Christmas Reading List 2012

Are you looking for some Christmas reading? Look no further! Here is my annual Christmas reading recommendations list. This year's list is focused on Christmas short stories that can be read online or freely downloaded.

Short Stories: The Classic Christmas Collection
A collection of classic Christmas short stories from East of the Web. You might want to explore this site for other freely available stories outside of the Christmas story category.

Stories in this Christmas collection are by Saki, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bret Harte, Frank Stockton, O. Henry, L. Frank Baum, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Hans Christian Anderson.

Read these stories online or download them from East of the Web to read on your iPhone, iPod, or iPad. The app is available from the iTunes Store. (see details here)

20 Famous Christmas Stories 
Stories by O. Henry, Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Brothers Grimm, Pearl S. Buck, Raymond Briggs, Robert L. May, L. Frank Baum, Selma Lagerlof, Anton Chekhov, Lizzie Deas, E.T.A. Hoffman, Oscar Wilde, Frances Browne, Henry Van Dyke, Willa Cather.

This collection of stories is gathered from several different sources that offer free online access to pieces of literature (mostly classic literature in the public domain). Check the links below for a wealth of additional literature:

Project Gutenberg
The Literature Network
Literature.org
Wikisource
About.com Classic Literature

Classic Mysteries of Christmas Past
Stories by Damon Runyon (1884-1946), O. Henry (1862-1910), Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930).

This list includes A Chaparral Christmas Gift by O. Henry for those who like Westerns.

A Child's Christmas in Wales
This classic story by Dylan Thomas is on the American Literature web site which provides access to many more short stories, poems, speeches, essays and letters.

A Christmas Carol
"Marley was dead: to begin with." Need I say more?

The above link is not downloadable. To download a copy of this story see this link. It will provide you with various download options for your computer or mobile device.

Kids Christmas Stories, Poetry, Rhymes, Plays and Recitals
Looking for something for the kids? Apples 4 the Teacher web site provides links to stories, poems, and activities.

Previous Christmas Reading Lists
2010 Christmas Reading List
2011 Christmas Reading List

Sound Travels: Sean Quigley's Little Drummer Boy

What I'm listening to now ...


This young man is from Manitoba. His joy is so apparent and infectious.
Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday

A glass of Christmas cheer!

Christmas Themed Reading List 2011

Last year I put out a Christmas themed reading list that a number of you enjoyed, so I thought I'd put together another list this year. This year's Christmas themed reading list focuses on short story collections. Feel free to leave your favorite Christmas reads in the comments section!

Christmas Stories (Everyman's Library)
About the book: Christmas stories by great writers of the past two centuries. Dickens, Tolstoy, Checkhov, Cather, Nabokov, Cheever, and Munro are some of the luminaries. There is a little something for everyone in this collection of Christmas stories. From bits of fantasy, to heartbreaking tales of woe, to the comedic. What they have in common is Christmas spirit.

The Ecco Book of Christmas Stories (Alberto Manguel)
About the book: Stories by writers from across the globe, some well known (like John Cheever and Alice Munro) and others seldom or never before translated into English, such as "A Risk for Father Christmas" by Siegfried Lenz and "The Night Before Christmas" by Theodore Odrach. I haven't read this collection yet, but I have heard that there is not much Christmas cheer found here.

A Rumpole Christmas: Stories by John Mortimer
About the book: If you don't know him as an author, you might be familiar with the British TV adaptation of Mortimer's beloved and memorable Rumpole character called Rumpole of the Bailey.

In this collection of short stories, Rumpole finds himself involved in five holiday mysteries. He encounters a suspicious Father Christmas, endures a health spa, visits a church, entertains children, and defends a suspected terrorist.

All of the stories in A Rumpole Christmas have previously appeared in magazines; this is the first time they have been collected in book format. Sadly, Mortimer passed away in January 2009 and this collection is likely to be the last of "new" Rumpole stories ... so enjoy this holiday treat.

Murder for Christmas: 26 Tales of Seasonal Malice
About the book: Do you like a little murder and mayhem with your Christmas? Murder for Christmas features famous sleuths like Nero Wolfe, Lord Peter Wimsey, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Albert Campion, Father Brown and Bombay's inspector Ganesh Ghote. Stories of cheating, lying, kidnapping, and killing written by such authors as Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Charles Dickens and Woody Allen -- all delivered in the Christmas spirit, of course! The introduction by Thomas Godfrey is delightful.

Christmas Stars: Fantastic Tales of Yuletide Wonder
Maybe you like your Christmas stories with an other-worldly twist. This Science Fiction/Fantasy collection includes some (now) classic stories like Arthur C. Clarke's "The Star" (a must read), "Miracle" by Connie Willis (see entry below), and "A Proper Santa Claus" by Anne McCaffrey (who sadly passed away November 21, 2011). Visions of the future of Christmas that perhaps redefine the word "miracle."

A Yuletide Universe: Sixteen Fantastical Tales
About the book: From fantasy to science fiction to horror, contributors to this Christmas anthology include well-known writers such as L. Frank Baum, Neil Gaiman, William Gibson, Harlan Ellison, Clive Barker, Connie Willis, Anne McCaffrey and others. The tales are broken into four major categories: Santa Shorts, Santa Substitutes, Variations on Holiday Theme, and Classic Tales of Christmas Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Whimsy.

And one of my all time favorites (yes, it was also on last year's list):

Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis
About the Book: "Connie Willis loves Christmas. 'I even like the parts most people hate--shopping in crowded malls and reading Christmas newsletters and seeing relatives and standing in baggage check-in lines at the airport. Okay, I lied. Nobody likes standing in baggage check-in lines,' she writes. Willis knows it's hard to write good Christmas stories: the subject matter is limited, the writer has to balance between sentiment and skepticism, and too many fall into the Victorian habit of killing off saintly children and poor people. Here she presents eight marvelous Christmas tales, two of which appear for the first time.

The stories range from 'The Pony,' about a psychotherapist who doesn't believe that Christmas gifts can answer our deepest longings, and 'Inn,' in which a choir member rehearsing for the Christmas pageant becomes part of the original Christmas story, to 'Newsletter,' where an invasion of parasitic creatures causes unusually good behavior in their hosts, and 'Epiphany,' a story of three unlikely Magi following signs through a North American winter toward the returned Jesus Christ. 'Miracle' is a comic romance echoing Willis' favorite Yuletide movie, Miracle on 34th Street, and 'Catspaw' is an homage to the traditional Christmas murder mystery with a sly, science-fictional twist. The collection also includes 'In Coppelius' Toyshop,' in which a bad guy is trapped in Toyland, and 'Adaptation,' a Dickensian story about what it means to keep Christmas in your heart.

Those who want only SF stories may find this collection lacking, but anyone who enjoys complex tales with true Christmas spirit will treasure it." -Amazon.com review by Nona Vero

Christmas Themed Reading List

I love Christmas. Combine that with my love of reading and a list of Christmas themed reading is the natural result! I've created a list of some books and stories you might want to try. I've relied shamelessly on book cover blurbs and Amazon.com descriptions in the About the Book comments following each title. Feel free to leave your favorite Christmas reads in the comments section -- the more the merrier!

(I'm currently reading Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis. Willis is another soul who loves Christmas and that love really comes across in her collection of short stories that you can read about in my list below.)

The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
About the Book: Described as having "the sophistication of a novel with the whimsy of a fairy tale." "Set in an unnamed town in present-day Norway, it tells the story of Joachim, a young boy who finds a faded, handmade Advent calendar in a bookstore on the eve of December first, and begs his father to let him take it home. The next morning, when he opens the calendar's first door, Joachim discovers not just the expected picture but also a tightly folded piece of paper, the first installment of the fantastic tale of a little girl's journey through time and space to be present at the Nativity. Soon the girl's story is making unexpected intrusions into Joachim's own life, and he races to solve the mystery of the calendar before Christmas Eve." -Reed Business Information, Inc.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
About the Book: The classic story that made "Scrooge" the archetypical miser. Filled with ghosts and time travel, this story is the tale of a miser's transformation into a man who embodies the spirit of Christmas.

A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
About the Book: "A Christmas Memory is the classic memoir of Truman Capote's childhood in rural Alabama. Until he was ten years old, Capote lived with distant relatives. This book is an autobiographical story of those years and his frank and fond memories of one of his cousins, Miss Sook Faulk." -Amazon.com review

A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
About the Book: "This is Dylan Thomas's homage to the Christmases of his boyhood, when the snow was thicker and whiter, when everything about Christmas was better than it is now. (Sound familiar? Ah, the good old days!) It's the sheer acrobatic brilliance of the language here that we most love. This is the most delicious read-aloud for having words trip off the tongue." -Publisher's Weekly review by Elizabeth Blumele

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
About the Book: "A young woman makes a drastic decision -- and her husband has a Christmas surprise in return." -book jacket blurb

The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt
About the Book: "For three little trees who dream of what they will be someday - a holder of treasure, a fine ship, a hilltop beacon pointing to God - life proves to have something rather different in store. They are disappointed that their lives are so mundane. And, as the years pass, "the three trees nearly forgot their dreams." Yet each eventually gets its wish, although not in the way it had foreseen. When that happens, each discovers that things turned out just the way they should have. This is a moving and eloquent story. Its illustrations are simple yet powerful. Readers will be reminded that God has plans for every one of his creations, that He never loses sight any of us. Children will learn that when they don't get what they want, it may be because something even better is in store for them. Adults will understand the concept of true happiness coming when we align our will with God's." -Amazon.com review by Dawn Matheson

Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck
About the Book: "Published in 1955 and appearing for the first time as a picture book, this modest holiday tale from the author of The Good Earth might well have been called The Good Son. On Christmas Eve, a man recalls the holiday many years ago when he gave his father, a struggling farmer, a most-appreciated gift: the boy rose extra early to do his father's biggest chore, the milking. Buck's understated yet moving piece, paired with a sentimental note from the illustrator, will resonate with readers." -Publishers Weekly

Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie
About the Book: "The wealthy Simeon Lee has demanded that all four of his sons—one faithful, one prodigal, one impecunious, one sensitive—and their wives return home for Christmas. But a heartwarming family holiday is not exactly what he has in mind. He bedevils each of his sons with barbed insults and finally announces that he is cutting off their allowances and changing his will. So when the old man is found lying in a pool of blood on Christmas Eve, there is no lack of suspects. Did Lee's taunts push one of the boys to a desperate act? And how did the murderer escape from the locked room? Intrepid Belgian detective Hercule Poirot suspends his own holiday festivities to sift through the motives and evidence surrounding the crime." -Amazon.com product description

Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop edited by Otto Penzler
About the Book: "Each year, for the past seventeen years, Otto Penzler, owner of the legendary Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, has commissioned an original story by a leading mystery writer. The requirements were that it be a mystery/ crime/suspense story, that it be set during the Christmas season, and that at least some of the action must take place in The Mysterious Bookshop. These stories were then produced as pamphlets, 1,000 copies, and given to customers of the bookstore as a Christmas present.

Now, all of these stories have been collected in one volume—Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop. Some of the tales are humorous, others suspenseful, and still others mystifying. This charming one-of-a-kind collection is a perfect Christmas gift, appropriate for all ages and tastes." -promotional material

A War of Gifts: An Ender Story by Orson Scott Card
About the Book: Are you an Ender fan? If so, you will want to read this one! "Card returns to his Hugo and Nebula award-winning Enderverse saga (after 2005's Shadow of the Giant) with a heartwarming novella for the holidays. When Zeck Morgan, the young son of a puritanical minister, qualifies for admission into the International Fleet's Battle School, he is brought to the school against his will. Citing his pacifist religious beliefs, Zeck refuses to participate in any simulated war games, but when he sees a Dutch student give a friend a small present in celebration of Sinterklaas Day, he reports the violation of the school's rules against open religious observation and sparks an uproar over religious freedom and the significance of cultural traditions. Meanwhile, Zeck becomes a pariah until series hero Ender Wiggin finds a way to show him the real meaning of the holidays. Exploring themes of tolerance and compassion ...." -Publishers Weekly

Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis
About the Book: "Connie Willis loves Christmas. "I even like the parts most people hate--shopping in crowded malls and reading Christmas newsletters and seeing relatives and standing in baggage check-in lines at the airport. Okay, I lied. Nobody likes standing in baggage check-in lines," she writes. Willis knows it's hard to write good Christmas stories: the subject matter is limited, the writer has to balance between sentiment and skepticism, and too many fall into the Victorian habit of killing off saintly children and poor people. Here she presents eight marvelous Christmas tales, two of which appear for the first time.
The stories range from "The Pony," about a psychotherapist who doesn't believe that Christmas gifts can answer our deepest longings, and "Inn," in which a choir member rehearsing for the Christmas pageant becomes part of the original Christmas story, to "Newsletter," where an invasion of parasitic creatures causes unusually good behavior in their hosts, and "Epiphany," a story of three unlikely Magi following signs through a North American winter toward the returned Jesus Christ. "Miracle" is a comic romance echoing Willis's favorite Yuletide movie, Miracle on 34th Street, and "Catspaw" is a homage to the traditional Christmas murder mystery with a sly, science-fictional twist. The collection also includes "In Coppelius' Toyshop," in which a bad guy is trapped in Toyland, and "Adaptation," a Dickensian story about what it means to keep Christmas in your heart.

Those who want only SF stories may find this collection lacking, but anyone who enjoys complex tales with true Christmas spirit will treasure it." -Amazon.com review by Nona Vero

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham (movie version is Christmas with the Kranks)
About the Book: "John Grisham turns a satirical eye on the overblown ritual of the festive holiday season, and the result is Skipping Christmas, a modest but funny novel about the tyranny of December 25." -from Amazon.com.uk review by Jerry Brotton

This Year It Will Be Different by Maeve Binchy
About the Book: "A collection of Christmas-centered feel-good tales about love and family snarls in the season of comfort and joy." Set in England, Ireland, and Australia. -Kirkus Reviews

Mr. Ives' Christmas by Oscar Hijuelos
About the Book: "For Edward Ives, a graphic artist employed by a Madison Avenue advertising firm, Christmas has always been an emotionally charged holiday. It was during the Christmas season that Edward's foster father first visited him at the foundling home, and at Christmas a few years later Edward was finally adopted. Ives met his wife at an art students' Christmas party, and-most importantly-it was during the 1967 Christmas season that Ives's 17-year-old son was senselessly gunned down as he left choir practice. Ives has never fully recovered from the killing, and his unshakable depression threatens to destroy his marriage, as does his strange obsession with rehabilitating the murderer. It is significant that Mr. Ives's most prized possession is a signed edition of Dickens's A Christmas Carol." -Library Journal review by Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law School Library, Los Angeles

A Christmas Blizzard by Garrison Keillor (read the book or listen to Garrison Keillor read the audio version)
About the Book: "Keillor returns to the snowy Midwest to deliver a Dickensian tale of Chicago yuppies James and Joyce Sparrow, who venture to Looseleaf, N. Dak., to see James's dying uncle, braving a deadly blizzard and equally deadly small town eccentrics." -Publishers Weekly

Miracle on 10th Street and Other Christmas Writings by Madeleine L'Engle
About the Book: "Madeleine L'Engle writes beautifully about not only Christmas but the entire Christian life and sums it up in this word: Love. 10th Night evoked in me both joy and pain at what Christmas can be but often isn't. Her insights as a mother into Mary's life as the mother of the Savior were poignant as well as the fears, pain and joy she has experienced for her own children. Additionally, as someone only vaguely familiar with the ancient Christian calendar, I came to appreciate what the celebration and meditation on Advent, Epiphany, etc., could bring to me as a Christian. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for the Christian to encouurage them at any time of the year time and for the non-believer to give them a glimpse of Divine Love." -Amazon.com review

Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas by Ace Collins
About the Book: "Collins serves up some little-known holiday history in this interesting book that teems with Christmas facts and legends, arranged alphabetically by topic." -Publishers Weekly

Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins
About the Book: "This year, at least three different titles explore the origins of well-known Christmas carols. Ace Collins's Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas takes on more than 30 popular songs and hymns, from classics such as "O Holy Night" and "Angels We Have Heard on High" to the contemporary Christian hit "Mary, Did You Know?" Secular numbers such as "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" also get their due ...." -Publishers Weekly

The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren
About the Book: "In his powerful yet compassionate voice, Pastor Rick Warren sounds the clarion call to "remember the reason for the season," taking readers back in time to the most wonderful story of all -- the birth of the baby Jesus. When he was just a small boy, young Rick asked his parents if they could celebrate Christmas with a birthday party for Jesus -- and the tradition began that the Warrens have upheld for over fifty years. Now through stirring imagery and compelling personal insights, The Purpose of Christmas honors the significance and promise of this cherished holiday.

Pastor Warren encourages readers to identify and confront what drains peace from their lives. Warren explains that the way to respond to these peace-robbers is to learn how to surrender to God's will and not feel defeated or discouraged when life does not go as planned. True peace of mind is found by having an unshakeable faith in God -- knowing that his empowering Spirit will guide his children through life's challenges.

Beautifully written, The Purpose of Christmas will stir readers to honor the true significance of Christmas and to nurture God's gifts of love and peace in this world." -Amazon.com product description

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
About the Book: "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch ...." Can't you just hear the song? It's worth a read (or listen) for the play with language, but you also get a satisfying ending!

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
About the Book: "One couldn't select a more delightful and exciting premise for a children's book than the tale of a young boy lying awake on Christmas Eve only to have Santa Claus sweep by and take him on a trip with other children to the North Pole. And one couldn't ask for a more talented artist and writer to tell the story than Chris Van Allsburg." -Amazon.com review

The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore
About the Book: "Clement Clarke Moore was a professor of religion and the author of several scholarly works. What he is most remembered for, however, is his poem "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," later called "The Night Before Christmas," and written as a Christmas gift for his six children." -Amazon.com biography

A Cupcake for Holly

Holly, at Nothing But Bonfires, likes cupcakes. At least I assume so based on pictures she has posted that show her enjoying said dessert. So, when I saw these lovely little cakes I thought of Holly and decided that if I actually knew her, like in real life instead of through the internet, I'd give her one of these little gems from Zov's Bistro. I'm sure she would like them. I've heard that it's the thought that counts. Right? So in lieu of the real thing, here are some pictures to make one and all sigh in delight. Merry Christmas Holly!

Lemon Bars ... Yum!

From this ...
To this ...

How am I doing posing as a 1950s homemaker displaying my talent of lemon bar presentation?? Hey, it's almost authentic ... I'm wearing my Grandmother's "aurora borealis" jewelry from the 1960s while presenting the lemon bars made from my Mom's recipe, also from the 1960s.

Christmas at the Local

Our local pub is called The Olde Ship and it is pretty much the most festive place I've been so far this season. And yes, we actually have a pub in my Southern California town. Not only can you stop in for a pint (they have some great winter ale right now), but you can also get the most amazing food. Anything from fish and chips or a curry, to roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Right now you can order from their very tasty Christmas menu. The "roast pork slow-cooked in English cider and served with an apricot dressing" is one of my favorites. And you can't leave without sharing their sticky toffee pudding with someone you love. Speaking of someone I love, here is a rare photo of Mr. Distortion enjoying the Christmas ambience at the local:


And just to prove I was there too (sans lipstick, oh no!):


Check out this link for some more great photos of Christmas at The Olde Ship, courtesy of The Olde Ship.