16 Unforgettable Books to Add to Your Holiday Book Club 2024

Looking for great books for your holiday book club? Here are some top picks! Every December, the book club themes is all about Christmas romance, wintery reads, and books focused on kindness and self-discovery. So, in this post, you’ll find some truly unputdownable books that belong on your holiday discussion list. These books cover themes of second chances, small-town communities, and even a steamy love story or two. Hopefully, these uplifting book club books will make your holiday reading unforgettable in every way! I have included some discussions topics for each book, but also check out my post on 15 general book club questions for more discussion ideas.

More Book Club Books For December Book Club

Murder at Midnight by Katharine Schellman

Murder at Midnight is a historical mystery that follows Regency widow Lily Adler. She finds herself at the center of a murder investigation after a neighborhood ball ends in mystery and scandal. If your book club loves a Christmas-themed murder-mystery, you should get this one.

Book Club Talking Points: Discuss the way the novel weaves social issues of the Regency era with a classic whodunit. How does the author balance the holiday setting with a murder mystery?

When a body is found shot to death after an unexpected snowstorm, Lily Adler quickly realizes that some people will stop at nothing to bury their secrets this holiday season.

Regency widow Lily Adler is looking forward to returning to Hertfordshire to spend time with the family of her late husband. She is also excited that Captain Jack Hartley, her friend and confidante, will be visiting his own family after a long voyage at sea. With winter quickly approaching, Lily is most excited at the prospect of a relaxing and enjoyable Christmastide season away from the schemes and secrets she witnessed daily in London.

At a neighborhood ball, she soon becomes reacquainted with a friend of her late husband, Peter Coleridge, a wealthy man who not only manages Irish investments, but also a fund that most of the locals of Hertfordshire take part in. There, she also learns Jack’s sister, Amelia, is the subject of much of the neighborhood gossip—although Amelia refuses to explain if there is any truth to it. For a brief moment, Lily wonders if she ever really left London.

When a snowstorm forces several guests, including both the Adlers and the Hartleys, to stay the night, Lily quickly deduces that all is not well this holiday season. In the morning, a maid discovers the body of a guest in the poultry yard, shot to death—and he is the same man that is scandalously linked to Amelia.

Lily accepts the offer to assist in the investigation, but will she find more than what she bargained for the more she digs? Or will she herself be buried deep within the snow?

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The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

In The Afterlife of Holly Chase, Holly was given a chance to reform when three ghosts showed her the error of her selfish ways ; she ignored them and died. Now, she’s stuck as the Ghost of Christmas Past for Project Scrooge, doomed to help other misers find redemption each year. This year, things start to change, giving Holly hope for a different afterlife.

Book Club Talking Points: This modern twist on A Christmas Carol is about second chances, self-growth, and dealing with change. There is also great topics about how we view the holidays.

On Christmas Eve five years ago, Holly was visited by three ghosts who showed her how selfish and spoiled she’d become. They tried to convince her to mend her ways.

She didn’t.

And then she died.

Now she’s stuck working for the top-secret company Project Scrooge–as the latest Ghost of Christmas Past.

Every year, they save another miserly grouch. Every year, Holly stays frozen at seventeen while her family and friends go on living without her. So far, Holly’s afterlife has been miserable.

But this year, everything is about to change.

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Pilfered Promises by M. Louisa Locke

Set in San Francisco in 1880, Pilfered Promises involves Annie and Nate Dawson investigating thefts at a grand department store during the holiday season. As they reveal secrets hidden behind the lavish storefront, the Dawsons work through both the bustle of Christmas and the mysteries surrounding them.

Book Club Talking Points: This cozy historical mystery has so many great topics such as discussions around holiday consumerism, the role of women in the late 19th century, and how people celebrate traditions.

It is the winter of 1880, and the future looks promising for Annie and Nate Dawson. Nate’s law practice is taking off. Annie has made the transition from pretend clairvoyant to a successful financial consultant. And they are looking forward to spending their first Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays together.

For Robert Livingston, the owner San Francisco’s newest grand emporium, the holidays don’t look so promising. Not if he can’t figure out how to stop whoever is stealing from his department store, the Silver Strike Bazaar.

However, when he hires the Dawsons to investigate, they discover that behind the doors of his “Palace of Plenty,” nothing is quite what it seems.

Pilfered Promises, a sweet cozy historical mystery, is the fifth novel in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series featuring Annie and Nate Dawson and their friends and family in the O’Farrell Street boarding house.

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Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini

Christmas Bells is a dual-timeline novel that links Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poignant experiences during the Civil War with a present-day music teacher struggling to make a difference.

Book Club Talking Points: This book is a beautiful story for discussing the power of art, poetry, and history, especially in difficult times.

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini celebrates Christmas, past and present, with a wondrous novel inspired by the classic poem “Christmas Bells,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day/ Their old familiar carols play/ And wild and sweet/ The words repeat/Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

In 1860, the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow family celebrated Christmas at Craigie House, their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The publication of Longfellow’s classic Revolutionary War poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” was less than a month hence, and the country’s grave political unrest weighed heavily on his mind. Yet with his beloved wife, Fanny, and their five adored children at his side, the delights of the season prevailed.

In present-day Boston, a dedicated teacher in the Watertown public school system is stunned by somber holiday tidings. Sophia’s music program has been sacrificed to budget cuts, and she worries not only about her impending unemployment but also about the consequences to her underprivileged students. At the church where she volunteers as music director, Sophia tries to forget her cares as she leads the children’s choir in rehearsal for a Christmas Eve concert. Inspired to honor a local artist, Sophia has chosen a carol set to a poem by Longfellow, moved by the glorious words he penned one Christmas Day long ago, even as he suffered great loss.

Christmas Bells chronicles the events of 1863, when the peace and contentment of Longfellow’s family circle was suddenly, tragically broken, cutting even deeper than the privations of wartime. Through the pain of profound loss and hardship, Longfellow’s patriotism never failed, nor did the power of his language. “Christmas Bells,” the poem he wrote that holiday, lives on, spoken as verse and sung as a hymn.

Jennifer Chiaverini’s resonant and heartfelt novel for the season reminds us why we must continue to hear glad tidings, even as we are tested by strife. Reading Christmas Bells evokes the resplendent joy of a chorus of voices raised in reverent song.

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Wishin’ and Hopin’ by Wally Lamb

Set in the 1960s, Wishin’ and Hopin is a humorous novella that follows fifth-grader Felix Funicello as he explores the chaos of parochial school during the holidays. .

Book Club Talking Points: This fun novella offers so much to discuss. Things like childhood memories of the holiday season and how traditions change over time. Probably each members can share about their childhood Christmas memories.

Wally Lamb, the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hour I First Believed, I Know This Much Is True, and She’s Come Undone, delivers a holiday treat with Wishin’ and Hopin’—an unforgettable novella that captures the warmth and joy of the holiday season. Poignant and hilarious, in a vein similar to Jean Shepherd’s A Christmas Story and David Sedaris’s The Santaland Diaries, Lamb’s Christmas tale focuses on a feisty parochial school fifth grader named Felix Funicello—a distant cousin of the iconic Annette!

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Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

Redbird Christmas is an heartwarming Christmas book that brings us to a small Southern town where unlikely friendships and the magic of the season bring hope and joy to a troubled man.

Book Club Talking Points: Discuss the charm of small-town America and the importance of communities.

From the beloved author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe comes her latest New York Times bestseller–a new Yuletide classic about small-town America and larger-than-life wonders.

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Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

Rosamunde Pilcher’s Winter Solstice is about five strangers coming together in a quiet Scottish town. They all carry own struggles and secrets. As Christmas approaches, they find comfort and friendship.

Book Club Talking Points: Pilcher’s descriptive writing is perfect for discussing themes of love, loss, and new beginnings. Book Club members can explore the dynamics of chosen family and community, and how the winter season can be both melancholic and hopeful.

In Winter Solstice Rosamunde Pilcher brings her readers into the lives of five very different people….

Elfrida Phipps, once of London’s stage, moved to the English village of Dibton in hopes of making a new life for herself. Gradually she settled into the comfortable familiarity of village life — shopkeepers knowing her tastes, neighbors calling her by name — still she finds herself lonely.

Oscar Blundell gave up his life as a musician in order to marry Gloria. They have a beautiful daughter, Francesca, and it is only because of their little girl that Oscar views his sacrificed career as worthwhile.

Carrie returns from Australia at the end of an ill-fated affair with a married man to find her mother and aunt sharing a home and squabbling endlessly. With Christmas approaching, Carrie agrees to look after her aunt’s awkward and quiet teenage daughter, Lucy, so that her mother might enjoy a romantic fling in America.

Sam Howard is trying to pull his life back together after his wife has left him for another. He is without home and without roots, all he has is his job. Business takes him to northern Scotland, where he falls in love with the lush, craggy landscape and set his sights on a house.

It is the strange rippling effects of a tragedy that will bring these five characters together in a large, neglected estate house near the Scottish fishing town of Creagan.

It is in this house, on the shortest day of the year, that the lives of five people will come together and be forever changed. Rosamunde Pilcher’s long-awaited return to the page will warm the hearts of readers both old and new. Winter Solstice is a novel of love, loyalty and rebirth.

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Secret Santa by Kati Wilde

How about a steamy Christmas romance for your book club ? Secret Santa follows Emma who lands her dream job, only to realize her boss, Logan, seems to have a personal vendetta against her. However, a holiday gift exchange leads to unexpected romance.

Book Club Talking Points: Discuss the holiday romance and the trope of enemies-to-lovers.

She’s always been on the outside of love, looking in…

After years of struggling to make ends meet, Emma Williams finally lands a job that suits her perfectly—she enjoys her work, likes her new boss, and especially loves knowing her first paycheck is coming just after Christmas. That is, if she lasts that long. Because Logan Crenshaw, the creative force behind the company, doesn’t seem to want her there.

Not being wanted is nothing new for Emma…but she doesn’t know what she’s done to make Logan stalk around the office, growling every command as if her very presence infuriates him. She can’t afford to lose this job, so her plan is to keep her head down and try to avoid any contact with him—no matter how big and sexy and unavoidable he is.

But a Santa hat full of names, an office gift exchange, and one unexpected knock at her door are about to shake up all of her plans…

This super-hot holiday romance contains Santa hats, red satin blindfolds, and an obsessed alpha male. Steamy Christmas romance.

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Christmas at the Saporis by K.D. Sherrinford

Christmas at the Saporis we follow Irene Adler who convinces her detective husband, now known as Lucca Sapori, to invite his estranged brother Mycroft to their Christmas luncheon. However, past betrayals and unresolved mysteries linger between the brothers, especially with secrets surrounding Lucca’s true identity.

Book Club Discussion Topics: Discuss the tension between reconciliation and past grudges. What role do you think the forgiveness play during the holidays? You can also discuss the family traditions, both old and new, shape holiday dynamics, especially with unresolved family history lurking in the background.

What will the Saporis find under the tree this year—Christmas presents, or family skeletons? In the spirit of the holiday and a wish for familial harmony, Irene Adler persuades her detective husband to invite his brother Mycroft to Christmas luncheon. Holmes had cut ties with his brother when he discovered the machinations Mycroft employed that drove Sherlock and Adler apart for four years. He isn’t really sure this reunion is a great idea, but he can deny his wife nothing. Of course, they can’t tell the children what Mycroft is to them, as that would entail learning that their father is the celebrated detective when they know him simply as Lucca Sapori. And just when they think things may be going better than expected, ghosts of the past crop up in unexpected ways and threaten to ruin the holidays for everyone.

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A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig

This magical tale follows Nikolas, an eleven-year-old who ventures into the snowy landscape to discover the secrets of his father and ends up changing the course of Christmas forever. If your reading group is looking for a book featuring of elves, snow, and winter adventures, get this one.

Book Club Talking Points: Talk about the spirit of believing in magic and the childlike wonder that the holiday season inspires. Members can share their favorite childhood holiday memories and find out what makes a timeless holiday story.

You are about to read the true story of Father Christmas.

It is a story that proves that nothing is impossible.

If you are one of those people who believe that some things are impossible, you should put this book down right away. It is most certainly not for you.

Because this book is FULL of impossible things.

Are you still reading?

Good.

Then let us begin . . .

A Boy Called Christmas is a tale of adventure, snow, kidnapping, elves, more snow, and an eleven-year-old boy called Nikolas, who isn’t afraid to believe in magic.

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Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

Skipping Christmas is a humorous, satirical take on holiday pressures. This funny book club pick follows Luther and Nora Krank who decide to skip Christmas entirely. But their plan isn’t as easy as they hoped—neighbors, friends, and family push back hard on their unconventional holiday decision.

Book Club Discussion Topics: Talk about holiday expectations, the pressures of tradition, and why “opting out” can seem so radical. It’s also interesting to discuss how holiday traditions vary and why we cling to certain rituals.

Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded shops, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That’s just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they’ll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on the street without a rooftop Frosty the snowman; they won’t be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren’t even going to have a tree. They won’t need one, because come December 25 they’re setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences – and isn’t half as easy as they’d imagined.

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The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews

Newly divorced Ivy Perkins finds a Santa suit in her new farmhouse with a note from a little girl hoping her dad would come home from the war. The Santa Suit follows Ivy as she unearths the suit’s history and discovers the warmth of a new community.

Book Club Discussion Topics: Discuss themes of second chances and the power of community.

From Mary Kay Andrews, the New York Times bestselling author of Hello, Summer , comes a novella celebrating the magic of Christmas and second chances in The Santa Suit .

When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love―but Ivy didn’t bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk, that it’s a full-time job sorting through all of it.

At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit―beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish it’s from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. This discovery sets Ivy off on a mission. Who wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? What mysteries did the Rose family hold?

Ivy’s quest brings her into the community, at a time when all she wanted to do was be left alone and nurse her wounds. But the magic of Christmas makes miracles happen, and Ivy just might find more than she ever thought a welcoming town, a family reunited, a mystery solved, and a second chance at love.

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The 13th Gift by Joanne Huist Smith

Based on a true story, The 13th Gift follows a grieving family that finds hope and comfort as “True Friends” leave gifts at their door each day before Christmas.

Book Club Discussion Topics:This book has a lot of themes about kindness, grief, and communities. Book clubs can also talk about how different families manage loss and find joy, especially during emotionally charged times like the holidays.

For readers of Richard Paul Evans and Greg Kincaid comes The 13th Gift, a heartwarming Christmas story about how a random act of kindness transformed one of the bleakest moments in a family’s history into a time of strength and love.

After the unexpected death of her husband, Joanne Huist Smith had no idea how she would keep herself together and be strong for her three children–especially with the holiday season approaching. But 12 days before Christmas, presents begin appearing on her doorstep with notes from their “True Friends.” As the Smiths came together to solve the mystery of who the gifts were from, they began to thaw out from their grief and come together again as a family. This true story about the power of random acts of kindness will warm the heart, a beautiful reminder of the miracles of Christmas and the gift of family during the holiday season.

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The Christmas Dress by Courtney Cole

Meg and Ellie form an unlikely friendship over a vintage Christmas Dress that holds meaning for both women. Set in Chicago, The Christmas Dress shows how a little holiday magic—and an enchanted dress—can bring unexpected happiness.

Book Club Discussion Topics: Discuss the impact of generational connections, what the dress symbolizes, and how material items can hold sentimental value. This book brings up great topics around legacy, memory, and how a seemingly small gift can lead to new perspectives and courage to pursue dreams.

An enchanted Christmas dress brings two generations of women together for the magic of the season in this delightful holiday story from author Courtney Cole.

One Dress. Two Women. The Magic of the Holiday Season.

When hopeful fashionista Meg Julliard must return to her hometown of Chicago to manage her late father’s apartment building, she thinks her dreams of making it in the fashion business are over. Add in her father’s eclectic roster of tenants who all need Meg’s attention (ASAP!), a host of building related disasters, and a handsome handyman she keeps embarrassing herself in front of, and this has all the makings for the worst Christmas she’s ever had.

Ellie Wade, one of the building’s longtime residents, is also not feeling the Christmas Joy this year. She is preparing to move into a nursing home (reluctantly), and is in the process of sorting through her belongings to downsize. Every corner of her apartment holds memories, some good, some bad. But there’s one dress she hesitates to pack up as it represents both the best and worst night of her life.

Ellie and Meg strike up an unlikely friendship and the story of Ellie’s dress comes out. Ellie gifts the gorgeous dress to Meg, hoping that it will bring her more luck, on the condition that she wear it to the building’s Christmas party.

The dress magically fits, and while it eventually leads to the best night of Meg’s life, it also acts as inspiration for Meg to follow a life-long dream of her own, a dream that will help save the crumbling Parkview West, and restore it to its former glory, and keep it as a safe home for all of the current tenants.

The dress and the magic of the holiday season helps both Meg and Ellie find their own happy endings.

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The Christmas Party by Mikayla Davids

The Christmas Party is a great Christmas thriller about the Bailey family. The members gather for a reunion, but secrets and resentments bubble up. But when one family member ends up dead, everyone becomes a suspect.

Book Club Discussion Topics: Talk about family dynamics, the theme of hidden secrets. Also, discuss which characters were most compelling and puzzling will keep everyone engaged.

A family reunion. A shocking secret. A night to die for…

On a snowy December night, the Bailey family are gathered at an isolated hotel in the English countryside. They’re reuniting for the first time since the accident that shattered their lives ten years ago.

It’s a time for love and forgiveness. But more than one guest has an ulterior motive:

The perfect daughter

The alcoholic

The single mother

The liar

The handsome husband

The adulterer

The beautiful sister

The jealous sibling

The murderer…

As the clock strikes midnight, one member of the party is found dead at the foot of the grand marble staircase.

Everyone is a suspect. But which one of them is a killer?

This completely addictive psychological thriller is packed with chilling twists that will keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of The Hunting Party and The Chalet.

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Christmas by the Book by Anne Marie Ryan

Booksellers Nora and Simon try to spread joy to their community by gifting books anonymously, even as they struggle with the possibility of losing their own store. Christmas by the Book is a heartfelt story about the love of reading and the small acts of kindness.

Book Club Discussion Topics: Discuss how books change lives and why bookstores are so cherished. Also talk about members’ favorite holiday stories and how giving can bring meaning, especially when times are tough.

In small-town England, two booksellers facing tough times decide to spread some Christmas cheer through the magic of anonymous book deliveries in this uplifting holiday tale for book lovers everywhere.

Nora and her husband, Simon, have run the beautiful oak-beamed book shop in their small British village for thirty years. But times are tough and the shop is under threat of closure–this Christmas season will really decide their fate. When an elderly man visits the store and buys the one book they’ve never been able to sell, saying it’s the perfect gift for his sick grandson, it gives Nora an idea. She and Simon will send out books to those feeling down this Christmas. Maybe they can’t save their bookstore, but at least they’ll have one final chance to lift people’s spirits through the power of reading.

After gathering nominations online, Nora and Simon quietly deliver books to six residents of the village in need of some festive cheer, including a single dad of twins who is working hard to make ends meet, a teenage boy grieving for his big sister, a local Member of Parliament who is battling depression, and a teacher who’s newly retired and living on her own. As the town prepares for a white Christmas, the books begin to give the recipients hope, one by one. But with the future of the bookshop still up in the air, Nora and Simon will need a Christmas miracle–or perhaps a little help from the people whose lives they’ve touched–to find a happy ending of their own

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