Holiday Reading
So it’s been awhile since I have posted here. If you’ve been following along with my Instagram page, (click here if you would like to!) you’ll know that my husband and I took the show on the road for the month of November. Our toddler and puppy helped create some unforgettable adventures that I will be sure to write about in the future.
We came back after Thanksgiving and then made a quick trip back to my parents’ home in Indiana, which was full of niece and nephew time, and even more memories made.
As we came back to Boston, we immersed ourselves in our local holiday festivities - Christmas Stroll, Nutcracker, tree lighting, and BAE Book Club Secret Santa - just to name a few. We also spent much energy preparing with great anticipation for family visits - We haven’t been home in Boston for the holidays for several years, so this will be a welcome treat!
In the meantime, my 2021 reading plan was completely destroyed because I have found this year’s Hallmark movies to be a welcome respite - and for this, I feel no guilt! If you would like some great Hallmark movie analysis, please check out my friend’s highlights on her Instagram account by clicking here - they are fantastic!
Even though my reading goal is shot for the year - I do want to share some of my favorite holiday books that I have read to date. I would also love to know what your favorite holiday reads are, as I will add them to my reading list for 2022!
Note: I have made as a rule to not read anything during the holidays about heavy topics, like the death penalty. Even though John Grisham’s, The Innocent Man, is a favorite of mine - I think it would have been better to read at a different time in the calendar. I understand that there are issues of privilege here, but for me, I want to spend a few weeks focusing on themes such as hope, peace, love, and joy that can then be applied to life’s greater difficulties during the other months of the year.
Little Women will forever be at the top of my Holiday Reading List.
A story about two twin sisters who trade places during the holidays. I sure hope that this is one day made into a Hallmark movie and my dream would be for Lindsay Lohan to play the twins - obviously.
If you have yet to discover the wonder of Debbie Macomber, this is a great first book.
I adore stories that show value to childhood holiday traditions. This is such a lovely story and how can it be bad - there is an adorable dog in a Santa hat on the cover!
I adored this book as it shares such creative vignettes about the wonder of Santa. The story includes many “explanations” of important aspects of the Santa story. If you read aloud books to kids - this could be a great pick!
This book is similar to The Live and Adventures of Santa Claus, but is unique as it combines historical events with the story of Santa. It is a great book for any middle reader who loved believing in the wonder of Santa Claus - and for adults too!
The story behind how this book came together is really fun as well.
Christmas, Bookhop, model railroad, cross generational plot and Scotland - read with a festive drink and life really can’t get much better.
Mary Kay Andrews provides Christmas story perfection with this novella. If you are in the middle of holiday chaos, don’t have much time but want a brief respite, this is a story to discover.
Regardless of where I find myself in my faith journey, I like to revisit the story of Christ’s birth in Luke 2. I very much enjoy finding a moment of solitude among the chaos to reflect upon themes of sacrificial love. This year, I took a moment to read the story on my phone while pausing in front of the creche on the Boston Commons.
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