Christmas Day 2026 falls on Friday, December 25
Christmas Books to Read by the Fire
16 picks · updated October 2026
Christmas fiction runs short, which suits the last weeks of the year: a novella in an evening, a story before bed. These range from Dickens and Capote to Pratchett's Discworld take on the holiday and a Poirot locked-room murder.
How this list was chosen
Chosen by hand: novels, novellas, stories, essays and letters with Christmas at their heart, from the 1840s to now.
A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens
Redemption takes center stage in this quintessential Victorian narrative, where the haunting specter of greed confronts the possibility of a transformed life on Christmas Eve.
Explores: Redemption, Social Injustice, Greed.
Small Things Like These
Claire Keegan
In New Ross in 1985, coal merchant Bill Furlong makes his Christmas deliveries and finds a girl locked in the coal shed of the convent's Magdalene laundry.
Explores: Moral Dilemma, Community Secrets, Social Injustice.
A Christmas Memory
Truman Capote
Seven-year-old Buddy and his elderly cousin, his best friend, spend a rural Alabama November baking thirty Christmas fruitcakes, some mailed to strangers including President Roosevelt.
The Gift of the Magi
O. Henry
On Christmas Eve, a poor young New York couple each sell their greatest treasure — Della her hair, Jim his gold watch — to buy the other a gift.
Hogfather
Terry Pratchett
When the Auditors hire an assassin to make the Discworld's children stop believing in the Hogfather, Death puts on the red suit and delivers Hogswatch presents himself.
Hercule Poirot's Christmas
Agatha Christie
A bloody family reunion provides a chilling, locked-room mystery that subverts the traditional expectations of holiday harmony and seasonal peace.
Explores: Family Secrets, Greed, Suspicion.
Holidays on Ice
David Sedaris
Opening with “SantaLand Diaries,” about working as an elf at Macy's in Manhattan, these essays and stories skewer Christmas pageants, newsletters and seasonal goodwill.
Explores: holiday cynicism, observational humor, social critique.
Little Women
Louisa May Alcott
The domestic struggles of four sisters navigating poverty during the Civil War demonstrate the enduring strength found in family bonds throughout the winter months.
Explores: Sisterhood, Poverty, Civil War Era.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Clive Staples Lewis
Four children step through a wardrobe into Narnia, where the White Witch keeps it always winter and never Christmas — until Father Christmas arrives with gifts.
Explores: Good vs Evil, Sacrifice, Redemption.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Dr. Seuss
A mountain-dwelling recluse discovers that the essence of the season exists entirely outside of the physical goods he attempts to steal from the village.
Letters from Father Christmas
J. R. R. Tolkien
Whimsical illustrations and handwritten notes from the North Pole offer an intimate, charming glimpse into the legendary life of Father Christmas himself.
The Mistletoe Murder
P. D. James
Four Christmas crime stories, two featuring a young Adam Dalgliesh, open with a crime novelist recalling a wartime Christmas house party and the murder in it.
Winter Solstice
Rosamunde Pilcher
At a rambling house in the north of Scotland, a retired actress, a grieving widower and three strays gather for a Christmas that starts to mend them all.
Skipping Christmas
John Grisham
A couple’s attempt to opt out of the holiday season highlights the intense social pressure and frantic commercialism that define modern December life.
Explores: Holiday burnout, Social nonconformity, Small-town peer pressure.
In a Holidaze
Christina Lauren
Maelyn's Christmas at a Utah cabin ends in a car crash, and she wakes on the plane there, reliving the week until she admits her feelings for Andrew.
Explores: second chances, destiny, holiday magic.
The Christmas Pig
J.K. Rowling
A child’s desperate search for a lost toy anchors this adventure, showing how far love will travel to retrieve a treasured possession.
Common questions
Are there any good Christmas murder mysteries to read?
Yes, you can read Agatha Christie's 'Hercule Poirot's Christmas' for a classic locked-room mystery or P.D. James's 'The Mistletoe Murder' for a collection of suspenseful short stories written specifically for the holiday season.
What are some lighthearted or funny books to read for Christmas?
For humor, try David Sedaris's 'Holidays on Ice' for cynical observational essays, or John Grisham's 'Skipping Christmas' for a satire about the pressures of modern holiday traditions. Terry Pratchett's 'Hogfather' also offers a comedic, fantasy-filled take on holiday chaos.
Can you recommend a classic Christmas book about redemption?
Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol' is the definitive classic regarding redemption. It follows the transformation of a greedy, cold-hearted man who is visited by spirits on Christmas Eve, ultimately learning the value of generosity and compassion.