26 Holiday Books That Will Bring A Little Joy Back To 2020

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but no one could blame you for feeling as if it just isn’t. For many, the pandemic has made celebrating the holiday far less celebratory. While some may be finding clever ways to stay socially distant this holiday — outdoor get togethers and Zoom grids, are just a few options — others might prefer to spend this one alone. Instead of having a blue Christmas — or whatever holiday you choose to celebrate — without the ones you love, use this time to cuddle up with a good book. In our humble opinion, the best holiday books could bring a little joy back to 2020. 

It’s why we are offering 26 books that will put you in the holiday reading spirit from now until the new year. Make room alongside all those sugarplums dancing in your head for a royal holiday rom-com, a pastry-focused novella, a second chance Kwanzaa romance, and a biography that covers Christmas’s humble beginnings. Oh, and not one, but two books titled 12 Dates Of Christmas and a book that gets into the mathematics behind the holiday season.

From a yule log cake thriller to a collection of nostalgic Hanukkah memories, these are the books that will keep you from saying “bah humbug” to the whole concept of the holidays. For those that don’t mind being on the naughty list, we also have a book or two that will make this chilly season as hot as your cocoa. Whether you’re down with Santa Claus, lighting the menorah, or celebrating the winter solstice, ‘tis the season for cracking open a good book.