Whether reading aloud to overexcited children or carving out some much-needed alone time, there’s no better way to enjoy the Christmas holidays than sitting down with a good book. Here are 12 classics you can read time and again to get you in the festive spirit.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
An obvious choice, but what can you do? It is simply the greatest Christmas story ever written, and somehow it just gets better every time you read it. Originally published on December 19th, 1843, it has never been out of print. It has been adapted countless times into films, TV shows, operas, radio plays, musicals, and even video games. But nothing comes close to conjuring the magic of the original. Except, perhaps, for The Muppet Christmas Carol – the greatest literary adaptation of all time.
From the very first page it’s like a lightning bolt of pure, undiluted storytelling blasted into your frontal lobe. You see each scene so clearly it feels like time-travel. If you’re not feeling very festive (looking at the state of the world, who could blame you?), just give A Christmas Carol a read. Afterwards, you will carry in your heart a little ember of hope, at least for a little while.
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
An autobiographical tale recounting the friendship between a seven-year-old narrator, Buddy, and his unnamed elderly cousin, A Christmas Memory is a poignant classic that is still quite overlooked on this side of the Atlantic. Set in the Prohibition Alabama of Capote’s childhood, the scene might be one of hardship and poverty, but it is all shot through with the optimism and wonder only a child could muster. The memory of the title revolves around Buddy and his “friend” scrounging what they can to make fruitcakes – a tradition he looks forward to every year.
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Like all good Christmas stories, it has the power to suddenly and unexpectedly bring tears to your eyes. If you own a copy of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, have a flick to the back; both stories were often published in the same editions.
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
Charles Manx is a supernatural creep who drives a big old Rolls Royce, kidnaps children and drags them to a nightmare realm he calls “Christmasland”. Victoria McQueen is the only kid to ever have escaped Christmasland - an experience that has, naturally enough, left her traumatised. Now grown-up with a child of her own, Vic is struggling to hold on to her sanity. And to make matters worse, Manx is back. He never forgot the one that got away, and by God he’s going to have his revenge. Standard uplifting Christmas fare, really. Joe Hill has called NOS4A2 his PhD thesis in horror, and it’s hard to argue. Some scenes are honestly terrifying, and the tension between festive frivolity and cosmic horror is very well done.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
It is rare that as you are reading a book for the first time, you are already looking forward to subsequent re-readings. It is rarer still that a recently published book is almost universally lauded as an instant classic. But both are true of Claire Keegan’s slim and sublime Small Things Like These.
In 1985 New Ross, coal merchant and family man Bill Furlong is getting ready for Christmas. While delivering coal to the local convent he slowly realises it is, in fact, a Magdalene laundry. On his next visit he finds a young girl locked in a freezing coal shed and he realises his conscience won’t allow him to do what the rest of the town is doing: turning a blind eye.
It is a story that elicits a powerful emotional response, especially in Irish readers. Pity for the women, girls and babies who suffered. Anger at the people who made them suffer, and those who silenced them. Shame at our collective indifference – then and now. Pride that there might still be a few people like Bill left in the world, and hope that we might be one of them.
Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp
As unlikely as it seems, there will be times over the Christmas holidays where you will simply be unable to watch Die Hard. Do not despair, for you can carry with you at all times this 1979 thriller on which the film was based. See if any of this sounds familiar: retired NYPD cop Joseph Leland visits the 40-storey headquarters of the Klaxon Oil Corporation to pick up his daughter from her Christmas party. While he’s there a bunch of German terrorists (led by Anton Gruber) takes everyone hostage, so Leland has to eliminate them one by one (barefooted, of course). Clearly the film changed some key details, but part of the fun of reading Nothing Lasts Forever is recognising what scenes remained the same. Remember, though, this is hard-boiled 1970s pulp fiction, so set your taste receptors accordingly.
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen
Not everyone loves Christmas, and that’s absolutely fine. If you’re in the mood to wallow in some sweet festive misery, Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads is just the ticket. Taking place on December 23rd, 1971, this is the story of a deeply dysfunctional family falling apart. Each character is so fully realised it doesn’t take long to become completely absorbed in their lives. Russ Hildebrandt is a ridiculous pastor suffering through a crisis of faith while lusting after a young widow. His wife, Marion, has a traumatic past she keeps hidden from her family.
Their four children each have their own problems. Perry, a 14-year-old genius, has been selling drugs but vows to be a better person - an ambition that will end in disaster. Clem, the eldest, drops out of college so he can enlist to fight in Vietnam. Their sister Becky, a popular straight-A student, is getting swept up in the counter-culture movement.
Just being in the presence of these people will make you feel better about your own life. If that all sounds grim, reading Crossroads is anything but. It is at times uproariously funny, and turns out to be Franzen’s warmest book by far.
Misery by Stephen King
Picture this: you are sitting in a peaceful log cabin, far from the din of city life. You look out your bedroom window and marvel at the stillness of all that freshly-fallen snow. A sturdy nurse named Annie Wilkes is at your beck and call. She’s even brought you a nice typewriter with the finest paper for you to write a story. She’s the only person in the whole wide world who knows you’re here, so of course she’s going to take good care of you.
Sure, she might be inclined to violently punish you if you try to leave, but why would you even want to? You have everything you need right here. Misery isn’t technically a Christmas book, but with all that snow and log cabin cosiness, it certainly feels like one.
The Green Road by Anne Enright
Christmas for a lot of Irish families is all about reunions. The joy of seeing a loved one after so long, however, can be tinged with bitter-sweetness. Everyone knows it will be all too brief. Soon sons will fly back to Australia, daughters back to London, brothers back to New York, cousins back to Berlin. If you have a family member or friend coming home for Christmas, will you notice how much they have changed in the months or years since you saw them last? Will they notice how much you have changed?
At its heart, this is what The Green Road is about. In fact, the first part of the book is titled “Leaving”, and the second part “Coming Home”. We follow the lives of four siblings (when it comes to Christmas stories, four seems to be the magic number) as they come back for one last Christmas before the family home is sold.
Brightly Shining by Ingvild Rishøi, translated by Caroline Waight
Nominated for the 2026 Dublin Literary Award, Brightly Shining was hailed as a modern classic when it was originally published in Norway a few years ago. Set in Oslo, it is narrated by 10-year-old Ronja who, when her alcoholic dad goes missing, takes his place working in a Christmas tree market.
This is no fairy-tale; there is a heart-breaking tension between a child’s optimism and the harsh reality of poverty and addiction. It does, however, remind us that Christmas shouldn’t be about frenzied consumerism. Instead we should aim to be grateful for what we have and do what we can for those who need a helping hand.
Three to read aloud at bedtime
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Nobody wants to make a child cry at Christmas, but suffering through the loss of a beloved literary character is a rite of passage. Who, after all, could ever forget the pain of reading Charlotte’s Web for the first time?
Little Women starts in cold Massachusetts with four sisters and their mother preparing for Christmas without their father, who is serving as a chaplain in the American Civil War. In a book filled with little acts of kindness, here we see a big one: the girls selflessly give their Christmas breakfast to a local family far worse off than them. Later, when Beth - the second-youngest sister - contracts scarlet fever, little ears might naturally rail against the inevitable. But the message is clear: compassion and generosity are not just to be employed at Christmas; they are the key to living a good life.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
When four siblings are sent from London to the country to escape the Blitz, they find themselves in a sprawling manor with one very curious wardrobe. From the moment Lucy steps through the portal into snowy Narnia, any tucked-up kids listening will be rapt. It is a familiar story so brilliantly told: a magical land filled with friendly beavers, tea-drinking fauns and vicious wolves, all under the rule of the White Witch.
This is probably not one to read on Christmas Eve; by the time you get to Aslan’s sacrifice and glorious resurrection your audience will be wide awake and cheering.
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore
Now here is something you absolutely should read aloud on Christmas Eve. Also known as “A Visit from St Nicholas”, it was originally published anonymously in a New York newspaper called The Troy Sentinel on December 23rd, 1823, but later attributed to Clement C Moore. From how Santa delivers presents, to his use of reindeer, the poem has since had an extraordinary impact on how many of us think about Christmas.
Aside from the fascinating historical aspects, The Night Before Christmas is just a lot of fun to read. As you reach the final lines it is all but impossible not to bellow in your best Santa impression: “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
