Monday Mood: A few good Christmasy/Winter books.

 This is by no means a complete list or an accurate list, just some books that take place around Christmas time that I have loved or re-read every year or so. Some of these are books I've written about before but I feel are worth repeating:

This Darkly Weird Modern Fairytale
A Wild Winter Swan It's a coming of age story set in 1960s New York at Christmas time and I do love a bit of modern day fairytale. It's written by Gregory Maguire who wrote Wicked, so you're in good hands. It's not a super happy story (fairy tales rarely are) but it does have a satisfying ending, is dryly funny in parts, and also just beautifully written. Give it a try. 

A Christmasy British Romcom That Doesn't Disappoint
Marianne recommends The Twelve Dates of Christmas which is exactly the kind of cozy and relatable small British town Christmas romance novel we both enjoy. (I read it last year and loved it, especially as I've gone on quite a few internet dates in the past and know that pain all too well.) 

The New Jenny Colgan Which Did Not Disappoint
I just finished The Christmas Bookshop and y'all, it's really, really delightful. Unlike some of her other Christmas books, this one is a stand-alone so you don't have have read the others in the series (though there are some cameo appearances.) It's got everything: Beautiful snow-bound Edinburgh, a relatable protagonist, a cozy but decrepit book shop, a love triangle, and a deliciously hate-able villain. 10/10 - the best cozy Christmas read. 

A YA Favorite I'm Currently Rereading
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper is a favorite from when I was a kid and it starts on midwinter's eve (that's today!) which is the day before the main character's birthday, the day he discovers he's an Old One, destined to fight in the ancient struggle against The Dark. It's the second book in a series that weaves Arthurian legend in with the struggle of darkest and light but you don't have to have read the first one to follow it - this one is good all by itself. 

Another YA Favorite You Really Should Read
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken isn't a Christmas book but it takes place in the winter and is another one of my favorites from when I was a kid. It has everything: Adventure, orphans, poverty, riches, bad guys and good guys, wolves and geese. Trust. I love that it's little dark, that most of the heroes are women, and the Edward Gorey cover art cannot be beat. 

This One I Can't Believe I Haven't Mentioned
Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher isn't my favorite of her books (that would be Coming Home) but it's a really good, engrossing read about a group of people, all with painful pasts, brought together for the holiday. I mean, you can't beat a Christmas book set in the Scottish countryside, right? 

Honorable Mentions: Obviously Little Women is a classic with some good Christmas action and the Little House books (especially The Long Winter) have wonderful Christmas scenes in which we should all be delighted to get a tin cup, a stick of candy and an orange for gifts.