The spirit of Yuletide is upon us and with the new year around the corner, many have already begun their holidays or vacations. And what better way to spend some relaxing "you-time" this festive season than to kick back with a warm cup of coffee and your favourite Christmas book.
Festive Christmas stories appeal to both young and old, due to some of the universal themes they carry - love, perseverance, forgiveness, valour, innocence, compassion and hope. And the great part is that while all of them are themed around Christmas, there is a plethora of different types of Christmas books that you can enjoy this holiday season.
We compiled a definitive list of 10 must-read Christmas books across genres and eras to help you get in the feel of the festive season.
1. Mr Dickens And His Carol: While every list of Christmas always tends to start with 'A Christmas Carol', this one is an ode to its writer Charles Dickens. The moving historical fiction by Samantha Silva tells the story of Dickens and his life at the time of writing his iconic Christmas fable. Set in romantic Victorian settings, the book delves into the. 'Dickensian' etiquette with charm and cleverness, leaving the reading full of emotions and surprise.
2. Nutcracker: In case you were looking for a Christmas Classic, here's one. The 'Nutcracker' has is one of the most popular Christmas Classics across the world. Written in 1816 by ETA Hoffman, the book tells the story of a 'nutcracker' doll, given to a girl as a Christmas gift by her uncle, which comes to life at night and saves her from the attack of the evil 'Mouse King'. The story is inspired by a Prussian legend and is one of the best examples of the German Romanticism of the early 19th century,
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3. The Autobiography Of Santa Claus: The potbellied, whiskered old man in a red body suit has become synonymous as a symbol of Christmas across the world. But do you know the real origin story of Santa Claus? This gem of a book, written by Jeff Guin, delves into facts and lore about the legend of Santa Claus and takes the readers through years of history and incredible factoids about the figure that we know as 'Santa Claus' today. A must-read for those looking for interesting little factoids on 'Father Christmas' to start dinner party conversations this Christmas.
4. Celebrations, Rituals Of Peace and Prayer: This one is for poetry buffs and fans of Maya Angelou (Yes, we are a category!). Celebrations is a book of poems by the award-winning African-American author Angelou celebrates the festive spirit with powerful poems on themes that are both eternal and yet timely in today's context. It contains poems of celebrations, both private and public, and also includes some of her iconic poems such as 'On the Pulse of the Morning' and 'Amazing Peace'. The latter was actually recited by Angelou during the lighting of the National Christmas in 2005. The poem speaks about putting an end to hate for Christmas and is as relevant in India today as in the rest of the world.
5. The Big Book Of Christmas Mysteries: No book list is complete without a dose of the macabre. Compiled into a book by Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler, this 2013 book packs a big, menacing punch with its collections of vintage crime and noir stories, all themed around Christmas. In case you were looking for some variety from the "cookie-cutter-mould" books being pushed out by writers by the dozen every holiday season, this book is for you. The book contains short stories by several famous authors with crime stories spanning across a variety of settings and genres - black comedy, police detection, whodunnit, mystery, pulp fiction and more!
6. A Christmas Memory: This one is for all the romantics out there. This classic American short story was written by Truman Capote in 1956 and continues to endure as one of the warmest tales of friendship, love and the spirit of Christmas. The story contains glimpses of a foregone era in the 20s and 30s Alabama - a place that Capote regularly visited to meet with hic Falk cousins. The book also gives us the iconic line, "It's fruitcake season!"
7. Holidays On Ice: Want to tickle that funny bone? Looking for some holiday laughs? This is the book for you. This 1997 classic by award-winning humorist Dave Sedaris is a collection of new and old essays that looks at the funny side of festive stories. The book, with its wry and often dark humour, will appeal to cynics like Sedaris himself, who recounts hilarious accounts of Christmases past in this collection of fiction and non-fiction stories and essays.
8. The Snow Child: Rarely does one see a contemporary Christmas-themed book win critical accolades and get nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. But that's just what happened after Eowyn Ivey's popular book 'The Snow Child' was published in 2011. This historical fiction book tells the tale of Jack and Mabel in Alaska in the 1920s and is riddled with themes of pain, valour and violence, all set in the backdrop of Christmas. Adapted from the Russian fairy tale, "Snegurochka", the Snow Child is a winter classic loved by young adults and older readers.
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9. The Father Christmas Letters: Also known as 'The Letters From Father Christmas', this book is a collection of letters written by the linguist and literateur JRR Tolkien to his children from 1920 to 1943 and is bound to delight all, especially parents whose kids are spook easy. The letters are filled with tales and detailed graphic illustrations of fantastical creatures in faraway lands, and a distinct "Father Christmas", who is not your stereotypical, rubicund Santa but rather a character more in tune with Tolkien's Lord of The Rings and Hobbit universe. The book not only make for a delightful gift to kids and Tolkien-geeks but also to adults hoping to escape the humdrum of everyday life with a pinch of magical folklore. And no one does it better than Tolkien.
10. Rock Crystal: This one is for thriller bugs. A seemingly innocuous book about a low-key village in Europe, Rock Crystal soon takes its reader into a world of intrigue and suspense. Written nearly two centuries ago (1845) by Adalbert Stifler, the book tells the story of one snowy night in the alps - the night between Christmas eve and day, when two young siblings ger lost on their way to their village in the Alps. The book inspired many writers like Thomas Mann who often sand praised Stifler as the most "strangely gripping narrators in world literature". Give it a try, you will thank us later.
