Tis the season for holiday reading!

How to choose a holiday novel

Deciding on a Christmas story for your holiday book club can be a daunting task. There are truly not that many holiday full length novels to choose from. You can find a gazillion books for children and romance novels with a Christmas theme (nothing wrong with romance but more substance is appreciated) but nothing that seems to meet a reading groups criteria.

Before we hunt for that perfect read here are several tips to consider when finding what we hope will be a merry holiday reading for your book club!

• The novel should be short enough to complete around the busy holiday season
• It cannot be and I repeat cannot be a depressing novel
• Children novels (over 150 pages) and young adult novels are on the table and we do not shy away from them as they have some of the best holiday themes
• The novel has to have at least one holiday book scene
• Prefer a novel that is not an anthology or only tales (but open to this idea)

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The book club ghosts
​ of future, past​ and present

A Christmas Carol is one of our all time favorites. Not only did we indulge in classic literature with author Charles Dickens but reading a novella (a long short story) that is all about the season was a win win.  If A Christmas Carol is not lengthy enough for your book club then try Dickens A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books.  A collection of tales that might be a good fit for your group.

Another classic story that is cherished by all readers with Christmas scenes is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Our book club loved reading this timeless novel along with Little House on the Prairie in past book club years. Literary children classics with holiday themes make the best reads. We are presently reading another classic,  Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster it will delight you with sweet holiday scenes and some light mystery.  Even though it is a classic you would never know by the author's writing style.  A Redbird Christmas is not a classic and is written by Fannie Flagg author of Fried Green Tomatoes and comes highly recommended by our reading group.
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Visit Go Beyond holiday book club for more bookish ideas.
Hope you find that one great holiday read!