Howdy, all.
Yep, it’s Thanksgiving again and not only is there lots to be thankful for, but this is the time of year for all those great Christmas romances reads and maybe some not so great.
Kisses under the mistletoe, the perfect present…like great sex under the Christmas tree. Naughty or Nice takes on a whole new fun way of looking at things.
I remember reading O. Henry’s the Gift of the Magi when I was in school. Totally loved it. What a neat story and I guess in the back of my mind it’s the perfect love story. A Christmas Carol and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas are the best stores ever. I think I have the Night Before Christmas nearly memorized…least the first part…from reading it to my kids so often. And this year BRAVA’s a Very Merry Christmas is wonderful. All these stores help get me in the Christmas mood and save me from going nuts in the real world, I can escape to theirs. Deal with someone else’s nutty Christmas problems for a while.
So, the question is… Did you pick up any holiday reads this year? Got a favorite holiday book from your past? Have you read any holiday books this year that were totally terrific?
We’ll talk about this for the next two days and I’ll pick two from the responses for an I’ll Be Seeing U tote bags.
I don’t normally go out of my way to pick up holiday books, but this year I have got the anthology Santa, Baby because it has something new from Jennifer Crusie in it!
The Night Before Christmas is a holiday must.For a good laugh I enjoy The Cajun Night Before Christmas.Anyone who hasn’t read it, it’s a childrens book the National
Lampoons Christmas Vacation for books. I have Let It
Snow (2003)by Fern Michaels, Virginia Henley, Holly Chamberlin and Marcia Evanick I enjoy reading every year. Christmas books are a must for the Holidays.
I really enjoy Christmas books!!! I have to read them!!! The holiday book I just finished was “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” with stories from Linda Lael Miller, Roxanne St. Clair( and if you have been reading the Bullet Catcher series don’t miss out on this Bullet Catcher story!!!), and 2 other authors (I think another one is Julie Leto).
This book is a must read for the holidays!…and a great gift from someone who who doesn’t know what to buy you
Does “Holiday in Death” by JD Robb count?
Love that book! I’m also looking forward to reading BRAVA’s “A Very Merry Christmas” and also can’t wait for Christie Ridgway’s “Must Love Mistletoe.”
Since I live at the beach, any story that takes place in the snow feels like a holiday book to me, and I get nostalgic for stories where the pregnant heroine who’s caught in the snowstorm gets rescued by the loner mountain man!:grin:
This holiday season I will be reading from my TBR pile, until I find the books on my TBB list at the stores. When I come across one on my list I will finish the book I am on & start it. I have no special order, unless it is a trilogy. I am usually reading an ebook & a print at the same time. I save the ebooks to read when its dark, it makes it so much easier to read that way. Right now I am reading:
print ~ VALLEY OF SILENCE by Nora Roberts
ebook ~ A KNIGHT OF PASSION by Ingela F. Hyatt
Oooo, I loved Janet Evanovich’s book, “Visions of Sugar Plums”, Vicki Lewis Thompson’s book, “‘Tis the Season”, or even “Nerd Gone Wild” (takes place in Alaska), along with some great anthologies I have read with my favorite authors. I can’t wait to pick up the book by Brava, “Very Merry Christmas”.
It sure is fun reading books like “A Night Before Christmas”, or even “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. It really gets me in the mood for the holidays.
Neat to see you all have your favorite authors and so many books to choose from. Makes Christmas all the more fun. I love giving Christmas books for presents. The always get a smile!
I absolutely love Holiday books; puts me in the Christmas spirit.
I have only picked up a few so far:
I’ll be Home for Christmas – LL Miller, etc
The Best Christmas Ever – Cheryl Wolverton, etc.
And I have Fern Michaels, etc Sugar and Spice coming on the mail.
As for a fav, one comes to mind – Linda Howard – Bluebird Winter and there was one by Danielle Steel – I think it was a holiday book – Special Delivery. There are lots more, but they slip my mind.
P.S. How could I forget the Brava books that come out during the holidays. Duh. The tale of the furnace repairman really comes to mind in one of them. Sorry cant remember which one and by who.
I’ve just started reading my TBR pile of holiday books. So far I’ve read:
First Impressions by Nora Roberts
The Christmas List by Pete Nelson
All She Wants by Jaid Black, Dominique Adiar and Shiloh Walker
Rockin’ Around That Christmas Tree by Donna Hill and Francis Ray
and, The Christmas Thief by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark
Hi Dianne,
funny thing is that I never christmas books during the christmas season, but during the summer. I know that this sounds really strange, but somehow I always find them in my TBR pile when it’s really warm outside.
I have Santa Baby-Jennifer Crusie, Lori Foster and Carly Phillips. Have not started it yet.
I haven’t bought any holiday books yet this year. I have to be in the mood for them and that mood hasn’t hit me yet this year.
To be honest I don’t believe I’ve ever read a particular Christmas book. I do think I have one in my tbr pile lol but it would have to be after Thanksgiving. One holiday at a time.
I need to sit down with a cup of Christmas cheer and a box of Christmas tree Peeps and read some of the books you all suggested. What a list!
Anybody have a fav Christmas character??
I think I like the Who down in Who-ville who liked Christmas a lot!:shock:
All my kids are grown and I still remember that line. Shows just how many times I read that book!
Dianne
I have read A Very Merry Christmas and loved it. I have a couple of others that are in my TBR pile that I want to get read, I love the Christmas stories.
I can’t really say that I have a favourite Christmas character. I love all of them but Scrooge would be right up there with them…….LOL
I just picked up Santa Cruise by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark and The Night Before Christmas by Jill Shalvis and et all.
“Sugar and Spice” and “Santa Baby” are both in the mail on their way to my home. I will read Christmas stories year-round, but I do tend to read more this time of year. I don’t hunt them out, but they definately are more visible at the library and bookstore.
I love Christmas stories. I don’t know if I have a favorite,because it would be to hard to choose. I love historical Christmas romances as much as I like the contemporary stories.
Great topic, Dianne. I generally purchase at least 2 Christmas stories each year. This year so far, I’ve gotten -A Very Merry Christmas, Santa Baby and Ellora’s Cave 12 Quickies of Christmas. However, I won’t read them until closer to the holidays.
Upon reflection though, there are 2 holiday anthologies I reread every year without fail. They are:
Upon A Midnight Clear – Deveraux, Howard, et al (1995)
A Gift of Love – McNaught, Cates, Kane, Deveraux, O’Brien(1997)
These are truly classic reads to me, but my all-time favorite of these two anthos is Andrea Kane’s story – Yuletide Treasure. It’s a holiday miracle of love. *sigh*
I think Derrick from Bluebird Winter is one of my favorites heroes.
I also picked up the Janet Dailey reprint – I think it is called Eve’s Christmas.
You all have such great stories listed. I’m doing a booksigning with Lori Foster this weekend and intend to get some of the books you all mentioned. I’m making a list…in the true spirit of Christmas.
Is there a fav Christmas setting? Are there Christmas books out there that take place in warm areas like the islands etc or are they all in New England or Alaska etc?
I just picked up an anthology ~ THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS ~ by Lori Foster, Erin McCarthy, Jill Shalvis, Kathy Love, Katherine Garbera & Kylie Adams. There is a lot of authors in this book I’ve never read before & I thought it was a good way to see how they wrote.
I think a favourite setting for the Christmas books are mountains or ski slopes, etc. I know it makes it more Christmas for me if the settings are with snow, with snow falling, etc. There have been books I have read that had a setting in the warmer weather, but for me that is sort of a downer, I guess because for me Christmas is always associated with cold and snow………..
My favorite Christmas Book was a multi-author anthology called AJingle Bell Rock. It featured stories by Janelle Denison, Susan Donovan, Donna Kauffman, Alison Kent, Nancy Warren, and Lori Foster. All of the stories were excellent and put me in the christmas spirit!
I always found the Gift of the Magi sad. I mean I get that they both give up the only thing of value that they have to get the special gift the other wants but he has a watch fob without the watch and she no longer has her long hair.
Thank you all for chatting with me. Loved hearing about your fav Christmas books. I love Jingle Bell Rock!
great book!
Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Hugs, Dianne
Contest Winners!
My dh drew two names:
Kate Carlisle
Deborah MacGillivray
email me at DianneCastell@hotmail.com with your address and I’ll send you an I’ll Be Seeing U tote.
thanks!
BTW…I have a “short” up on Amazon. It’s 13 pages that’s the intro for my O’Fallon series.
Here’s the link if you want to take a look!
http://www.amazon.com/OFallons-Plus-One-Prequel-Seeing/dp/B000J3EHG6/sr=11-1/qid=1163785860/ref=sr_11_1/104-6409649-7011919
I’m stubbornly resisting looking at Christmas themed books until we get to December. I don’t have any favorites yet. I like to discover new ones each year. I do have a favorite Christmas movie though.
It’s Love Actually.
Shelly, I need to get this movie. Thanks for the tip!
Dianne
Big congrats Kate & Deborah!
Thanks, eveyone, for a great time! I’m off to clean my house and get ready for my kids coming home.
One’s in Boston working at New Balance as a co-op. The other’s in grad school in Savannah doing motion graphics, that’s like the iPod commercials. Two in town…thank heavens they aren’t all gone!
Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Hugs, Dianne
wtg
Kate Carlisle
Deborah MacGillivray