Five Christmas books to get you in the festive spirit

1. Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries by Martin Edwards

This book contains 15 short stories revolving around crimes and mysteries during the festive period from authors including Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton and Dorothy L. Sayers. There is sure to be something to entertain you here, from creepy stories about a journalist spending the night in a haunted waxworks to tales of family tensions leading to arguments and murder.

2. Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

This charming book is a collection of letters Tolkien wrote to his three children from Father Christmas. The letters tell wonderful stories of Father Christmas’s home in the North Pole, his accident-prone best friend Polar Bear, and the troublesome goblins who try to steal children’s presents. Alongside the letters are illustrations Tolkien drew to accompany them. This is a short, fun read sure to get you in the festive spirit.

3. The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig

Matt Haig (of Reasons to Stay Alive fame) has written a fun illustrated children’s book about a girl named Amelia. When it seems that Christmas will be cancelled, she knows she is the only person who can save it. As with Haig’s other books, the main message at the heart of this story is one of hope, making this the perfect Christmas read.

4. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Of course I had to include this classic on the list. Even if you’ve seen the various film versions you haven’t fully experienced the story unless you’ve read Dickens’s magical prose. If you only have time to read one short story this Christmas, you had better make it a good one, and you can’t go wrong with A Christmas Carol.

5. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

I thought I should include something a bit different on this list for those who find themselves overwhelmed by the saccharine sweetness of the holidays. Christmas is a great time to settle down with a ghost story and The Woman in Black’s opening chapter is set at Christmastime. Prepare to be spooked…