Everyone, however busy, should be given time over Advent and Christmas to sit down with a good book and an apple. Or a chocolate mouse, a packet of crisps, a lollipop, whatever it is that makes your perfect accompaniment to a good story. I was thinking of going back to Charles Dickens over Christmas, but there are so many good Christmas books out there, and so little time.
It doesn't matter if it's for adults or for children. What matters is that it gives you that sense of a secret waiting to be told, and the chance to set foot into a realm that we can never find at any other time of year.
The Tailor of Gloucester (Beatrix Potter) is one of the most perfect Christmas books I know.
The Dean's Watch (Elizabeth Goudge) leads up to Christmas in an enchanting, mysterious way and is one of my favourite books ever ever.
The Twelve Days of Christmas (Jenny Overton). A great family read (as in, if the kids couldn't find it, I was reading it. If I couldn't find it, my Mum was reading it.)
A Christmas Carol (Dickens). We've all seen the films, and some of them are very good, but you know how it is with books.
If you're into Discworld, The Hogfather is clever, a great story, and roll-off-the-settee funny.
So, share your favourites. What do you recommend as the best Christmas books?
BTW, some people have difficulty getting logged in to the blog. You can always e-mail me using the address on the website, and I can put your recommended titles on here.
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5 comments:
Tasha Tudor's book Take Joy! is a lovely book about a farm family preparing for Christmastime. It's got a collection of carols and other Christmas-related topics in it, too - and the illustrations are gorgeous (I used to count the Welsh corgies for fun).
Thanks, I'll look out for it!
I was hoping you'd mention Hogfather! I read it every Christmas. :) Another annual read for me is The Legend of Holly Claus by Brittany Ryan, which is an absolutely lovely story.
Happy holiday reading, Margi!
I'll look out for Brittany Ryan, thanks! Hogfather gets better every time I read it. I'm reading Sourcery just now.
A Small Miracle, by Peter Collington. It is an entirely illustrated book with no words about a poor old woman in Britain and a small miracle that comes to life to return the kindness she has shown in her coldest hour. I've "read" it every year since I can remember and it still brings tears of gratitude to my eyes. :) sorry I'm late, maybe for next Christmas!
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