Holiday Themed Reads

Author         Title                Synopsis
Baldacci, David Christmas Train Tom Langdon, a weary and cash-strapped journalist, is banned from flying when a particularly thorough airport security search causes him to lose his cool. Now, he must take the train if he has any chance of arriving in Los Angeles in time for Christmas with his girlfriend.
Binchy, Maeve This Year It Will Be Different An anthology of Christmas stories reflecting on the various ways in which the holidays serve as a catalyst to promote change, growth, and new beginnings.
Black, Lewis I'm Dreaming of a Black Christmas From his own Christmas rituals—which have absolutely nothing to do with presents or Rudolph—to his own eccentric experiences with the holiday (from a USO Christmas tour to playing Santa Claus in full regalia), comedian Lewis Black delivers funny, razor-sharp, insightful, and honest holiday commentary.
Bradley, Alan I am Half-Sick of Shadows Colonel de Luce rents his beloved rural estate to a film company which will be shooting a movie over the holidays. When the widely despised star is murdered, the house is thrown into turmoil. With a blizzard raging outside and numerous suspects, Flavia de Luce is ready to suspend her investigations into the existence of Father Christmas to solve this yuletide murder.
Burroughs, Augusten You Better Not Cry: stories for Christmas You’ve seen gingerbread houses…but have you ever made your own gingerbread tenement? You’ve woken up with a hangover…but have you ever woken up next to Kris Kringle himself? Augusten Burroughs has, and in this caustically funny, poignant, and moving collection he recounts Christmases past and present—as only he could.
Capote, Truman Christmas Memory Truman Capote's memoir recounting part of his 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.
Clark, Mary Higgins Christmas Thief Alvirah Meehan, teams up with private investigator Regan Reilly to solve a Christmas mystery. They get in the middle of a case involving a beautiful eighty-foot blue spruce that has been chosen to spend the holidays as Rockefeller Center's famous Christmas tree, and the flask chock-full of priceless diamonds that were attached to a branch by a scam artist.
Davidson, Diane Mott Sweet Revenge Catering a holiday breakfast for the local library staff, Goldy Schultz is shocked to see a supposedly dead woman who is believed to be Goldy's ex-husband's killer, an encounter that precedes the murder of a high-end map dealer.
Dickens, Charles A Christmas Carol The classic tale of a miser who learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.
Evans, Richard Paul Christmas Box A touching story of a widow and the young family who moves in with her. Together they discover the first gift of Christmas and learn what Christmas is really about.
Green, John Let it Snow In three intertwining short stories, several high school couples experience the trials and tribulations along with the joys of romance during a Christmas Eve snowstorm in a small town.
Grisham, John Skipping Christmas Luther and Nora Krank have decided to set sail on a Caribbean cruise on December 25th and skip Christmas. They are about to discover that their decision brings enormous consequences –and isn't half as easy as they imagined.
Henry, O Gift of the Magi O. Henry’s heartwarming story of a husband and wife who sacrifice treasured possessions in order to buy each other Christmas presents.
Lamb, Wally Wishin’ and Hopin’: a Christmas story A holiday novel set in the fictional town of Three Rivers, Connecticut that focuses on a feisty parochial school fifth grader named Felix Funicello as Christmas approaches in 1964.
Macomber, Debbie Christmas Basket A holiday tale that follows the lives of two women who have been feuding for years and their adult children, Noelle and Thomas, who have been in love since childhood but kept apart by their mothers' bitter battle.
Maguire, Gregory Matchless: a Christmas story This novella entwines the classic fairy tale of the Little Match Girl with a story of Frederik, whose mother is seamstress to the queen and who spends many evenings crafting a village in the attic of their small, cold home.
Meier, Leslie Christmas Cookie Murder Lucy Stone finds a new mystery to solve when Christmas in Tinker's Cove turns deadly during the annual Cookie Exchange after Tucker Whitney, recently accused of stealing Lee Cummings' cookie recipe, is found murdered.
Moore, Christopher Stupidest Angel: a heartwarming tale of Christmas terror A humorous tale of what happens when a none-too-clever angel overhears a little boy, who, having witnessed Santa taking a shovel to the head, prays for Santa to return from the dead.
Moore, Clement C. Night Before Christmas The classic holiday poem about an important Christmas Eve visitor.
Pratchett, Terry Hogfather The Hogswatchnight yuletide season is disrupted by the evil deeds of the Auditors, who replace the red-suited Hogfather with a scythe-bearing demon, prompting the Unseen University wizards and their monster-bashing nanny to launch a rescue plan.
Robinson, Barbara Best Christmas Pageant Ever The six Herdman children, "absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world," have never heard the Christmas story before, and they don't know anything about shepherds or wise men, but they are taking over the Christmas pageant.
Sedaris, David Holidays on Ice An anthology of humorous Christmas tales and essays which features excerpts from the author's "Barrel Fever" and "Naked," as well as "The Santaland Diaries," "Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family," and an original tale of holiday mayhem.
Seuss, Dr. How the Grinch Stole Christmas The Grinch tries to stop Christmas from arriving by stealing all the presents and food from the village, but much to his surprise it comes anyway. Could Christmas be about more than presents?
Van Allsburg, Chris Polar Express A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa Claus.
VanLiere, Donna Christmas Shoes While shopping for gifts on Christmas Eve, Robert, a successful lawyer whose family life is falling apart, meets Nathan, an eight-year-old boy whose mother is dying.
Yolen, Jan How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah? Illustrations and rhyming text present some of the different ways a well-behaved dinosaur can celebrate the eight days and nights of Chanukah.