Blogmas Day #3: Top Ten Tuesday // Holiday Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is holiday reads. I love themes, so when December rolls around, I love to read books that include Christmas holidays and activities. Here are some of my favorites (reviews will be linked to book titles):

• Secret Santa by Sabrina James

Secret Santa has been favorite Christmas book of mine since high school. This book follows several characters at North Ridge High School who participates in their school’s Secret Santa gift exchange. While very predictable, it is a cute story that I wish Netflix would pick up.

• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a holiday classic. I love all of the Herdman stories because while they are funny, they also hold a deeper message.

• The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

While not my favorite Christmas book, The Afterlife of Holly Chase is a unique read. Before Holly died, she lived out the classic Christmas Carol tale: three ghosts visited her and tried to make her change her selfish ways. The only problem? Holly didn’t listen, so now she must serve as one of the ghosts and save another Scrooge before they face the same fate.

• Snow in Love by Melissa de la Cruz, Nic Stone, Aimee Friedman, and Kasie West

Snow in Love is one of my favorite Christmas short story collection which does not feature interconnected stories. I particularly enjoy the first story by Kasie West.

• Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler is more of a winter book than a Christmas book, but it still takes place during that time period. I appreciate Ockler’s accurate portrayal of Christmas. In most books, everyone gets the present they wanted and everything is absolutely perfect in their life because it’s the end of the story. However, in this story, a family faces their lights being turned off their family business struggling during the holidays.

• Midnight by Rainbow Rowell

This short story collection overall wasn’t my favorite, but I really enjoyed Rainbow Rowell’s contribution. This is the only New Year’s story on my list, and if you’re interested, it is also published along with Kindred Spirits in its own short story book called Almost Midnight.

• My New Crush Gave to Me by Shani Petroff

I discovered My New Crush Gave to Me through a Kindle deal was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. This book also features a Secret Santa element, but has the main character work with a sworn enemy to pick out the perfect gifts for the person that she selected.

• Let in Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

Let it Snow features three interconnected stories and was recently turned into a Netflix movie. In the book, I enjoyed Maureen Johnson’s story the most. This is a cute, easy read for Christmas time.

• It’s a Mall World After All by Janette Rallison

I’ve read this book countless times since middle school, but I still find myself laughing out loud each time that I reread it. This book follows a girl trying to find evidence that her best friend’s boyfriend is cheating. Meanwhile, she gets closer to his best friend, one of her enemies, to run a toy drive for Christmas.

• 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

I’m only partly through 10 Blind Dates, but I can tell it will be a favorite. The dates are very Christmas themed, which makes it the perfect read for Christmas time.

 

What are your favorite reads around Christmas?

 

 

 

 

Follow me on…