Top 5 Christmas reads

“The only other sound’s a sweep of easy wind and downy flake.” Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Are there certain books you make time for, no matter how busy the holiday season? I know I have a handful that I come back to time after time. So, if you’re looking for a good book to curl up with anytime soon or you have other favorites to share, scroll on!

1. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. I’ve never seen the movie (Christmas with the Kranks) because I fear it won’t live up to the book. John Grisham’s legal thrillers are amazing, but this novella displays the breadth of his range. Hilarious, wry, heart warming. It’s all there in this story about a couple who attempts to skip the holiday hoopla when their only child heads off to the Peace Corps.
2. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This vignette of life at the edge of the American frontier is worth reading for the food scenes alone. Food, in fact, should be listed in the roster of characters, right alongside Ma, Pa and the rest. Sitting on pumpkin “chairs” in the attic. Making candy from molasses and snow. This is a book you can practically taste.
3. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, written by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers. Frost’s poem must be read aloud, with its whooshing alliteration that mimics snow. Jeffers’ mostly black-and-white illustrations are pure magic, full of hidden creatures and a story line of their own.
4. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Christmas is laced through this coming-of-age story about a group of sisters whose father heads off to the Civil War. There are carols I’ve never heard before, food scenes, family, humor, heartbreak. A perfect read for a cold night.
5. The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber. She’s written a lot of beloved Christmas stories, several of them made into Hallmark movies, but this is my absolute favorite. A young woman disgusted with the dating scene (or lack thereof) employs a matchmaker who gives her a series of holiday-hero tasks before he will introduce her to her “best match.” The Salvation Army bell-ringing scene had me laughing so hard it hurt.