I have a wonderful, seasonal Virago Modern Classic to write about, and a half written post about Mrs Craik, but tonight I am more inclined to ponder the Christmas books that I might read next week…
The launch of the Between The Wars reading project (do take a look if you too love books from that period) reminds me that I have been meaning to read Somerset Maugham for a long time now. I wonder if Christmas Holiday would be the place to start …
And, of course, I can’t think about Christmas reading without thinking of Dickens. I bought a lovely new copy of A Christmas Carol and I would love to read it again. But do I have the time? And those lovely little portmanteau books are tempting too. A Round of Stories by The Christmas Fire, and then maybe A Round of Stories by The Christmas Fire …
Or maybe I should come more up to date. 12 Days is a modern take on the traditional Christmas Song. A selection of stories by contemporary authors gathered together by Shelley Silas for the Virago Press …
I can tell you little about Ten Days of Christmas, other than that it was published in 1950 and that the opening chapters tell of a family arriving home for Christmas. It’s written by G B Stern who is a Virago author and who wrote about Jane Austen with Sheila Kaye-Smith, who wrote one of the finest novels I’ve read this year ….
And last, but definitely not least is The Virago Book of Christmas. A wonderful anthology that I happily dip into every December …
Now, what should I pick up first?
And what will you be reading this Christmas?
Fleur in her World 
I was just reading a post on I Prefer Reading which has a very nice post on Christmas. I think you’d like it.
Thank you. I have read it, and I did like it!
There’s always time for A Christmas Carol..I love that one! Have fun pondering the possibilities.
You might be right. I finish work on Thursday and I think there’s a good chance that I’ll pick up A Christmas Carol then.
I read A Christmas Holiday by Maugham last year, and sadly, I was underwhelmed. It was kind of depressing. Of course you can’t count on Maugham for an uplifting read, now, can you?
Maugham, to be honest isn’t calling so loudly. I think he may be more of a spring and summer writer …
I might re-read Rock Crystal, a curious little tale, sort of dark but sort of not.
Or I might just keep plowing through the stack of library books I just got.
I read Rock Crystal last year, and was completely charmed. And I should be asking the same questions about library books, but those Christmas titles are calling louder.
I’m going ghostly this Christmas. Have just started the YA ghost novel, The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley and will probably move on to Susan Hill or M.R. James after that. We’ll be having a slightly quieter Christmas than normal this year so am really looking forward to my reading.
I’m listening to the audio of The Christmas Carol now! I read it once when I was in middle school, but I haven’t read it since. I’m not usually a Dickens fan, but so far this is a pleasant surprise.
I’m not reading any Christmas-themed books this year, but I do love Truman Capote’s story “A Christmas Memory”.
Thanks for mentioning Reading Between the Wars in your post! And thanks for participating!
I love having Christmas reading – one of my favourites is Miss Read’s Christmas at Fairacre!