We need a little spark, a little hope and a little magic to lift us all up as we will be spending Christmas in Lockdown. For this week our Book editor, Naomi Round brings you five wonderful reads to ignite the holiday spirits.
One day in December by Josie Silver ****
Author Josie Silver brings you yet another number 1 New York Times Bestseller with this remarkable love story. The book is about two people who against all the odds ends, fall in love.
One snowy Decemebr day, Laurie sees a man through a misted-up bus window. Although she is not a believer of love at first sight, the man awakens a feeling of longing inside her. She instantly knows that he is her soulmate. But before things can proceed her bus drives away.
Believing that fate will reunite them again, Laurie spends a year finding the man and ends up meeting him at a Christmas Party where she finds out that he is her best friend’s new boyfriend. What are the odds?
Laurie is pretty sure love, at first sight, doesn’t exist anywhere but in the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic… and then her bus drives away. What follows are the episode of friendship, new love, missed opportunities, and heartbreaks.
One Day in December is a heartwarming read, a moving love story that will make the readers believe in fate and love at first sight.
The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern *****
The Greatest Gift is a short story written by Philip Van Doren in 1943. The book was turned into the film It’s a wonderful life in 1946. The film was nominated for five Oscars and has been recognized as one of the most inspirational American films of all time.
The story revolves around the life of George Pratt, who contemplates killing himself standing on a bridge on Christmas eve of 1943. His contemplation is disturbed by a man who strikes up a conversation with him. George tells him about his problems and says how he wishes to be never be born. The man hands him a bag and asks him to go back to his life.
Soon George finds out that he is forgotten by his loved ones as if he never existed. He realized that his existence did matter and that we are here for a reason. The book sends a very important message to those who have lost hope and are looking for a Christmas miracle to turn their lives around.
A Christmas Carol *****
A Christmas carol is one of the classics by Charles Dickens. Published in London in 1843, the book recounts the story of an old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is visited by a ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley, followed by a troop of lost souls. Their visit transforms Scrooge into a better human being.
This is the perfect book to read to your young ones. This book and its message stayed with me for a long time. This particular Dickens book helps us to realize that each moment counts. Wrapped in holiday trappings with the essence of Christmas, A Christmas Carol for me started a lifelong love for Dicken’s literature.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy *****
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, And The Horse is a 2019 illustrated book by Charlie Mackesy. The book follows the developing friendship between the four protagonists of the story: the boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse. It is a book about hope in uncertain times and is surely a good read when all we need is a little hope and positivity in our lives.
This book portrays a wonderful window into the heart of human kinds and this is why it makes the perfect gift for Christmas.
After you by Jojo Moyes ***
The book continues the story of Louisa Clark after Will’s demise. We see her trying to move on with her life. Motivated by Will’s words to change her life around, Clark moves to London and gets a job at the airport bar. After healing from a falling accident, she enrolls herself in a church. Soon a new love story begins as Louisa starts to fall in love again.
Moyes paints a picture of Louisa through this story. There are so many important life lessons about moving on despite holding on to your memories. Read the entire trilogy and fall in love with Moyes words.
