Calming Christmas Reads

Reading is hugely important to me all year round, but Christmas reading is one of my favourite times for reading.  I love to discover, and treat myself to a new Christmas book(s) each year.  Even as I’m writing this, the temptation to curl up with my current Christmas read(Tied up in Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh) is very strong.

There is something extra special about transporting yourself through someone else’s carefully crafted words to someone else’s Christmas.  I love the window into a Christmas removed from my own.  I’m not looking for a perfect Christmas in my reading, for I don’t believe there is one.  Sometimes I am looking for one that contains some  of the elements of Christmas which I enjoy.  Sometimes I want a mystery wrapped around Christmas celebrations.

Some of my favourite kinds of Christmas reads involve large country houses and some cosy crime, but I also love gentle vintage stories set in pretty towns or remote snow covered villages. Many of my favourite Christmas books I realise are set in the past or contain a magic which can only be captured at Christmas

In my Christmas reading i’m looking for  a sense of peace and calm, for those books which will make me feel cosy and reassured.  I don’t want to be challenged, although I am very happy to be inspired.  I want the equivalent of a roaring fire and a steaming mug of hot chocolate.  I want to sink into these books and for a little while leave behind the to do lists and the endless tasks.

I also happen to think Christmas books are a thoughtful gift.  How lovely to settle down with a new Christmassy book during those quiet in between days.

There are so many books I love to read at Christmas but these are some of those I have enjoyed most recently or always come back to.

Anthologies and Poetry

Anthologies and poetry collections always feature and I often have them beside my bed, next to various arm chairs and by my desk.  It is so easy to dip into a poem or a short piece of writing and a great way to find a little festive spirit just when you need it.

100 Best Christmas Poems for Children Ed by Roger McGough

A Literary Christmas – An anthology by the British LIbrary

Miss Reads Christmas Book

Christmas Inspiration

I love to read books which will give me ideas for things I  might want to make or just dream or making.  These probably go along side my love of watching  Kirstie’s Hand made Christmas which I can never resist

Christmas at River Cottage by Lucy Brazier

Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton

 

Childrens Christmas Classics

Christmas through the eyes of a child is often the most magical way to view it.  At Christmas time, reading books written for children is a lovely way to re-discover some of that Christmas magic we sometimes lose as adults.

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streathfield

Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R Tolkein

A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas

 

Cosy Christmas Crime

The British Library Crime Classics are a great place to start if you are looking for some Christmas crime to curl up with. They have published a number of collections of short stories along side some of their Christmas novels. I have picked these up in second hand bookshops.  And what Christmas is complete without a little bit of Agatha Christie.

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer

Tied up in Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh

 

Vintage Christmas Reads

Authors such as Angela Thirkell and Nancy Mitford are ones I gravitate to at any time of year, but at Christmas there is something even more appealing about reading these vintage stories.  They capture the feelings of the season with humour and warmth.

Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield

High Rising by Angela Thirkell

Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford

Do let me know which are your favourite Christmas Reads

You might also want to read my post on London Christmas reads.