I always mean to read Christmas-y books in December but either don't have the time or the books I've carefully put aside for December are put aside so well I can't remember where they are. I usually find them in February and say "Next year..." then December rolls around and I'm saying "Where are those books..."
But this year I've broken the Christmas book cycle. I'm actually reading. Now, I could have gone straight to Richard Paul Evans who is the King of Christmas Books. (and the inevitable movies on the Hallmark Channel and other streaming spots). But that seemed a little too easy. So here a few authors NOT necessarily known for their Christmas books.
True, I did get a jump on the holiday season but, to be fair, it's been Christmas in the stores since mid-October, I've watched about half a dozen Christmas movies and I am dragging out the Christmas decorations tomorrow. So, as you're digesting your Thanksgiving dinner today, add this book to your Christmas reading list.
More About Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop
Christmas comes early—far too early—to McCredie’s little Old Town bookshop in Edinburgh. It’s summer, but an American production company has decided that McCredie’s is the perfect location to film a very cheesy Christmas movie. After all, who can resist the charmingly narrow historic street with its Victorian grey stone buildings and warmly lit shop windows?
Carmen Hogan, the bookshop’s manager, is amused and a bit horrified by the goings-on, but the money the studio is paying is too good to pass up. She uses the little windfall from filming to create new displays and fend off a buyout offer from an obnoxious millionaire who wants to turn McCredie’s into a souvenir shop selling kilts made in China and plastic Nessies. Still reeling slightly from a breakup, Carmen’s not particularly looking forward to the holidays. But just as snow begins to fall and the lights of Christmas blink on, all sorts of lovely new possibilities present themselves…for McCredie’s bookstore, and for Carmen herself.
More About Jenny Colgan
Jenny Colgan was born in Scotland and has lived in London, the Netherlands, the U.S. and France. She eventually settled on the wettest of all of these places, and currently lives just North of Edinburgh with her husband Andrew, her dog Nevil Shute, and her three children: Wallace, who is 11 and likes pretending to be 19 and not knowing what this embarrassing ‘family’ thing is that keeps following him about; Michael-Francis, who is 9 and likes making new friends on aeroplanes, and Delphine who is 7 and is mostly raccoon as far as we can tell so far.
Things Jenny likes include: cakes, far too much Doctor Who, wearing Converse trainers every day so her feet are now just gigantic big flat pans; baths only slightly cooler than the surface of the sun and very very long books, the longer the better.
Thoughts About Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop
Do you know those Christmas cookies that are jam-packed full of everything - nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, maybe a few sprinkles for fun? That's how I felt about Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop. There's romance (and heartbreak), family drama, adorable kids, community spirit, a touch of magic, a visit to a beautiful country. It's an ideal book to help you jumpstart the holiday mood.
The best part of the book? The characters. Jenny Colgan does a nice job of creating characters who capture your interest, evolve and make some surprising choices. She gives us a peek at the inner lives of many supporting characters. An interesting result of the rich development of these characters is I finished the book wanted to know more about even minor characters. What happened to Spoons? How was the expedition to Antarctica? Did Sofia regret going back to work? Where does McClockerty live now? Even though the story was neatly tied up with a bow at the end I was still wondering "But what about..."
For a fun holiday read Jenny Colgan delivers.
I didn't realize until I through quite a few chapters that Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop is actually a sequel to The Christmas Bookshop - same primary characters, different adventure. And now I want to read that one too because Carmen is so hopeless but lovable and I want to see how she was when she first stumbled into life in the Christmas Bookshop.
A Little Extra
This is the cover of Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop when it came out in the UK. Apparently they glitzed it up a bit for the US edition. I suppose I can understand because I originally picked up the American version with a "Oooh, Christmas" reflex. But overall, I like the English version so much better. First, it's purple and second, you can see the magical housetop conservatory. Everyone should forget about attics and just have housetop conservatories, don't you agree?
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