My Essential Winter Reading Items

It's almost here! Christmaaaaas! I am getting so incredibly excited for The Big Day that I can barely hold it in. Trying to concentrate on reading with all of the twinkles and distractions of Christmas is really difficult for me sometimes. Although I don't have any tips on how to stay productive over the festive period, I have compiled a small list of things that are essential to my winter reading time!

1. Tea, Coffee and Hot Chocolates

...Or pretty much any hot beverage. I have to admit that when it comes to hot beverages - i'm not all that fussy. I love tea and coffee an equal amount and can drink both all day long, especially in winter! But my personal favourite drink when curling up with a book over the festive period is a steaming mug of hot chocolate (Maltesers if I get to choose!) topped with a HUGE amount of whipped cream and sprinkled cinnamon on top. It's festive, warming and really sets the tone of an evening.

 

2. Index notes, sticky notes and the most festive bookmark you can find

Going back to getting distracted over Christmas, these things are a LIFESAVER. Of course, being a stationary-obsessed crazy person, I've always got these to hand anyway to highlight passages or make notes/save a quote etc but over Christmas they are absolutely essential. If you're easily distracted like me, these can keep you on track for reviews, remind you of what's going on and...well...the bookmark is mostly for fun. I have a growing bookmark collection and never turn down a reason to use a new one ;)

3. Snacks 

Snacks. ALL OF THE SNACKS! I think it's safe to say that one of the best things about Christmas is all of the calorific food that seems to be everywhere. I love to bake and the different smells throughout the house is exciting. It's just so cosy relaxing with a book and snacking on homemade cinnamon & sugar cookies. Perhaps a slice or two of cake. Maybe a mince pie. You know what i'm talking about....

 

4. Blankets

Pretty self explanatory really. Winter is COLD! I also happen to live on the coast of the very wet, very rainy north of Wales. It's great for us readers, as from October onwards all activities must be indoor ones! In Winter, blankets become my best friends. I have SO many now and it's never enough. Soft, fluffy blankets are always great for snuggling with, rolling up as impromptu pillows etc. It also means I can embrace my inner child as they're Spider-Man, Doctor Who and maybe more embarassingly, Dora The Explorer. It's a long story.

5. Twitter

Okay you'll have to forgive me for this one but I absolutely believe it belongs on this list. We all love reading, we all love sharing our joy about books and i've found no better place for doing that than Twitter. It's so wonderful to connect directly with other readers, authors and publishers and share the love. We live in a wonderful age where we truly have the pleasure of taking advantage of being able to speak to the people who create these wonderful worlds that transport us. You can also connect with me if you wish!  

@cazzimon

Let me know what you can't live without over the Winter/Christmas/Holiday period!

Books I Want To Read This Christmas!

Christmas is full of so many wonderful moments. Spending quality time with family is one of my absolute favourite things to do. And...well....reading. Lots of reading.

Here are the top 5 Christmas themed books that i'd love to read this festive season.

1. A Winter's Tale by Trisha Ashley

A charming romantic comedy about a hard-up single mum inheriting a stately home – and a host of headaches – The perfect novel for curling up with during the long winter nights.Sophy Winter is not your typical Lady of the Manor….When she unexpectedly inherits Winter's End - a crumbling mansion in the beautiful Lancashire countryside - it seems like all Sophy's prayers have been answered. She eagerly swaps life as an impoverished housekeeper in favour of her own team of staff.But Sophy quickly realises the challenge on her hands - the house is decrepit and its eccentric inhabitants are a nightmare. And once it is discovered that Winter's End played host to a young Shakespeare, the entire village of Sticklepond becomes curious about Sophy's plans, especially charming Jack Lewis. But is he really smitten by Sophy…or her newly-acquired cash?Meanwhile, Sophy’s gorgeous head gardener Seth is the strong and silent type. But does his passion bloom for anything beyond the horticultural?As Sophy gets to grips with squabbling relatives, collapsing buildings and the ghostly presence of one of her ancestors, she wonders if Winter's End is not so much a gift from the gods as a mixed blessing…A charming romantic comedy for fans of Katie Fforde and Jill Mansell - guaranteed to thaw the coldest of hearts!

2. The Parisian Christmas Bake Off by Jenny Oliver

 Welcome to the most celebrated patisserie competition in Paris – ready, steady, bake!
Watching snowflakes settle on the Eiffel Tower, Rachel Smithson’s cosy English village feels very far way – as, thankfully, does her commitment-phobic ex, probably already kissing someone else under the mistletoe. But Rachel hasn’t come to Paris to mope she’s come to bake. Hard.

Because the search for Paris’s next patisserie apprentice is about to begin! And super-chef judge Henri Salernes is an infamously tough cookie. But Rachel isn’t about to let her confidence (or pastry) crumble. She’s got one week, mounds of melt-in-the-mouth macaroons and towers of perfect profiteroles to prove that she really is a star baker.

As well as clouds of flour, and wafts of chocolate and cinnamon, there’s definitely a touch of Christmas magic in the air… Rachel hasn’t come to Paris looking for a fairy-tale romance, but the city of love might gift-wrap her one anyway…

Not even a dusting of icing sugar could make The Parisian Christmas Bake-Off a more perfect Christmas treat!

3. Politically Correct Holiday Stories by James Finn Garner

Whether your favorite holiday story is "A Christmas Carol", "The Story of Hanukkah", or "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", you'll find it transformed to reflect current sensibilities in Politically Correct Holiday Stories. Injecting our popular holiday fables with a modern perspective is no easy task, but someone had to do it -- and who better than the proven master of cultural sensitivity? James Finn Garner joyfully frees these holiday tales from sexism, ageism, religious imperialism, and every other sorry vestige of our flawed, low-consciousness past.So gather the family (whether traditional, dysfunctional, co-dependent, or otherwise) around the hearth, and read aloud these tales as they should have been told the first time.

4. What Happens at Christmas by T.A.Williams

When career-girl Holly Brice learns that her estranged father has died, she decides to take a trip down memory lane and find out about the man she never knew.

Arriving in the sleepy little Dartmoor village, she’s shocked to discover that she’s inherited the cosy little cottage she remembers so fondly, a whole load of money – and her father’s adorable dog, too!

Head to snow-covered Devon!

And as the first snowflakes begin to fall and Holly bumps into her gorgeous neighbour, Jack Nelson, life gets even more complicated! Men have always been off the cards for high-flying Holly, but there’s something about mysterious writer Jack that has her re-thinking her three-date rule… 

5. Calling Mrs Christmas by Carole Matthews

Cassie Smith has been out of work for a while but she has an idea. Drawing on her love of Christmas, she begins charging for small things: wrapping presents; writing cards; tree-decorating. She's soon in huge demand and Cassie's business, Calling Mrs Christmas, is born.

Carter Randall wants to make Christmas special for his children so he enlists Cassie's help, and his lavish requests start taking up all her time. Thank goodness she can rely on her partner Jim to handle the rest of her clients.

When Carter asks Cassie to join them on a trip to Lapland, she knows she shouldn't go. As much as tries, Cassie can't deny how drawn she is to Carter and everything he has to offer, but she still loves her warm-hearted Jim. Suddenly Cassie finds herself facing a heart-breaking choice that could change her entire life. 

What's on your Christmas reading list this year?