Christmas Books/Novels

[ginette]

Hi;

We have a Christmas movie thread, so I figured I would start and Christmas novel thread!

Just wondering if there is anyone on here that likes to read! I love reading and one of my favorite authors is Nora Roberts. Last year I had the pleasure of reading her book called "First Impressions" which was released just in time for Christmas.

I am hoping to get some suggestions from all the great people here, on some good Christmas reads. Was checking Chapters/Indigo website today and did not see anything being released soon.

Looking forward to everyone's imput!!

Ginette
:tree:

[made582]

I like glenn becks A Christmas Sweater book that came out last year.

[Christmasstar]

I won "The Christmas Pearl" by Dorthea B. Frank here in the forums, and it is a really nice story.

Also, in the back of the book are recipes for some of the dishes mentioned in the story.

It is a story about an elderly woman who's kids are a bunch of knuckleheads. She managed to get them together for Christmas but is upset that they do not have the Christmas spirit. Fortunately a Christmas "spirit" arrives to help and what happens...well you will just have to read the story to see what happens.

[Elfmade]

One of my most favorite books is Christmas Jars by Jason Wright. It's a short read and a wonderful story. I also have enjoyed the books by Jeff Guinn. He wrote The Autobiography of Santa Claus, How Mrs. Clause Saved Christmas and The Great Santa Search. I haven't read the last one yet. They are now sold together in one book called the The Christmas Chronicles. :treeguy:

[novelist]

Not too long ago, I read The Trouble With Angels, buy Debbie Macomber. I also have another book by DM, Angels Everywhere, that I haven't read yet.

[dvdelf]

we do have a group here dedicated to Christmas books as well

[Wenceslaus]

Only the first is a novel, but all are good reads:

1. The Annotated Christmas Carol (http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Christmas-Carol-Prose-Books/dp/0393051587), by Charles Dickens, edited by Michael Patrick Hearn. If you're going to go for the classic Christmas story, go all the way, explore every nook and cranny of Dickens' story, and learn the stories behind the story. Such riches!

2. The Origins of Christmas (http://www.amazon.com/Origins-Christmas-Joseph-F-Kelly/dp/0814629849), by Joseph F. Kelly. A history, by a professor of religious studies, that concentrates on the period from the birth of Christ, to the earliest celebrations of his birth, to the middle ages, with the establishment of the legend of St. Nicholas. At 130 pages, not a long read, but you will learn a lot.

3. The Battle for Christmas (http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Christmas-Stephen-Nissenbaum/dp/0679740384), by Stephen Nissenbaum. Scholarly but accessible history of Christmas in America shows how the holiday as we know it is mostly a 19th century invention, and how it went through a disreputable period of rowdy celebration to be transformed into a family-oriented time.

4. Christmas in America: A History (http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-America-Penne-L-Restad/dp/0195109805/), by Penne L. Restad. The first chapters cover much of the same ground as Nissenbaum, but Restad takes the story from where Nissenbaum leaves off in the late 19th century, through the explosion of popular Christmas culture in the 20th century.

5. Michael Hague's Family Christmas Treasury, by Michael Hague. Short stories, gospel passages, songs, poems. This book continues a long tradition of Christmas anthologies or "gift books". I recommend this one because the talented Hague himself illustrates the whole collection, in a variety of styles, and because copies are available for as little as 1¢ at Amazon.

6. Christmas on Television (http://books.google.com/books?id=wHvScaUAk1oC), by Diane Werts. A history and analysis of Christmas programming in a medium that has become central to our enjoyment of the holiday.

7. It's a Wonderful Christmas: The Best of the Holidays 1940-1965 (http://www.amazon.com/Its-Wonderful-Christmas-Holidays-1940-1965/dp/1584793279), by Susan Waggoner. Reproduces pop culture artifacts from the war and post-war, baby boom years that will be a trip down nostalgia lane for readers of a certain age. Catalogs, cards, decorations, toys, advertising.

[Bullypup]

Just started reading the Christmas Box Collection. So far so good.

[Annette1990]

Only the first is a novel, but all are good reads:

7. It's a Wonderful Christmas: The Best of the Holidays 1940-1965 (http://www.amazon.com/Its-Wonderful-Christmas-Holidays-1940-1965/dp/1584793279), by Susan Waggoner. Reproduces pop culture artifacts from the war and post-war, baby boom years that will be a trip down nostalgia lane for readers of a certain age. Catalogs, cards, decorations, toys, advertising.
This one looks like a good one. I viewed it and it looks like something I would really like to own. I love looking at vintage Christmas "stuff" and owning it is even better. Thanks for the recommendation.

[MerryCarey]

I've mentioned these before in other threads, but they bear repeating: a couple of forgotten classics from the early 1900s.

The Christmas Angel by Abbie Farwell Brown
Summary:
Disagreeable old Miss Terry spends her Christmas Eve getting rid of toys from her childhood toy box. One by one she tosses them onto the sidewalk in front of her house, then secretly watches the little scenes that occur, which seem to confirm her belief that true Christmas spirit does not exist. Then the Angel from her childhood Christmas tree appears to show Miss Terry that she has not yet witnessed the final act of each of those little dramas …
Living Age magazine in 1910 observed of The Christmas Angel, "Not since Charles Dickens laid down his pen forever has there been a prettier Christmas story written, one more full of the real spirit of Christmas or conveying a more seasonable lesson."
Read it here (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/15709) or listen to it here (http://www.archive.org/details/christmas_angel_jm_librivox).

The Romance of a Christmas Card by Kate Douglas Wiggin
Read it here (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17456).

[Christmas24/7]

I enjoyed the Donna VanLiere Christmas books. I think she has 4 or 5 of them out now. I also enjoyed "Redbird Christmas" and "Skipping Christmas".