Christmas Reading

Yesterday I put up the christmas tree and all our decorations. Truth be told I was the last one of my neighbours to do it. The 1st of December is a holiday in Portugal so that's usually when I do this.

I love the Christmas season - not the shopping part, I shop early to avoid the crowds - but the lights, the atmosphere, how everyone is happy and merry. People are more aware of each other. I truly think there's more good will in the air and it's a pity that doesn't happen all year round.

Ever since I started reading romance and discovered there are so many books set during this season I started collecting them throughout the year to read them in December. It's just lovely to read about the regency house parties, the mistletoe tradition, the snow falling outside... Every year I think how great it would be to have a white Christmas but it never snows here... When I was growing up one of my favourite books was Dickens' A Christmas Carol, they used to show it on TV and I loved to watch.

I read both anthologies and full length but I prefer historicals to contemporaries in my Christmas reads. This year on my TBR are:

Annette Blair - A Christmas Baby
Anthology - Christmas Romance
Anthology - Gifts of The Season
Anthology - A Gift of Joy
Anthology - A Christmas Miracle
Anthology - Mistletoe Kisses
Anthology - A Dreamspun Christmas
Judith Arnold - Tis The Season
Mary Balogh - Under The Mistletoe
Carola Dunn - Mistletoe and Murder
Kate Huntington - Mistletoe Mayhem
Kathryn Shay - Beacause it's Christmas

I'm waiting for an M-Bag from the States with some of the Signet Christmas anthologies that I hope will arrive soon.

And my favourites from last year were:

Anthology - A Regncy Christmas
Anthology - A Regency Christmas II
Donna Simpson- A Matchmaker's Christmas
Mary Balogh - Christmas Belle
Mary Balogh - The Last Waltz

I'll probably reread some bits of those too. :-)

By the way, does anyone have good Christmas books to recommend?