35 Best Christmas Books to Snuggle Up With This Holiday Season

The Oprah Magazine said Bookworm tip: Make sure your tablet is capable of showing off the vibrant colors.

The Oprah Magazine said No one can resist a Dickens classic this time of year. Same goes for author Samantha Silva, who pens a comical and haunting offshoot tale based on the man who wrote A Christmas Carol.

The Oprah Magazine said Perhaps you’re more acquainted with the film version starring an animated Tom Hanks, but opening Chris Van Allsburg’s illustrated classic is far more satisfying if you ask us.

The Oprah Magazine said The forward is written by British detective novelist Peter Lovesey, and each of the 16 globe-trotting caper tales take place somewhere else on the globe, be it Thailand, Copenhagen, or Korea. So when you need to get away, well, here you go.

The Oprah Magazine said It’s a story that manages to get to the heart of what the holiday means—sacrifice, forgiveness, and love—in less than a hundred pages.

The Oprah Magazine said As charming as it is dysfunctional, Winter Street is only your first stop in a series that includes four Christmas tales.

The Oprah Magazine said The Valancourt Book has compiled 13 ghost stories from 19th-century, Victorian-era periodicals into one absorbing tome that begs to be read by a crackling fire—enough reading light permitting, of course.

The Oprah Magazine said And so the journey into the Alaskan wilderness over the holidays to track down a handsome Bear Grylls-type begins.

The Oprah Magazine said Gregory Maguire really honed his spinoff skills when he whisked his loyal readers away to a land called Oz in his 1995 novel, Wicked. Two decades later, Maguire unleashed yet another award-winning, imaginative take on a beloved classic: Hiddensee is the enchanting story behind The Nutcracker.

The Oprah Magazine said Not only do we meet Sirius Black for the first time, but the core players—Harry, Ron, and Hermione—grow up right there on the page. Plus, Dementors, the Marauders, and Hermione punching Malfoy make for a fun re-read.

The Oprah Magazine said Calling all Great British Baking fans, Anita Hughes has a wintry holiday story that combines all your favorite things: London, cinnamon rolls, and reality TV.

The Oprah Magazine said Described as a “modern-day fairy tale,” best-selling author Kristin Hannah’s Comfort & Joy isn’t all just comfort and joy. There’s action and melancholy, in addition to love and second chances.

The Oprah Magazine said The book has recipes for shortbread, scones, and black bread.

The Oprah Magazine said Penning what would become a staple of holidays to come, Dickens offered his Christmas Carol as a last-ditch effort to save his career. And save his career, it did. There’s also an excellent, almost forgotten film adaptation starring Dan Stevens as the Dickens himself.

The Oprah Magazine said An instant must-read from its title alone, playwright James Kirkwood’s holiday tale, which was adapted from his stage success of the same name, belongs to a guy whose holiday season has been the dumps.

The Oprah Magazine said You simply cannot have Christmas without Dickens. The classic story that tracks the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge from greedy old miser to joyful kind chum through a series of supernatural visits has been adapted for every taste, genre, and demographic.

The Oprah Magazine said It joins The Fir Tree as some of Andersen’s most storied Christmas tales, and the illustrations here can't be beat.

The Oprah Magazine said It’s the story of a mousy tailor working on the mayor’s clothes for a Christmas Day wedding that’s perfect to read aloud in front of a fire.

The Oprah Magazine said Unwrap the short story that puts the season’s gift-giving tradition squarely into perspective: A tale of love and sacrifice.

The Oprah Magazine said In the words of Reese Witherspoon, the founder of Hello Sunshine,“Get ready to be swept up in a whirlwind romance. It absolutely charmed me.”

The Oprah Magazine said The Treasury weaves in themes the holidays require—love, faith, and remembrance—with those it works to reject—racism, violence, and poverty.

The Oprah Magazine said The author who served us Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood endearingly reminisces about baking fruitcakes with his elderly cousin-slash-best friend in a holiday memoir that serves as a love letter to Capote’s Alabama boyhood.

The Oprah Magazine said It was originally recorded for the radio, so consider going for the audio book.

The Oprah Magazine said An unforgettable fantasy for those young and young at heart, Dr. Seuss’s comedic romp through Whoville has been adapted for every medium under the sun. But it’s the doc’s illustrated classic that remedies the season’s humbugs for us.

The Oprah Magazine said It’s fiction that is just the antidote to the inevitable overdose of good tidings brought on this time of year.

The Oprah Magazine said All is fair in love and wartime epistolary dramas. From Hazel Gaynor, Last Christmas in Paris mixes fiction with non to reveal a love that blossoms during the horrors of WWI.

The Oprah Magazine said Gogol’s classic is one of good and evil, as a blacksmith battles the devil for the heart of a beautiful woman.

The Oprah Magazine said A departure from Alexandre Dumas’s sweet-as-sugar plums version. And totally worth the read.

The Oprah Magazine said A suicidal man perched on the edge of a bridge is interrupted by divine intervention. Sound familiar? That’s because Philip Van Doren Stern’s classic 1943 short story about a man named George who gets a glimpse of what the world would be like without him in it is the inspiration for another holiday mainstay: Frank Capra’s stalwart film starring Jimmy Stewart in the lead, It’s a Wonderful Life.

The Oprah Magazine said There are meet-cutes, mistletoe makeouts, and merry lovemaking in this novel inspired by Meghan Markle's mom. We’ll remain hopeful for Best Man director Malcolm D. Lee’s film adaptation.

The Oprah Magazine said Celebrations is a capsule for some of acclaimed poet Maya Angelou’s most legendary verses, including her poem Amazing Peace, which she wrote and recited for the 2005 White House tree lighting event.

The Oprah Magazine said A page-turning comedy, it’s an easy read best coupled with bunny slippers and takeout. And don’t worry: Reading from cover to cover won’t put your eye out.

The Oprah Magazine said The story begins with the March sisters enduring their first Christmas without their father and ends a year later when he returns on Christmas Day. Another Christmas Day arrival? Greta Gerwig’s film adaptation.

The Oprah Magazine said Calling all Hallmark friends. Take a break from the network’s endless stream of holiday movies and open Fannie Flagg’s feel-good fairy tale for grown-ups instead. You will not be sorry.

The Oprah Magazine said Essentially The Family Stone in book form, Francesca Hornak’s weeklong reunion is a comedy of manners and dysfunction.