Remember my plan to read all holiday books in November and December? Let’s just see how that went!
I started November by finishing The Joy Luck Club (clearly not a holiday book!) Then I dove into:
Murder on the Christmas Express was pretty good! It won points for being a fun read and a mystery set on a train. lost points for not really being Christmas-y. I mean, there was a lot of talk about getting where they were going by Christmas, but you could have taken that plot point out and had the same basic story.
A Holiday by Gaslight won points by being nice and Christmas-y! It lost points by being a romance, which I don’t usually read. But that’s not the fault of the book- it wasn’t like anyone tried to trick me. It was clearly billed as a romance, and I just decided to go out of my usual genre.
I also read a book called Mystery in White by Jefferson Farjeon. It lost points by NOT being Christmas-y, other than the characters occasionally exclaiming “I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas!” It also lost points by being kind of lame overall. What I’ve learned is, if a book is a classic mystery written in the time of Agatha Christie but you’ve never heard of it- there’s a reason for that.
In December I started strong with Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson. This book was the clear winner! Major points for being extremely Christmas-y, and more points for being a really fun mystery. I’ve read his other books, and this was my favorite of them all.
Then my holiday reading fell apart. I had this book from the library:
It was up next in my queue, but then Nicole warned me it was “sad.” Nope! This was not a good Christmas for me to read a sad book, so it went back to the library. I’ll put it back on my TBR for next year.
I also returned The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict. This one had a lot of promise, but my mind was all over the place and I couldn’t do it justice. It also went back to the library and back on my TBR for next year.
Instead, I dove into a comfort read:
All Agatha Christies are rereads for me. Luckily I didn’t remember this one, so was able to enjoy the mystery. That also means it wasn’t one of her best books (or I would have remembered it). It fulfilled my need for an easy, nostalgic reading experience.
November and December are usually not great reading months for me, but I did pretty well this year. On Christmas Day I started this:
It’s gotten my reading back on track, and I’m hoping to finish it before New Year’s, to end the month strong.
Do you like to read seasonally? What was the best book you read in December?
20 Responses
I read a lot but only a few that remember. Dungeon Crawler Carl- not my usual genre but engaging. I tried Anne Cleeve’s new Jimmy Perez book, but I could tell I wouldn’t like vwould was the murderer ( skipped to end- yep, figured it out and decided as well written as it is- noped out). Anne Cleeland had another Acton book – good and Sherlock Holmes influenced.
I don’t deliberately read seasonally. I just grab what’s on the new book shelf at the library.
Now to add Keeperbof Lost Causes to my library holds…
Keeper is a good one! I’ll report more after I’m done with it, but I’m enjoying it.
Nice work!
I did not read any seasonal novels this year… I’m going to read _The Irish Goodbye_ and the new Catherine Newman around next Thanksgiving though.
The Irish Goodbye looks good! I should make that a Thanksgiving book as well.
I would like to read Christmas themed books in December but since I use the library, that would require so much planning and luck for them to be available in December. So I tend to read them on the new year when everyone else has moved on from the holiday which I know would depress you!
My big read in December was 11/22/63 which I read with Stephany. It was very meh for both of us! I enjoyed it overall but it could have been at least 1/2 the length! Now I am reading a page turner called ‘we would never’. It’s about a woman whose husband divorces her but then he won’t let her move closer to her family. And then he gets killed and her and her family are the suspects. I rarely read such plotty books but needed something different!
Yes, I refuse to read Christmas books in January!!!
I did like 11/22/63. I agree it was long but I liked that. I know Stephany felt the same as you did.
We Would Never sounds good!
I don’t tend to read many festive fiction books, but I do like to read non-fiction books about Christmas (history, crafts, cookbooks, etc). I like the laid-back, relaxing nature of consuming festive things.
I do love A Christmas Carol and haven’t read it in a few years, so I’ve officially added it to my Quintile list for next holiday season (thank you SHU for the nudge to set up quintiles; I now have one dedicated entirely to the holidays).
Yes, I like the Quintiles as well! The holidays are their own season. One of the things I’m doing tonight is reading Sarah’s book!
What good reads, Jenny! I named a couple in my reminders for next December. I only read one “holiday-ish” book this year, I think, which was a collection of mystery short stories by different authors set during the holidays, which I really enjoyed.
Yes, there are some great short story collections for the holidays. i usually don’t love short stories, but it might b perfect for such a busy time of year.
I will tell you, Jenny, when I saw that you had Small Things Like These on your holiday reading list, I was alarmed. I’m glad you decided to read it at another time. I loved it, but it is SO sad, and also I read it on a beach in Mexico, so the sunshine takes away some sadness, you know? It is set at Christmas but it is NOT a feel-good Christmas book!
Every year I read a couple of essays from Holidays on Ice, notably the Santaland Diaries and Dinah, The Christmas Whore, because they never fail to make me laugh.
Yes Nicole- thank you for saving me!
I wish I could read as many books as you do. My reading like everything else slacks off as the year progresses.
I stare at the computer screen for 8 am to 4pm so my eyes get tired and I read only a hour or so before I fall asleep.
Running has priority over reading.
I also forget the books as soon as I am done and I don’t write them done… Luckily I only read library books and I can check my history there.
I read the woman in suite 11 which was a mystery and a sequel to the woman in cabin 10. It was a page turner. I am finishing 20 Years Later which is also a great mystery…
Actually I think you read a lot! I read around 60 books this year (I think- I have to go back and count) and that’s great, but some people are reading 100+. I wish I could read that many!
An admirable job of reading seasonal books! Since I know you are a mystery reader, I assumed that A Holiday by Gaslight would have some sort of suspenseful element. I mean, “gaslight” is the perfect word for a punny old-fashioned read that’s also domestic thriller!
I tried reading seasonally a few years ago and got bored pretty quickly. Turns out I like my murders gory and my mysteries too twisty to accompany Christmas cheer. But I do think the Benjamin Stevenson book sounds good!
Yes, that one was good. And, I thought Holiday by Gaslight could have been improved tremendously with a few murders thrown in.
I am not good about reading seasonally. That would require planning in my reading life and I just don’t have it in me. I’m so impressed with those of you who can pull this off, though!
I haven’t tried to read seasonally. I am pretty random about my selections. Your current books sounds intriguing.
I read three seasonal books on Christmas Day! https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2025/12/26/three-lovely-christmas-reads-sally-page-new-beginnings-for-christmas-brian-bilston-and-so-this-is-christmas-and-rev-richard-coles-murder-under-the-mistletoe/ Small Things Like These is melancholy but also beautiful and uplifting. The kind of book I press onto people!
I don’t really read seasonally, although I try to sneak in some holiday romances in December when I can! I didn’t in 2025. In 2024, I read The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, which is part-mystery and part-love story and ADORED IT. I wanted to reread it this year, but never got around to it. (Stupid 11/22/63 eating up all my reading time!)