Rebecca

My Christmas is Booked: Sugarplum-Free

There are as many kinds of readers in the world as there are varieties of books, and this is a good thing! If we all read the same thing, it would get so boring – not to mention harder to get your hands on new releases. For those who are not readers of Romance, it can sometimes feel tricky finding festive reads not featuring mistletoe kisses and romantic gestures. Hopefully today’s post can provide inspiration for some alternative holiday reads.
**Note: Some of these I have not read {yet!}, so cannot speak to content.

Christmas with a Side of Murder:
The above phrase will always make me giggle. There’s a surprising number of murder-y Christmas books, and if you want something not-so-sweet, this is definitely a good category to peruse. I’ll start with books I have read, then share others that are on the TBR and/or have caught my eye.

And now for the ones that have caught my eye, hopefully I’ll be able to read one or two this season!

Literary and/or Historically Minded:
Sometimes it feels like all fiction is romantic, but Romance hasn’t always been so prevalent. Festive reading has many options that have literary or historical foundations, and while a few of those may feature a relationship/”romance” they are not themselves love stories. The Christmas Carol is a prime candidate for retellings and explorations, as is The Nutcracker, as you’ll see in the list below. Again, starting with books I’ve read and then moving into unknown-but-intriguing territory.

Not as many of these on the TBR {compared to the murder-y ones}, but I also feel certain there are more options out there waiting to be discovered.

And of course, as Elisabeth noted, there’s always festive nonfiction, including cookbooks! I love browsing through a cookbook, and many of the holiday ones can double as decor.

Have you read any of these?
Can you think of other non-Romance books that would be a good addition to the list?
A “Fast and Festive” recommendation list of shorter reads will be coming soon, and until then, you can search the My Christmas is Booked tag for books mentioned/featured previously.

12 comments

  1. These are great suggestions! I read one book last year that wasn’t a romance (A Christmas Quilt) and I was so relieved. I do read some romance but it isn’t my primary genre anytime of the year, let alone Christmas. Now watch me read a Christmas romance this year and love it. đŸ¤£đŸ˜‚

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  2. Oooh I hope Jenny sees this post! She was just asking about murder-y Christmas books! I have tried to read seasonal books in the past, but just ended up missing my normal reading. But maybe I just need to try some of these murder mysteries???

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    • I highly recommend Christmas with a side of murder đŸ˜‰ LOL! But really, it’s nice to have the festive vibes with the mystery element. Probably my favorite on this list is The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year đŸ˜€

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  3. I‘ve only read “The Christmas Carol”, Rebecca. Most of the books that I read nowadays are non-fiction books. And when I’m searching for fictions to read, I don’t recall I ever specific searched for holiday-themed fictions, either. I cannot think of other non-Romance books that would be an addition – good addition or not – to the list. When I’m searching for non-fiction books to read, I’m not specifically looking for festive nonfiction books, either. There are no differences between the books that I choose read at this time of the year and the books that I choose to read at any other time of the year. I just have no such habits of searching specifically for festive books to read just because it is November or December.

    Of course, I do hope you get a chance to read all of the books in today’s blog post that you haven’t read so that you can find out which ones you like, Rebecca. I’m just saying that I will not add to this list.

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    • The Christmas Carol is such an enduring classic đŸ™‚

      Honestly, I don’t think I ever looked for/read festive books “on purpose” until I started working at the Library. And even then, at first it was just picking up a random book here or there as it caught my eye on the shelves. I didn’t start reading a lot of Christmas/holiday books until 2020 đŸ™‚

      Thanks for stopping by! đŸ™‚

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