark, backstory that includes an antihero, lonely children, illness and death and found family. Although not a lighthearted Christmas read, it is nonetheless a heartwarming and ultimately hopeful story.

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The Beautiful Little Things by Melissa Hill

14.9526% OFF$10.99 at Amazon

For fans of: The 13th Gift by Joanne Huist Smith

The holidays can be especially difficult for those in the throes of grief, and this emotional and engaging book set across several Christmases encapsulates that with tenderness and love. After losing their mother, two sisters find their world turned upside down. Yet as their center of gravity changes, life—with all its messes and wonders, big decisions and beautiful little things—continues on. Melissa Hill’s The Beautiful Little Things, published in 2021, is a reminder of the power of family and can offer comfort and healing to readers remembering lost loved ones.

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Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala

19.0039% OFF$11.59 at Amazon

For fans of: The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties by Jesse Sutanto and Mango, Mambo, and Murder by Raquel V. Reyes

From the author of Arsenic and Adobo comes a holiday cozy mystery featuring your favorite Filipino family, a prodigal son, blackmail, attempted murder, poison and a whole lot of delightful mayhem to sort through—all against a backdrop of great food. Fortunately, Blackmail and Bibingka, published in 2022, also contains recipes, so you can cook and eat your way through the mystery along with everyone else.

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The Night Before Christmas: A Pop-up by Clement Clarke Moore and pop-ups by Robert Sabud

34.9925% OFF$26.40 at Amazon

For fans of: The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers and The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

There is something so special when a well-known story comes to life in a new way yet again—and that’s what happens with Robert Sabuda’s magical rendering of Clement Clarke Moore’s classic in 2002’s The Night Before Christmas: A Pop-up.

“This one doubles as a work of art fit for displaying alongside other decorative holiday baubles,” says Barbara Basbanes Richter, founder of DIYBook and In Ink Ghostwriting. “I have nearly the entire collection of Sabuda pop-ups and lovingly truck The Night Before Christmas out every year to put on display. I have also given copies as holiday gifts—the book is so beautiful, it doesn’t need wrapping! Paper engineer Sabuda is a master of the craft, and his work in this timeless yuletide tale is a perennial delight.”

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Christmas Dessert Murder by Joanne Fluke

17.9548% OFF$9.26 at Amazon

For fans of: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder by Maria DiRico and Tea with Milk and Murder by H.Y. Hanna

Can we all agree that yummy food is one of the best parts of the Christmas season? A good yuletide mystery doesn’t hurt either—and Christmas Dessert Murder, which came out in 2021, combines them into one fabulous festive feast of a story. You get a two-for-one dessert deal with this book too, since it consists of two previously published Hannah Swensen mysteries: Christmas Caramel Murder and Christmas Cake Murder. These books are deliciously light and fun holiday capers with a dash of murder, some romance and plenty of real recipes, so you can try making some non-deadly, tasty holiday treats for yourself.

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A Kentucky Hug for Christmas by Judith Natelli McLaughlin

$11.99 at Amazon

For fans of: A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

While Christmas fiction isn’t a genre per se, it’s a popular romance subgenre that rom-com readers flock to during the holiday season the way fans of warm-and-fuzzy romances turn on the Hallmark channel for holiday specials. After all, can anyone really resist a cute holiday romance complete with all the fixings? Because Judith Natelli McLaughlin’s 2022 A Kentucky Hug for Christmas has it all—happy-place music, hot chocolate and hot men—and it comes librarian recommended.

“Add a little country twang to your Christmas with A Kentucky Hug for Christmas by Judith Natelli McLaughlin,” says Kerri Wallace, a librarian for Hoboken Public Library who has worked in libraries for more than 20 years. “It’s got music, a juicy breakup and a single hunk that just might be perfect for the lead character—a singer/songwriter who, of course, isn’t looking for love!”

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Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

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For fans of: As You Were by Elaine Feeney

Head back in time and across the pond to Ireland circa 1985, where a simple Christmastime delivery changes everything for coal merchant Bill Furlong. What he finds while out on his errand forces him to face his past, his town and his local church in this powerful story of courage, hope and right vs. wrong. Lauded by critics as an instant classic, Small Things Like These landed Irish writer Claire Keegan on the short list for the 2022 Booker Prize.

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Yule: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Winter Solstice by Susan Pesznecker

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For fans of: Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals at the Origins of Yuletide by Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling

As you hang stockings by the fire this Christmas, you may be interested in reading about the lore of yule and the deep midwinter. Susan Pesznecker’s 2015 book, Yule, is full of traditions, correspondence, crafts ideas, meditations and more. You can even try out a wassail recipe!

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Marley by Jon Clinch

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For fans of: Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

If you’ve ever wondered about the backstory of the ghostly Marley from Dickens’s classic novel A Christmas Carol, you are not alone. But Jon Clinch did more than just imagine who Marley might have been—in 2019, he published a book about it. Marley, a dark and deeply intriguing tale, imagines Scrooge’s sordid, secretive past and the infamous Marley, with whom he becomes business partners as they set out on a path toward death and doom.

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Christmas: A Biography by Judith Flanders

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For fans of: Christmas: A History by Mark Connelly

I absolutely adore Christmas, and Judith Flanders’s Christmas: A Biography, published in 2017, tells me everything I’ve always wanted to know (and didn’t even think to consider) about the holiday. The myths and legends, the feasting and festivities, the appearance of Santa Claus and the commercialization of the holiday—you name it, it’s in the book.

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How to Eat Your Christmas Tree: Delicious, Innovative Recipes for Cooking with Trees by Julia Georgallis

16.006% OFF$15.11 at Amazon

For fans of: The Christmas Chronicles: Notes, Stories & 100 Essential Recipes for Midwinter by Nigel Slater and Green Christmas: Sustainable Celebrations That Won’t Cost the Earth by Jen Chillingsworth

For anyone who thinks about things like food waste, deforestation or climate impacts even in the midst of the holidays—or who simply likes to be resourceful or live a little on the crunchy side—How to Eat Your Christmas Tree, published in 2020, is a holiday must-read. It’s amazing what you can do with your Christmas tree, not to mention other pine trees out there. I gifted this to my homesteading sister and her family last year after finding out she had it on her own TBR wish list.

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Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

19.9555% OFF$9 at Amazon

For fans of: The Adults by Caroline Hulse

When I found out that the hilarious Christmas movie Christmas with the Kranks was based on a 2001 book by John Grisham called Skipping Christmas, I was shocked! If you’re familiar with the movie, you’ll already know that after their grown daughter leaves for the Peace Corps, Luther and Nora Krank decide to eschew the holiday hubbub in favor of a Caribbean cruise. But a surprise changes their plans, and hilarious high jinks ensue.

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Mangos and Mistletoe by Adriana Herrera

$14.99 at Amazon

For fans of: A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria

Mangos and Mistletoe, a fast-paced, multicultural holiday rom-com that hit shelves in 2019, makes me smile with its story of two Dominican chefs with wildly different backstories who end up in Scotland competing in a bake-off. The kitchen is not the only place where things get steamy as the women pair up and fall for each other. Want a Christmas book with lots of flair and flavor? Look no further.

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The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

$4.99 at Amazon

For fans of: The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen

The 1905 story The Gift of the Magi was one of my favorite Christmas books to read every year growing up. It is a classic tale with a poignant, ironic twist. Jim and Della, a young, newly married couple without much money, each try to figure out what to get the other for the holiday. They make sacrifices to be able to afford their presents—and learn powerful lessons about love and gifts beyond material things. Sounds like it could be the plot of a romantic Christmas movie!

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Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

11.007% OFF$10.18 at Amazon

For fans of: Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra and The Spring Girls by Anna Todd

I bought my first copy of Little Women when I was 11, but later realized that the little paperback had only the book’s first half. One and a half years later, I received the complete novel for Christmas—perfect timing, given that the coming-of-age classic takes place around Christmas too (and my beloved copy was so worn I had taped it together). Follow along as sisters Jo, Beth, Meg and Amy try to carve their own paths in life while keeping their familial bonds strong. First published in 1868, the book was made into a movie (several times, actually), and like most ardent book fans, I have a very strong opinion about which film adaptation did it best.

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A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

15.9919% OFF$12.99 at Amazon

For fans of: The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories, edited by Tara Moore

A Christmas Carol is one of the best-selling and most-read Christmas books for a reason. Despite being published in 1843, its timeless lessons still resonate today. Though it has spawned countless adaptations, Dickens’s original Christmas novel about Ebenezer Scrooge, his four ghostly encounters and his resulting new lease on life is the ultimate holiday tale. It deserves a prominent place on any list of the best Christmas books—in fact, many people consider it the best Christmas story ever.

“Maybe it’s a cliche to love this book, but to me, nothing says Christmas quite like the story of a greedy old grump being forced to reckon with his flaws and atone for them—or else,” says Tracey Neithercott, Reader’s Digest‘s Books Editor. “It never fails to put me in the holiday mood.”

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My Little Donkey (Mi Burrito) by Susie Jaramillo

14.9924% OFF$11.44 at Amazon

For fans of: Every Other Christmas by Katie Otey, illustrated by SJ Winkler

I grew up singing the famous Venezuelan song “Mi Burrito,” a Christmas ballad about the little donkey who carries Mary to Bethlehem in the Nativity story, so I can’t help but mention this sweet story based on the song. Published in 2017, My Little Donkey is a bilingual, accordion-style children’s board book perfect for a cozy family read-along.

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Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

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For fans of: Murder at the Christmas Carols by Izzie Harper

Another good holiday mystery I have read and reread over the years is this 1938 whodunit by mystery magnate Agatha Christie. An old man invites his somewhat estranged family to his estate for Christmas … but he’s dead by Christmas Eve’s end. It’s time for the endlessly delightful master detective Hercule Poirot to crack this Christmas case.

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Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

17.0047% OFF$8.99 at Amazon

For fans of: A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday

Did you know that Royal Holiday was inspired by Meghan Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland? In this 2019 holiday romance, 50-something single mom Vivian joins her daughter on a Christmastime work trip to England—and finds herself falling for the queen’s handsome secretary. Both of them know she has to return to the States, but abandoning their romance is easier said than done. Get your hands on this romance novel and read it by the light of your Christmas tree.

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You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky

15.9954% OFF$7.40 at Amazon

For fans of: Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall and The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish

In this delightful boy-meets-boy holiday rom-com from 2022, the rich and spoiled Matthew Prince gets sentenced to spending the holidays with his grandparents in the middle of nowhere. Once there, he meets the terribly attractive Hector Martinez, who is shockingly unimpressed with him. As he works to pull off a charity gala—the success of which will earn him an early ticket home for good behavior—Matthew slowly loses his Grinch-like attitude. Timothy Janovsky adds depth to this slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance by taking a frank look at generalized anxiety disorders, anxiety attacks and mental well-being.

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Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

19.9975% OFF$4.93 at Amazon

For fans of: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

Here’s another holiday must-read for historical fiction buffs. Spanning the four Christmases of World War I and jumping forward to 1968 as well, Last Christmas in Paris, which came out in 2017, tells the story of Evie and Thomas experiencing the tumult of the war—and their growing love for each other—against the backdrop of the holidays.

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss

19.9943% OFF$11.49 at Amazon

For fans of: Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer and The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

Can we even have a list of the best Christmas books without including this classic children’s book? Whether you know the tale by heart or are new to it, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a holiday must (yes, for all ages). The grumpy Grinch learns that “Christmas doesn’t come from a store,” a lesson that’s as relevant now as it was in 1957—maybe even more so.

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The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore

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For fans of: Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan and The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya

This powerful portrait of a middle-school boy growing up in Harlem occurs around Christmastime. Still, it’s not your typical feel-good Christmas story, as the young Lolly Rachpaul and his mom are grieving his older brother’s gang-related death instead of celebrating. While deftly navigating some weighty topics, The Stars Beneath Our Feet (published in 2017) celebrates community and creativity. It shows how a simple gift of LEGO helps Lolly dream of a better world for himself and how he might build it.

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The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

17.9933% OFF$12.04 at Amazon

For fans of: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes and The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

A young couple become the caretakers of an elderly widow and move into her home. With their 4-year-old daughter, they begin to learn more about her, and their relationship develops over the holidays. Her (and Richard Paul Evans’s) important wisdom has been guiding holiday readers since 1993 in The Christmas Box.

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The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

17.9958% OFF$7.49 at Amazon

For fans of: The Christmas Pearl by Dorothea Benton Frank

A journalist must take a cross-country train ride from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles in time for Christmas to snag a story opportunity. He’s less than thrilled about it, but the eclectic people he meets along the way and the lessons they teach him make this a Christmas story for the ages. Fun fact: The 2001 novel The Christmas Train was made into a 2017 Hallmark Christmas movie.

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Amazing Peace by Maya Angelou, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

19.9943% OFF$11.30 at Amazon

For fans of: I Got the Christmas Spirit by Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison, and Let There Be Peace on Earth by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller

This gorgeous children’s book brings to life a powerful Christmas poem by one of the greats. Amazing Peace invites readers to consider the hope and spirit of Christmas. Published in 2005, the poem was read by Maya Angelou at that year’s White House Christmas tree lighting. To get the full experience, you can purchase a book bundle that includes a recording of the acclaimed author reading the poem aloud. It’s a must for your Christmas books TBR pile and a perfect annual read.

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I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Beverly Jenkins

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For fans of: The Holly Dates by Brittainy Cherry

Morgan and Dina were an “it” celebrity couple … three years ago. Now, they’ve reunited in Detroit during Christmas, and Morgan is determined to win her back. Is it too late for the pair? Find out in Beverly Jenkins’s novella I’ll Be Home for Christmas, originally published in 2011 as a Harlequin Special Release and then published in 2019 as an e-book. This is one short read that pulls at the holiday heartstrings.

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The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere

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For fans of: The Christmas Cottage by Samantha Chase and The Christmas Wish by Richard Siddoway

Robert, a wealthy lawyer, has no time for Christmas frivolity—or his family. But on Christmas Eve, he bumps into Nathan, a young boy who’s trying to scrape together enough money for a pair of shoes for his sick mother. If that sounds familiar, it’s because 2001’s The Christmas Shoes is based on the tear-jerking Christmas song by NewSong.

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Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle

$11.42 at Amazon

For fans of: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie

Sherlock Holmes takes on a Christmastime mystery in 1892’s The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. When a rare blue jewel turns up inside a Christmas goose, Holmes and Watson work together to find out who’s responsible.

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A Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd

18.0050% OFF$9.05 at Amazon

For fans of: Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher and Wishin’ and Hopin’ by Wally Lamb

You’ve seen the 1983 movie A Christmas Story (possibly a gajillion times). Now, read the collection of semi-autographical stories that Jean Shepherd used as the basis for the film. Compiled and released in 2003, after Shepherd’s death, the tales in A Christmas Story make a delightful, vignette-style fireside read.

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Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright

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For fans of: A Stranger for Christmas by Carol Lynn Pearson

Up-and-coming journalist Hope wants to cover the touching story of people who leave cash-filled glass jars for strangers in need. But that would mean risking the trust of the family behind the tradition. Will she do it? A movie version of 2005’s Christmas Jars was released in 2019, and thanks to the book, Christmas jars have become a real-life Christmas tradition.

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The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

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For fans of: Snowed In for Christmas by Sarah Morgan

A Christmas book about Christmas books? Yes, please! After Carmen loses her job, she has to move in with her “perfect” sister and work at the local bookstore. It’s quirky and magical enough to imbue everyone who enters with Christmas spirit—including an alluring, well-known author. Oh, and it’s set in Edinburgh! Grab The Christmas Bookshop, which came out in 2021, and get lost in a whimsical winter tale.

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How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry

17.0044% OFF$9.49 at Amazon

For fans of: The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin

As a lover of books, I have to say it might just be impossible to not love How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry. I’m not the only one who thinks this book belongs on your holiday-reading list either. “If your favorite tradition is watching Love Actually or binge-watching the Hallmark Channel around the holidays, cozy up with Veronica Henry’s How to Find Love in a Bookshop,” Wallace says. “Filled with a lovely cast of characters, this book feels like a warm blanket and a big hug.” Definitely take the time to read this enchanting and heartwarming story from 2016, packed full of Christmastime magic.

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The Wish Book Christmas by Lynn Austin

12.9935% OFF$8.49 at Amazon

For fans of: The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans

The Wish Book Christmas is sure to become a holiday favorite. Shortly after World War II, two friends are looking forward to raising their young sons in a time of peace. But when the Sears Wish Book comes out, both boys are glued to it, leaving the mothers to teach them that the holidays are about more than getting presents. They put their heads together to find good deeds for their sons to do—and learn a thing or two themselves in the process in this sweet historical tale released in 2021.

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Christmas at Holly Berry Inn by Emily C. Childs

$9.99 at Amazon

For fans of: Snowflakes and Mistletoe at the Inglenook Inn by Helen J. Rolfe

This 2020 romance begins with what sounds like a holiday nightmare. In Christmas at Holly Berry Inn, pesky (or fateful?) snowy weather forces Sloan to stay at an old inn—where the innkeeper is her ex. But as the evening goes on, old feelings resurface and Sloan has to decide what she really wants with her life. If second-chance romances are your jam, Christmas at Holly Berry Inn is the comfort read for you. (Want more? Luckily, there’s another book in Emily C. Childs’s Silver Creek Christmas romance book series.)

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The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

21.9931% OFF$15.14 at Amazon

For fans of: The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

A bona fide classic for kids and grown-ups alike, this stunningly illustrated 1985 book journeys to the North Pole with a young boy on a fantastical train. If you haven’t read the story in years, now is the perfect time to pick up The Polar Express and find yourself transported by the magical story and gorgeous illustrations.

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Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah

19.0054% OFF$8.65 at Amazon

For fans of: Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher and Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

Kristin Hannah, the bestselling author of The Nightingale, gifted readers with this emotional roller coaster of a tale in 2020. After surviving a plane crash, Joy finds herself in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, where she meets a grieving family that might just offer her a second chance. Billed as a modern-day fairy tale, Hannah’s heartwarming Comfort & Joy is the perfect love story for the holiday season.

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Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi

18.009% OFF$16.34 at Amazon

For fans of: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Given how much time we spend building elaborate gingerbread houses during the holiday season, it seems only fitting to include the 2019 fantasy novel Gingerbread, written by one of today’s queens of magical realism and mythologies, Helen Oyeyemi. This is no straightforward reimagining of Hansel and Gretel’s famous tale or easy fantasy; however, as with other Oyeyemi books, this story swirls in layered circles and is full of beautifully complex imagery and concepts that can sometimes skirt the edge of conscious understanding.

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The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck

19.9974% OFF$5.17 at Amazon

For fans of: The Christmas Hope by Donna VanLiere

A kid wants nothing more than a new bike, but he gets a sweater for Christmas instead. Sounds simple, right? In this 2008 tale, the now-grown Eddie ponders the lessons he learned from that childhood Christmas and wonders if he’d choose to go back and change it, given the opportunity. Read The Christmas Sweater for some serious Christmas reflection.

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The Jolliest Bunch: Unhinged Christmas Stories by Danny Pellegrino

27.9990% OFF$2.89 at Amazon

For fans of: Christmas at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan

If you’re a fan of Danny Pellegrino’s book How Do I Un-Remember This? and his popular podcast, Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino, then the 2023 The Jolliest Bunch: Unhinged Christmas Stories is just the tragicomic holiday read for you this Christmas season.

“Danny Pellegrino couldn’t be more hilarious, and really, the whole book is an ode to mothers everywhere, a chance for moms to actually be seen for all the effort they expend making the holiday season magical,” says Zibby Owens, award-winning daily podcast host of Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books and the bestselling author of Blank: The Novel. “But it’s also about the trials and tribulations of the holiday season. Oh my gosh, I laughed out loud at his essay about traveling across country with his co-worker. So funny!”

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In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

18.9945% OFF$10.45 at Amazon

For fans of: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese and The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

From one of the most famous Latinx authors today comes a story that spans countries and decades and is filled to the brim with love and compassion. Poignant, adventurous and sweeping, In the Midst of Winter, published in 2017, centers on two people in the winter of their lives and one young, undocumented woman whose life crashes into theirs and propels them into an unexpected but overdue love story. Much like the Christmas Nativity story, the book touches on human rights, immigration and refugees—and what it means to truly embrace humanity.

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Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry

19.9955% OFF$9 at Amazon

For fans of: The Carpenter’s Gift by David Rubel, illustrated by Jim LaMarche

OK, time for another one of the best children’s books to read at Christmastime. In this endlessly readable rhyming tale from 1963, the wealthy Mr. Willowby has a Christmas tree delivered to his home … but it’s a tad too big, so he lops off the top and tosses it away. That treetop makes its way through the forest as several nonhuman Christmas celebrants come across it and think it’ll make the perfect addition to their own homes. As for where it finally ends up, well, you’ll have to read Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree to see.