Celebrate the Christmas season with That Artsy Reader Girl and her bookish friends! 

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I’m so happy to welcome Harker, book blogger at The Hermit Librarian, to the blog today to talk about some of her favorite bookish Christmases! I really, really love reading Christmas scenes in books and I couldn’t agree more with some of the magical Christmases she has chosen to feature today.

Harker’s Favorite Bookish Christmases

Christmas is a magical time of the year when you focus on the lights and the good food and adamantly force yourself to ignore the rampant consumerism of the real world. I work retail, this is hard, trust me. So what to do in the face of that? Think about what bookish worlds I’d like to spend the holidays in. When everything is crashing down around them, whether it be an evil witch or something more real world like, the characters in a book seem to be able to enjoy a little bit of time with each other, whether it be a whole day or an hour or two.

I’m going to share with you my picks for the worlds I’d spend my Christmas holidays in, whether they take place just on the other side of a brick wall in London or through a wardrobe in the countryside estate of an old professor. Thank you for joining me today, and a happy Christmas to you.

Narnia, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

This might sound like an odd choice, given that for half the novel Christmas doesn’t exist because the White Witch has forbidden it, but with the arrival of the Pevensie children her curse begins to break and life begins to return to Narnia. With it, the figure known as Father Christmas is able to travel to this land again and even brings them presents that aide them in the rest of their adventures this time around. There are many trials while in Narnia, but there are also good times, such as tea with the Beavers and being welcomed at Aslan’s camp. Christmas in Narnia, with eternal winter banished, is sure to be a wonderful thing indeed.

Hogwarts/The Burrow, The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Harry’s first Christmas in the series is my favorite because I think it has the most impact on him. While arguably his 11^th birthday, on which he learned that he was a wizard, is more monumental overall, his first Christmas at Hogwarts was a holiday he had the ability to share with friends. By that point, he had friends to share the wonder of the place with: the decorated trees, the enchanted crackers, the feast. Later on in the series he is welcomed to the Burrow for the holiday and, while this is usually overshadowed by something dark happening at school, there is still the overwhelming happiness made by friends that have become something like family.

I would love to be in the midst of all that magic and mystical wonder. I think it would take a very long time, if ever, before it wore off. The crackers alone sound like a lot of fun. Imagine all the little things that would pop out: enchanted hats, toys that play back, etc. The mice would make great pets because I’d rescue them. At the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley would no doubt have a ton of family traditions that she’d include any guests in. Any guests are family, from what I’ve seen, and that’s touching.

The Enchanted Forest, Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

Cimorene, the protagonist of most of the Enchanted Forest books, was the first princess I can remember reading who was not the usual sort of princess. She wasn’t satisfied with being taught to sew or to curtsy or how to scream while being carried off by giants. She wanted to fence and speak Latin and learn magic. What she eventually did was leave her father’s castle and become a dragon’s princess, willingly, and thus found her own story in the Enchanted Forest.

The cast of characters she meets, most important of which is Kazul the dragon, would be so much fun to spend Christmas with. Not only does Kazul have a magic pot that can cook amazing food for large groups and a cavern of caves to explore, but the friends that Cimorene makes include a witch and another princess who learns to come out of her shell.

Explaining the customs of a human holiday might be a bit odd with a host of dragons as guests, but I think it would be a lot of fun trying to play Christmas games with them and the feast would certainly be something to behold. Imagine, if only they would be kind enough, the snowy flight over the Enchanted Forest. Cold but breathtaking, I’d wager, if your dragon is a kind one.

The Carnegie Library, In the House of the Seven Librarians by Ellen Klages

A short story in Firebirds Rising, In the House of the Seven Librarians tells the story of seven librarians at the Carnegie Library, an old-fashioned library at the edge of a forest that is abandoned when a newer one is built closer to the town’s mall and main road. Rather than leave their books, the seven librarians stock up on supplies and stay. Soon they are forgotten by the town and make their lives within the walls of the library, which takes care of them in turn by leaving little treats and, I assume, keeping their food stocked up. It has its own sort of magic, it seems.

One day, as payment for an extremely overdue book of Grimms fairy tales, someone leaves a basket in the drop box containing a first born child. This child’s upbringing shows the reader more about the power of the library and about the librarians from the day she is left to the day she grows up and decides to see what the world outside is like, knowing that her librarians will always be there for her.

I think this would be a splendid place to spend the holidays. While time is fluid within the library (the child’s birthday, which is decided to be July 5^th and is celebrated in the middle of a snowstorm) and holidays might not be celebrated on quite the right day, they would be cozy and warms. Tea would always be at the ready and there’s a good chance the library would leave a tin of biscuits for the guests to enjoy between friendly debates about the various subjects on the shelves and games of literary inspiration.

What are some of your favorite bookish Christmases?

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I’d like to welcome Jodi Meadows, author of the Newsoul trilogy, the Orphan Queen duology, and the Fallen Isles trilogy, to the blog today to tell us what she would give the characters in her most recent book, Before She Ignites. I read and reviewed Before She Ignites [read my review here] in September and really loved it, so I’m excited to see what Jodi would give these beloved characters!

Jodi’s Presents for Her BSI Characters

While the people of the Fallen Isles don’t celebrate Christmas, they do have another holiday at the end of every year: the Hallowed Restoration. Those are the five (sometimes six) days at the end of the year where families gather together to reflect on the previous year, look forward to the new, and argue while they eat too much food. There are often parties involved, and occasionally there’s gift giving.

If I lived in the Fallen Isles and could give presents to my characters in Before She Ignites, here’s what I would offer them:

Mira
Mira is not a girl lacking in Stuff, so I wouldn’t give her something else to clutter her bedroom. Instead, I’d want to offer her a hug and some self-confidence. Maybe I’d write a letter detailing all the ways I think she’s a fabulous human and deserves love.

Ilina
Ilina is a practical person, so what she really wants is something useful, and probably something related to dragons. I’d like to give her an entire library of dragon-related texts to help her be the best dragon trainer in the Fallen Isles.

Hristo
Probably some kind of weapon, like a nice dagger or sword, but forged in his homeland. He takes sentimental value very seriously, so the more thought put into a gift, the more it matters to him.

LaLa and Crystal
Since these tiny dragons are so adorable, they probably deserve cute bows and sparkly hunting gear.

Aaru
If you’ve read the book, then you know Aaru really likes his peace and quiet. In that way, he’s definitely a boy after my own heart. So I’d give him noise-canceling headphones. The fancy kind that really do cancel the noise, not just the ones that pretend like they do.

Gerel
We have to be honest about Gerel. Whatever I get her, she’ll just return it for cash. So I’d probably just give her cash or a gift card. That’s really all she wants anyway.

Chenda
Chenda is fancier than I will ever be, and so I can’t even guess as to what she would want. If I thought I could afford it, I’d take her to some kind of high-end shop and let her pick out her own present.

Tirta
Somehow, Tirta got a job cooking. Tirta is a terrible cook, it turns out. As a gift, I’d probably try to arrange for some kind of cooking class and a few basic cookbooks.

Altan
Altan isn’t a nice person. Even without Santa in the Fallen Isles, I’d still give that meanie a lump of coal.

Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows
Series: Fallen Isles Trilogy #1
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on September 12, 2017
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 400
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Before

Mira Minkoba is the Hopebearer. Since the day she was born, she’s been told she’s special. Important. Perfect. She’s known across the Fallen Isles not just for her beauty, but for the Mira Treaty named after her, a peace agreement which united the seven islands against their enemies on the mainland.

But Mira has never felt as perfect as everyone says. She counts compulsively. She struggles with crippling anxiety. And she’s far too interested in dragons for a girl of her station.

After

Then Mira discovers an explosive secret that challenges everything she and the Treaty stand for. Betrayed by the very people she spent her life serving, Mira is sentenced to the Pit–the deadliest prison in the Fallen Isles. There, a cruel guard would do anything to discover the secret she would die to protect.

No longer beholden to those who betrayed her, Mira must learn to survive on her own and unearth the dark truths about the Fallen Isles–and herself–before her very world begins to collapse.

About Jodi Meadows

Jodi Meadows wants to be a ferret when she grows up and she has no self-control when it comes to yarn, ink, or outer space. Still, she manages to write books. She is the author of the INCARNATE Trilogy, the ORPHAN QUEEN Duology, and the FALLEN ISLES Trilogy (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen), and a coauthor of MY LADY JANE (HarperTeen). Visit her at Website: www.jodimeadows.com

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Celebrate the Christmas season with That Artsy Reader Girl and her bookish friends! 

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Today I’m welcoming my friend Alyssa, book blogger at Books Take You Places and host of the On the Same Page Secret Sister Project! She’s here (on her birthday, by the way!!) to tell us about her Christmas traditions. I love traditions and any excuse to form a new one.

Hi all!

I am so happy to be on Jana’s blog today to help her celebrate A Bookish Little Christmas! Today I will be talking about some of my Christmas traditions growing up and the kinds of things I like to do to celebrate nowadays.

 

Growing up, Christmas was always my favorite time of year. Yes, this was in large part because I was a spoiled brat and got ALL THE PRESENTS, but that wasn’t the only reason why I loved the holiday so much. My earliest memories of Christmas were when my grandmother had a tiny third floor apartment in a town nearby. She had this tiny living room and would put up a tiny tree on top of a table in between two of the most comfortable chairs ever. She decorated the tree with tinsel and those ornaments that look like apples and she only ever used colored Christmas lights. The best part was that every year we would make new ornaments out of walnuts and glitter and my grandmother would act as if they were just the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. My grandmother collected Santas and they were alllll over the living room. Everywhere you looked, there was a Santa. I still covet this collection and ask her every Christmas if she is ready to bestow her giant collection to me – no luck thus far! Now, my favorite “Santa” will come as no surprise to those who know me. My uncle bought my grandmother a statue of Black Peter one year and I fell in love. He had these switches in his sack that I would take out and hold while watching different Christmas movies. I LOVED this guy, and every year I peruse Ebay and debate buying him for myself (Justin, do you see this, honey?)

So anyway, why did I love Black Peter so much? This weird tradition came from my great grandmother from Germany and my mother and her rather macabre likes. I grew up learning about Belsnickel. An easy explanation is that Belsnickel is akin to Saint Nicholas. He brings treats to good children but instead of coal, he brings switches to beat the naughty children. His companion is Krampus, who is often the one who does the beating. These stories turned into a new tradition in my family where we began to celebrate Krampusnacht. On the evening of December 5 we would leave out our shoes for when Belsnickel and Krampus visited. In the morning, if it was filled with treats then we knew Santa was coming to bring us gifts. If I had been particularly bratty around that time, I would get some rocks thrown in there to remind me to be on my best behavior, or Krampus was going to come and give me the switch. Interesting family I grew up with, eh? So ANYWAY Black Peter is another companion to Saint Nicholas, and for some reason I found these complex beings a lot more interesting than the traditional Santa Claus.

That being said, have you read Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom? I HIGHLY recommend it if you enjoy dark fantasy and authors such as Neil Gaiman. For readers looking for a dark and harrowing story on the origins of Santa Claus, differences between Christmas and Yuletide, or a vivid novel steeped in Norse mythology, this novel is highly recommended.

 

So what am I doing this year? Let me tell ya! I am going to be making Christmas cookies with my mom (head over to Sarah’s blog to see some yummy and easy recipes for some of those) and sitting by my tree A LOT. As of writing this, it is less than one week until I go and pick out my Christmas tree for a day of decorating! I already have it in my calendar as “CHRISTMAS TREE DAY” because I am SO EXCITED. I always watch those old school Christmas movies like The Year Without a Santa Claus and The Muppet Christmas Carol while decorating and have the best time ever. I will then spend the next few (yep, FEW) months bundled up on my couch next to my tree. It is my very favorite thing to do. Finally, around Valentine’s Day I will make myself take down my tree because by that time it will probably be droopy and sad looking.

 

What will I be reading? I am weird because I always choose my last book of the year months in advance. I have ELEVEN books to go on my Goodreads goal (LOL why does this always happen?!) but I have a few end of year reads in mind…

 

The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle – I have owned this book for YEARS and have yet to read it. This is just one of those classics that somehow slipped by me as I was growing up and I cannot wait to read it.

 

Krampusnacht: Twelve Nights of Krampus by Kate Wolford – This book was gifted to me by my secret sister and I cannot wait to delve in this holiday season! Short, horror, Krampus-filled stories? Yes, please.

 

The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories by Tara Moore – This one I have been coveting for a while now and no libraries have it so if I don’t receive it from Santa (or Belsnickel) I might have to just treat myself. I mean…hello…CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES!

…and finally…my last read of the year…

 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: The Illustrated Edition – I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS ONE! I have refrained from buying it just so I could hold off and have it be my last read of the year. I am SO excited to fall into this world and ring in the new year with my favorite characters.

What will you be reading this holiday season? Sending you all of the best wishes! XO

 

Celebrate the Christmas season with That Artsy Reader Girl and her bookish friends! 

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I’m excited to welcome Meredith Schorr, author of The Boyfriend Swap (and a bunch of other novels), to the blog today to share with us the letter that her main character, Robyn Lane, has written to Santa this year! I recently read and enjoyed The Boyfriend Swap, and Robyn is a very sweet and quirky character that I had so much fun getting to know. She knows her boyfriend, Perry, will not fit in at her family’s holiday party this year so she swaps boyfriends with someone else and you can imagine how things go!

Dear Santa from Robyn Lane

Dear Santa,

Merry almost Christmas.

Since it’s in your job description to keep tabs on when I’ve been naughty or nice, I bet you also know when I’m being a lazy music teacher. With winter recess beginning tomorrow, the art teacher and I combined our classes so we could each do half the work. First, I led the kids in singing holiday songs. Now, Ms. Cassidy is helping them write letters to you, and I joined in on the fun. I know I’m supposed to include a list of presents I want for Christmas, but all I truly want is a peaceful and joyous Chrismukkah celebration with my family. (I hope you’re not offended that I’m half Jewish. You’ve always struck me as an equal-opportunity gift giver.)

Oh, Santa, I dread bringing Perry home with me for the holidays. If I have to sit through another family dinner—make that three—listening to my family subtly patronize my showbiz boyfriend because he doesn’t have a pension plan or reliable health insurance, I’ll lose it. Sure, he gets overly excited when it’s his turn at the mic and purposely chooses lengthy songs to maintain the spotlight longer, but it’s only because he’s passionate. He hasn’t had his big break yet, but it doesn’t mean he won’t. He’s so talented—a triple threat like his idol, Matthew Morrison. He just needs a little luck and maybe an agent. Why can’t my parents, ex-performers themselves, cut him some slack rather than try to set me up with every single suit-and-tie guy within a mile radius?

Speaking of corporate types, can you please wipe all memories of my childhood crush on Will Brady from my brain? I’ve barely thought about him in nine years and suddenly, with one double date to discuss this stupid boyfriend swap, it’s all come back. I can hardly close my eyes without seeing his sparkling hazel eyes staring back at me. And the way his smile lights up his entire adorable face. Thank God he didn’t agree to the swap. But why didn’t he agree to the swap? Was I that much of a loser in high school? I was one of the weird kids, who actually danced at the school dances instead of drinking the spiked punch and making out in dark classrooms, but I’m not ashamed of who I was then or who I am now.

This, Santa, is why I date creative types. They actually favor me over sophisticated business women like Sidney Bellows. I mean no offense to Sidney. I’m not at all surprised by Will’s attraction to her. She’s sharp and sassy, and her red hair makes her really stand out in a crowd. She’s perfect for Will and they’re both lawyers. Perry’s much more my type and he makes me happy. My parents will just have to deal with it.

I digress. This is supposed to be a letter to Santa, not a diary entry. Sorry ☹

Oh, the kids are getting ready for dismissal. I’d better end this.

In closing, all I want for Christmas is a stress-free celebration.

Thank you! Merry Chrismukkah, Santa!

Love,
Robyn

The Boyfriend Swap by Meredith Schorr
Published by Henery Press on November 7, 2017
Genres: Christmas, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Romance
Pages: 288
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Is Christmas really the most wonderful time of the year? New Yorkers Robyn Lane and Sidney Bellows aren’t so sure.

Robyn has always dated struggling creative types. For once, her parents would love her to bring someone with health insurance and a 401(k) to their Chrismukkah celebration. Her actor boyfriend doesn’t qualify. While across town, Sidney’s professional life already belongs to her parents. She’s an attorney at her father’s law firm and she works tirelessly to keep her love life private. If she brings her lawyer boyfriend to their annual Christmas extravaganza, her parents will have the wedding planned by New Year’s Eve.

A mutual friend playfully suggests they trade boyfriends for the holidays. The women share a laugh, but after copious amounts of wine, decide The Boyfriend Swap could be the perfect solution. This way, Robyn can show off her stable attorney boyfriend and Sidney’s high-society family will take no interest in her flakey actor beau.

It’s a brilliant plan—in theory. In practice—not so much. When Will turns out to be the boy-next-door Robyn crushed on hard throughout her teenage years, and Sidney’s family fawns all over Perry like he’s an Oscar-winner rather than a D-list wannabe, one thing is certain: The Boyfriend Swap might just change their lives forever.

About Meredith Schorr

A born and bred New Yorker, Meredith Schorr discovered her passion for writing when she began to enjoy drafting work-related e-mails way more than she was probably supposed to. After trying her hand penning children’s stories and blogging her personal experiences, Meredith found her calling writing romantic comedy, women’s fiction, and contemporary young adult fiction. She secures much inspiration from her day job as a hard-working trademark paralegal and her still single (but looking) status. Meredith is a loyal New York Yankees fan, an avid runner, and an unashamed television addict. To learn more, visit her at www.meredithschorr.com.