Top ten books to read over the holidays

This is a guest post written by Emily Mansfield.

It’s that time of year again – rainy skies, dark and windy evenings, holiday lights brightening the streets – when curling up with a hot chocolate and a good book seems just decadently attractive. If you’re looking for ideas for what to read this holiday season, here (after much consideration!), are my top ten novels to lose yourself in this winter.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

It’s January 1946, and British writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a man she’s never met, from the German-occupied island of Guernsey. A correspondence begins, and the eccentric, literature-loving inhabitants of the island come to fantastic life for her in this charming and often hilarious story.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbary

An unexpected French bestseller, this quirky, intelligent novel has a cast of complex and surprisingly loveable characters. Set in a posh Parisian apartment building, the story centers around the vivid inner worlds of the concierge Renee Michel, and the brilliant, introspective twelve-year-old Paloma Josse. The arrival of a new tenant prompts transformation for them both – in true bittersweet, moving French style.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

At the birthday party of a successful Japanese businessman visiting South America, the highlight is supposed to be the singing of a world-class soprano. Then a band of terrorists breaks in, and the guests find themselves hostages. The interactions of this group, told with gentle humor and lyrical prose, show the strength of the human desire to connect – even in the most unlikely situations.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Winner of the 1997 Booker Prize, this politically charged drama focuses on the antics of young twins Estha and Rahel and the swirling tensions of their family in Kerala, southern India. With playful wordplay and keen insight, Roy tells the story of characters who “tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much.” Terrible, wonderful, and unforgettable.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

This much-loved philosophical adventure narrative is about Pi Patel, the son of a zoo-keeper, born in Pondicherry, India. He and his father are planning a move to Canada, but halfway across the Pacific Ocean disaster strikes, and their ships sinks. Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with a 450-pound Bengal tiger, pitted in an astonishing struggle to survive. Winner of the 2002 Booker Prize.

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

This #1 New York Times bestseller is the story of a book club with a difference: held in Iran under the strict Islamic rule of Ayatollah Khomeini, Nafisi’s friends must wear veils, and read banned Western novels in photocopies. Reading about people who struck out for freedom gives these women the courage to stand up against repression in their own lives. A fascinating and extraordinary book.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

The classic British tale of gothic suspense and romance, as powerful today as when it was written in 1938, and a perfect indulgence for a dark December night. When the young and newly-wedded Mrs. de Winter arrives for the first time at her husband’s mansion she discovers that his impeccably glamorous first wife, Rebecca, although now dead, still has a powerful hold on the household. As the story of how she died gradually unravels you will get chills, I promise.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Another classic – and a heartwarming family novel. The successes and tribulations of the four March girls are told with realism and compassion in Alcott’s famous novel. Meg, the oldest, is down to earth and ever practical; Jo is a boisterous tomboy, and wants to be a writer; Beth is kind and quiet; and Amy, the youngest, dreams of being an artist. Their coming-of-age story is one to read again and again.

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

The story of beautiful and intelligent Bathsheba Everdene is the first of Hardy’s Wessex novels, as well as the brightest and most uplifting. When Bathsheba inherits her uncle’s farm, she shocks the county by choosing to manage it herself. Her clear-sightedness, however, does not extend to knowing how to respond to the three men who fall passionately in love with her.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Historical fiction at its best. Chevalier’s telling of the story behind Vermeer’s iconic painting is beautifully written, its emotional arc as pure and clear as the Dutch art that inspired her. The details of Delft in 1664 and the intricate processes of mixing paints are superbly rendered, and the sixteen-year-old heroine ushered into a precarious new world of beauty is memorable. Enjoy!

Emily Mansfield, featured writer and contributor, received her English degree from Cambridge University. She is a content manager for Guide to Online Schools, a resource provider for accredited online colleges.

disclosure: I did not receive payment for publishing this guest post.

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