BOOKS

Winter is the *best* time of year to curl up near the twinkling lights and crack open a good book. But is your search for a read to bring all the merry vibes coming back empty-handed? We've got you covered! From meet-cute-worthy romance to poems and prose, here are five holiday books recs to read this holiday season. Cue the hot chocolate! 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

@aclassicbook

The only proper way to start off this list would be with *the* quintessential Dec. 25th novel. If you aren't familiar with it, this Christmas tale is set in Britain during the 1840s and follows the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a lonely miser unprepared for the night that awaits him on Christmas Eve. If you're wishing spooky season would last just a little longer, this ghostly tale is perfect for you. 

Home for the Holidays by Heather Vogel Frederick

The song goes "there's no place like home for the holidays." However, for the girls of the Mother-Daughter Book Club, their hometown of Concord, Mass., is but a faint memory as they head off on their own holiday adventures. This book will totally transport you back in time; with plenty of drama, romance, friendship and dreamy destinations (snowy New Hampshire peaks *and* the sun-drenched Caribbean), it's a fun and festive read encompassing the whole Christmas season. 

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

@natsreadingnook

We don't know about you, but spending the holidays in NYC, running around the snowy city completing wacky tasks assigned to us by a snarky (yet dreamy) boy in a notebook has always been a fantasy of ours. You, too? Now you can live out that dream in an equally offbeat and charming YA novel. Head along the streets of the big apple with Dash and Lily as they complete dares from a certain mysterious red notebook. (Sound familiar? A Netflix original series based on this book premiered in 2020. Win-win!) 

A Vintage Christmas 

If you're drowning in finals, last-minute Christmas shopping and holiday parties but still want to get some winter reading in, try this poetry and short story collection. With work from well-known authors including Louisa May Alcott, L.M. Montgomery, Mark Twain, Anne Brontë and more, this compilation of short and sweet Christmas pieces is the perfect pick-me-up when rushing between activities. You'll be transported into an old-timey world of crackling fires and magical moments in no time!

One Day in December by Josie Silver

@abigailscupoftea

Imagine seeing your *total* dream guy through a frost-coated bus window on a freezing December day. However, then the bus pulls away without you catching the mystery man and so your life moves on. But when he suddenly reappears on another winter night years later, what will happen? This book is the perfect rom-com Christmas read and will bring you all the heartwarming feels. 

Tell us which book is your fave on Twitter @girlslifemag!

Stay in the Christmas spirit with these posts...
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🎁 How to host the cutest gingerbread house party for your crew

Slider image: @anishasreadsandrambles | GIFs via GIPHY

by Madeline Morrow | 12/22/2022