Book List December 2021
There is so much to celebrate at this time of the year. Hanukkah. The winter solstice. Christmas. Kwanzaa. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Enjoy this list of books that celebrate the diversity of celebration!
Hanukkah Lights: Stories of the Season from NPR’s Annual Holiday Special.
Twelve stories celebrating Hanukkah by contemporary authors.
Hanukkah in America: A History by Dianne Ashton
Examines regional variants of the ancient Jewish tradition.
Winter solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
Elfrida, a retired actress; Oscar, a recent widower; Carrie, recovering from a love affair; Lucy, Carrie’s niece; and Sam, deserted by his wife, spend the winter solstice in a Scottish cottage, where they form a lasting bond.
The Trouble with Angels by Debbie Macomber (#2 in the Angels series)
Angels Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy return to Earth to answer Christmas prayers.
The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas carol Rescued his Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford
With warmth, wit, and good cheer, Standiford shows how the unlikely success of “A Christmas Carol” revitalized Charles Dickens’s languishing career and revived the celebration of the near-forgotten Christmas holiday.
Kwanzaa: An African-American Celebration of Culture and Cooking by Eric V. Copage
A sourcebook for the week-long observance.
Complete Kwanzaa: Celebrating Our Cultural Harvest by D. Winbush Riley
An anthology of essays, folktales, poems, personal profiles, and recipes on the African American festival of Kwanzaa.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Resolution; 101 Stories–Great Ideas for Your Mind, Body, and Wallet by Jack Canfield
Ordinary people share resolutions they have made and kept.
If none of these books and holidays meet your needs this year, maybe you will decide to celebrate National Cookie Day, National Brownie Day, National Cocoa Day, or National Cupcake Day this month.
Baking with Mary Berry by Mary Berry
Collection of recipes and techniques for baking by one of the judges of PBS’s The Great British Baking Show. (Apparently her best recipe is a delicious lemon drizzle traybake.)