Harold Bloom once wrote how reading is, “The proper use of one’s solitude whose final form is one’s confrontation of one’s own mortality.”
Reading teaches us how to be alone. Picture it: the house is silent, save for the comforting creaking of furniture and the distant snoring of the rest of the family, who are sleeping away the turbulence of Christmas lunch. A glass of port is shimmering in its glass, waiting for your kiss and sip. And a good book is warming up on your lap, purring away.
And when the book you’re reading is so good that you’re giving it a second reading, the pleasure comes in double helpings.
Christmas classics, especially, deserve a second, even a third reading. And that’s because with every reading, you discover something new – a character who you previously disliked becomes your imaginary best friend, meanings hiding underneath a dog-ear reveal themselves, and you turn down the heat on a chapter which you had sped through with boiled over rush and sip it like a simmering soup. Delicious.
Read a classic book this Christmas. It’s the greatest gift you can give yourself, and the one with the longest shelf life.
Vintage classics
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
This is the greatest classic of them all – the first and most passionate Christmas love. The characters, from Ebenezer Scrooge to Tiny Tim, are eternal creations, who will see us through yet another Christmas.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr Seuss
This modern classic for the young and old tells the story of how the bitter Grinch plans to hijack Christmas by stealing all the gifts and decorations from the people of Whoville. A pleasure in rhyme.
A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
A charming and nostalgic tale of a childhood Christmas in a small Welsh town. A precious read, especially the original edition with illustrations by Edward Ardizzone.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L May
It seems like he has been around for ages, yet Rudolph is quite a recent creation. The red-nosed reindeer was created by copywriter Robert L May as a promotional giveaway for a chain of department stores. Whatever his origins, we still love Rudolph.
Christmas Memory, One Christmas, and The Thanksgiving Visitor by Truman Capote
This book brings together three of Truman Capote’s most popular short stories. The author of In Cold Blood goes for a trip down memory lane as he indulges in some childhood nostalgia.
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
This is definitely a new direction for the king of crime. Grisham follows a middle-aged couple, the Kranks, as they try and escape Christmas by booking a Caribbean cruise. But the neighbours all want them to stay home.
Horrible Christmas – Horrible Histories Special by Terry Deary
The kids will love this – Terry Deary’s gory book does away with all the festive niceties and instead gives the reader a cruel Yule full of spine-chilling nuggets. Have a horribly horrible Christmas.
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie
For the queen of crime, even Christmas is perfect for a deadly game. Multi-millionaire Simeon Lee invites his family home for Christmas, but instead of a slice of Christmas cake and a glass of mulled wine, what he offers them is murder. Enter Hercule Poirot.