100 Festive Reads: Books to Read This Christmas

We love that magical cosy vibe of snuggling down with in December. As we slow down for the winter season, let’s follow our hibernation instincts and take the time to rest whilst absorbing some great stories. 

To help you choose some winter reading this season we have pulled together an epic list of 100 festive reads. This is a super long list of 100 books for Christmas and the general winter season.

At the Nookery Book Club we are all about recommending a diverse range of genres and themes for your reading pleasure. And so here you will find cosy Christmas romances, atmospheric winter tales, and books that make you feel at one with the winter season. 

Grab yourself your favourite hot beverage, or perhaps a tipple or two, and get settled in for your winter festive read.

1. Cosy Christmas and Holiday Romance

Warm-hearted stories about hope and holiday sparkle, these festive romances are full of cosy Christmas love stories.

1. The Christmas Bookshop - Jenny Colgan (get your copy)

2. One Day in December - Josie Silver (get your copy)

3. The Second Chance Café - Amanda Prowse (get your copy)

4. The Holiday Swap - Maggie Knox (get your copy)

5. The Christmas Orphans Club - Becca Freeman (get your copy)

6. Good Spirits - B.K. Borison (get your copy)

7. Christmas Fling - Lindsey Kelk (get your copy)

8. All We Want for Christmas - Phillipa Ashley (get your copy)

9. The Christmas Tree Farm - Laurie Gilmore (get your copy)

10. All Together for Christmas - Sarah Morgan (get your copy)

2. Contemporary Winter Fiction and Feel-Good Reads

Heartfelt stories with community, connection, and hope at their core. Perfect for quiet winter nights.

11. Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan (get your copy)

12. The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey (get your copy)

13. The Snow Globe - Sheila Roberts (get your copy)

14. Winter Solstice - Rosamunde Pilcher (get your copy)

15. The Christmas Lights - Karen Swan (get your copy)

16. A Winter’s Tale - Trisha Ashley (get your copy)

17. Winter Street - Elin Hilderbrand (get your copy)

18. Winter Garden - Kristin Hannah (get your copy)

19. The Book of Beginnings - Sally Page (get your copy) [plus bonus short story - New Beginnings For Christmas (get your copy)]

20. The Dog - Kerstin Ekman (get your copy)

3. Wintery Literary Fiction and Atmospheric Novels

Beautiful prose, emotional depth, and haunting winter settings.

21. Winter - Ali Smith (get your copy)

22. The Winter People - Jennifer McMahon (get your copy)

23. The Ice Palace - Tarjei Vesaas (Norwegian, translated) (get your copy)

24. The Blue Fox - Sjón (Icelandic, translated) (get your copy)

25. Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata (Japanese, translated) (get your copy)

26. The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden (get your copy)

27. The Brothers - Asko Sahlberg (Finnish, translated) (get your copy)

28. Out Stealing Horses - Per Petterson (Norwegian, translated) (get your copy)

29. The Dark Is Rising - Susan Cooper (get your copy)

30. A Spell of Winter - Helen Dunmore (get your copy)

4. Festive Crime, Cosy Mysteries and Winter Thrillers

For those who like a little suspense mixed with snowfall.

31. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas - Agatha Christie (get your copy)

32. The Christmas Jigsaw Murders - Alexandra Benedict (get your copy)

33. The Mistletoe Murder - P.D. James (get your copy)

34. The Hunting Party - Lucy Foley (get your copy)

35. The Sanatorium - Sarah Pearse (get your copy)

36. A Fatal Grace - Louise Penny (get your copy)

37. Death Goes on Skis - Nancy Spain (get your copy)

38. The Ice Princess - Camilla Läckberg (Swedish, translated) (get your copy)

39. Snowblind - Ragnar Jónasson (get your copy)

40. The Santa Klaus Murder - Mavis Doriel Hay (get your copy)

5. Historical Fiction with Winter Vibes

Stories for times passed with atmosphere, emotion, and richly drawn winter settings.

41. Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson (get your copy)

42. The White Guard - Mikhail Bulgakov (get your copy)

43. The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman (get your copy)

44. Wolf Winter - Cecilia Ekbäck (get your copy)

45. Burial Rites - Hannah Kent (get your copy)

46. Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier (get your copy)

47. Snow - Orhan Pamuk  (get your copy)

48. The Frozen River - Ariel Lawhorn (get your copy)

49. The Land in Winter - Andrew Miller (get your copy)

50. A Haunting in the Arctic - C.J. Cooke (get your copy)

6. Winter Magical Realism and Cosy Fantasy

Enchanting, whimsical, and perfect for winter escapism.

51. Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik (get your copy)

52. North Child - Edith Pattou (get your copy)

53. The Winter Spirits - Various Authors (get your copy)

54. Elatsoe - Darcie Little Badger (get your copy)

55. The House in the Cerulean Sea - T.J. Klune  (get your copy)

56. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab (get your copy)

57. The Winter of the Witch - Katherine Arden (get your copy)

58. The Hogfather - Terry Pratchett (get your copy)

59. The Nutcracker - E. T. A. Hoffmann (get your copy)

60. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries - Heather Fawcett (get your copy)

7. Winter Short Stories, Novellas and Quick December Reads

When you're short on time but craving a seasonal winter or festive story these short stories are perfect to set the scene and get you in the wintery mood.

61. Christmas Days - Jeanette Winterson (get your copy)

62. The Gift of the Magi - O. Henry (get your copy)

63. Twas the Night Before Christmas - Clement C. Moore (get your copy)

64. The Fir Tree - Hans Christian Andersen (get your copy)

65. The Snow Queen - Hans Christian Andersen (get your copy)

66. A Winter Book - Tove Jansson (get your copy)

67. Advent - Gunnar Gunnarsson (get your copy)

68. Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton (get your copy)

69. A Child’s Christmas in Wales - Dylan Thomas (get your copy)

70. A Christmas Memory - Truman Capote (get your copy)

8. Non-Fiction, Memoir and Seasonal Lifestyle

Quiet, reflective winter reads and real-life stories to enjoy this winter.

71. Wintering - Katherine May (get your copy)

72. The Christmas Chronicles - Nigel Slater (get your copy)

73. At Christmas We Feast - Annie Gray (get your copy)

74. Winter: A Journey - Karl Ove Knausgaard (get your copy)

75. The Little Book of Hygge - Meik Wiking (get your copy)

76. Wintering: A Season with Geese - Stephen Rutt (get your copy)

77. The Secret Life of Snow - Giles Whittell (get your copy)

78. Our Frozen Planet - Jurg Alean and Michael Hambrey (get your copy)

79. Winter: The Story of a Season - Val McDermid (get your copy)

80. The Dead of Winter: The Demons, Witches and Ghosts of Christmas - Sarah Clegg (get your copy)

9. Christmas Cooking and Festive Baking

Delicious treat, epic feasts, and all they joyfulness we get from coming together to cook at Christmas.

81. Nigella Christmas - Nigella Lawson (get your copy)

82. Scandikitchen Christmas - Brontë Aurell (get your copy)

83. Mary Berry’s Christmas Collection - Mary Berry (get your copy)

84. What’s For Christmas Dinner? - Sarah Rossi (get your copy)

85. The Christmas Companion - Skye McAlpine (get your copy)

86. Winter in the Highlands - Flora Shedden (get your copy)

87. The German Christmas Cookbook - Jürgen Krauss (get your copy)

88. Christmas at River Cottage - Lucy Brazier and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (get your copy)

89. The Veggie Christmas Cookbook - Heather Thomas (get your copy)

90. A Year of Feasting & Festivities - Lia Leendertz (get your copy)

10. Festive and Winter Reads for Children and Teens

Magical reads for little ones and nostalgic treats for adults too.

91. Letters from Father Christmas - J.R.R. Tolkien (get your copy)

92. The Christmasaurus - Tom Fletcher (get your copy)

93. A Boy Called Christmas - Matt Haig (get your copy)

94. The Snowman - Raymond Briggs (get your copy)

95. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - Dr. Seuss (get your copy)

96. The Jolly Christmas Postman - Allan & Janet Ahlberg (get your copy)

97. The Empty Stocking - Richard Curtis (get your copy)

98. Greenglass House - Kate Milford (get your copy)

99. The Wolf Wilder - Katherine Rundell (get your copy)

100. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis (get your copy)

We hope you find something festive and/or wintry to enjoy from this epic list of 100 festive books. Have a great winter! Check out the full list here.

If you do buy anything from this list you will be supporting local independent bookshops. We have joined the Bookshop.org affiliate scheme so we might also get a few pennies if you purchase through our link. Thank you in advance for supporting small businesses and keeping the bookstore dreams alive!