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?