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Christmas is just around the corner, are you ready? Whether you have your hands full with wrapping Christmas presents, baking holiday goodies or are just tired of Christmas music (why did they start playing them before Thanlsgiving?), a Christmas audiobook is a great way to enjoy a festive read. Here are some I've listened to. Get a free trial of Audible!
Need more reading recommendations? Check out our 25 Days of Christmas Reading.
I've included an easy treat to make at the end.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.
Christmas, Criminals, and Campers by Tonya Kappes
Welcome to Normal, Kentucky where NOTHING is normal.
Librarian Abby Fawn is star struck when her favorite romance author, Nadine White, has rented a cozy camper at the Happy Trails Campground for the winter months.
Abby is devastated to find out Nadine White is nothing like the person she portrays in interviews or on social media. In fact, Nadine White is not nice at all and Abby lets her feelings known that she thinks Nadine is a fraud. . .after she finds out Nadine has a ghost writer.
When Nadine White is found dead in the Normal Library, Abby Fawn is Detective Hank Sharp's number one suspect.
It's time for Mae West to put up her camping gear for the winter months and put on her sleuthing gear to figure out who is framing Abby Fawn before Abby is the ending in Nadine White's final chapter. (Goodreads)
I've been listening to this series this year and it just happened that the next one I needed to read was the Christmas book and it came available at my digital library with no wait! It is a fun series if you haven't read it and you can start with this book but they are pretty short (this one is under 5 hours).
Buy Christmas, Criminals, and Campers at Amazon
Baking It Merry by Samantha Chase
For two months out of the year, Daphne Noelle got to live her dream of owning a bakery. Her little pop-up bake shop—one that looked just like a gingerbread house—brought joy to every customer who stopped by to enjoy her sweet treats. She loved meeting people and making them smile, and being in such a festive setting every day was just the icing on the cake! For the last three years, everything had gone smoothly, but this year, there was one guy who was determined to ruin it all.
One of the things Tristan appreciated most about the office complex where his architecture firm was located is how upscale and elegant it was. Unfortunately, every year for eight long weeks, a holiday shop set up in the lobby, turning it into the equivalent of a traveling circus, and the bake shop booth was the worst offender. The giant gingerbread house was an eyesore and the woman running it was too cheery for his liking. This year, he was determined to do everything he could to have her and her booth removed.
When Tristan finds himself in the middle of a delicate family situation, only Daphne can help him. Now, he’ll have to beg and plead and promise to be on his best behavior while dealing with her exuberant holiday joy. But the more time he spends with her—and the more awkward situations she saves him from—he begins to realize there’s more to her than over-the-top holiday cheer. And maybe, when you’re with the right person, Christmas can mean a little bit more. (Goodreads)
Who doesn't love a Christmas romance? If you are looking for something more like a Hallmark movie, then try this audiobook. You can check out my full review for more of my thoughts on this 6 hour audiobook.
Buy Baking It Merry at Amazon
Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop edited by Otto Penzler
Thirteen festive crime stories set in New York City’s beloved mystery bookstore
The oldest mystery specialty bookstore in the world, The Mysterious Bookshop, has for most of its forty-five-year history commissioned an original short story as a holiday gift for its customers. Written exclusively for the store and never published elsewhere, the stories were given as a holiday gift to its customers as a thank you for their business, handed out or mailed between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
The prompt for the story requires three that it be set at Christmastime, that it involve a crime of some kind, or the suspicion of one, and that it be set at least partially in the bookstore. And from these loose structural guidelines, diverse tales took flight.
The thirteen tales included in this volume are among the finest to be produced in this annual tradition, sure to charm any reader looking for a holiday-themed escape. Included herein are the ingenious “Snowflake Time” by Laura Lippman; Lyndsay Faye’s tale of vengeance “A Midnight Clear”; the challenging brainteaser, “A Christmas Puzzle,” by Ragnar Jónasson; “Hester’s Gift,” an impossible crime story by Tom Mead; the suspenseful “The Christmas Party” by Jeffery Deaver; Thomas Perry’s hilarious comedy of errors, “Here We Come A-Wassailing;” and other tales appropriate for the season, collected and introduced by Otto Penzler. The result is, objectively speaking, the finest “stocking stuffer” that a mystery fan could hope to find. (Goodreads)
If you only have time for a few snippets of listening as you run last-minute errands, this short story anthology of Crime Christmas stories will keep you entertained. Read my full review.
Buy Christmas Crimes at The Mysterious Bookshop at Amazon
The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber
No one tells a Christmas story like Debbie Macomber. The Christmas Basket is filled with gifts for the reader -- gifts of warmth and laughter . . . and emotional truth. This Christmas, let Debbie make you smile!
That summer -- more than ten years ago, while they were still in high school -- Noelle McDowell and Thomas Sutton fell secretly in love. Secretly because their mothers had been locked in a bitter feud for decades. But despite the animosity between Sarah McDowell and Mary Sutton, Noelle planned to elope with Thom. Until he jilted her.
This Christmas Noelle McDowell is home to celebrate the holidays with her family. (After all, December 25 is also her birthday.) Unfortunately, Noelle's feelings about home -- or rather, her hometown of Rose, Oregon -- were changed forever the day Thomas Sutton broke her heart.
This Christmas the feuding mothers find themselves working together to fill Christmas baskets for charity. What irony! And what an opportunity for reconciliation . . . if only they could see it.
This Christmas Noelle and Thom discover they're still in love. Regardless of their mothers' reactions, they want to be together. Is that possible? Can old rivalries be set aside? Will Sarah's Christmas daughter have a second chance with Mary's charming son?
Maybe she will . . . this Christmas! (Goodreads)
I love Debbie Macomber's Christmas books. I became a fan a little late so I have a whole backlist of titles to read. Usually it is impossible to get her Christmas books at Christmas time. It's a Christmas miracle as it was available this morning when I went to my digital library to check on my holds (none of them are available). So I'm currently listening to it as I write this.
Buy The Christmas Basket at Amazon
Recipe: Peppermint Oreo Truffles
16 oz package of Oreo cookies (about 45 cookies)
8 oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1.5 tsp peppermint extract
1 cup vanilla melting chips/wafers or almond bark
Put the oreo cookies in the food processer and process until you have fine cookies crumbs. Add cream cheese and peppermint extract to the crumbs and process until mixed (the cookies crumbs should stick together). Refrigerator for at least an hour.
Using a 1in cookie scoop, roll mixture into balls.
Melt vanilla chips or almond bark (you can do with in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted OR on the stove top with a double boiler or a pot of water with a smaller bowl on top - bring water to boil and stir chips until melted).
Dip cookie balls in the melted chips until coated. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Top with crushed peppermint pieces (I find the miniature candy canes are the easiest to crush) or colorful sprinkles. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Makes about 30 truffles that are perfect for popping in your mouth while reading!
Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.
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