Tis the season . . . to bring a seasonally appropriate twist to your book club. As the last few months of the year wind down, everything’s coming up holidays. We’re taking it all quite literally, and suggesting you do, too, by nabbing any of our picks this go-round to get into the spirit yourself. From the turn of the calendar to the spin of the dreidel, Christmas shenanigans to Amish simplicity, we’ve got plenty of book club themes for you to peruse for your winter’s first meeting. Wishing you joyful reading and spirited celebrations, merry readers.
ThemE: Christmas Carol Classic
Christmas Bells
by Jennifer Chiaverini
Bring your book club back in time to the 1800s, into the life of the one and only Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one Christmas in Massachusetts. The words Longfellow put on paper that day — the now-classic and much sung “Christmas Bells” — serve to inspire teacher Sophia in present-day Boston as she faces hardships of her own. This is a novel filled with hope, and filled with a quiet reminder to always seek out joy even when times are tough.
For your Christmas Carol Classic book club, once the last page is turned by all, round up your friends and make it as classically Christmas as you can manage. Pull out all the stops: mistletoe, boozy eggnog, the yule log on the television, a spiral ham on the table. Christmas sweaters optional — and be sure to crank up the carols.
Bonus: Here’s a perfect playlist for your Christmas Carol Classic, including the song that sits at the heart of the novel.
Theme: Christmas Competition
How My Neighbor Stole Christmas
by Meghan Quinn
What’s a holiday season without a twinkly romantic comedy? Absolutely incomplete, if you ask us! And so let us suggest to you the absolutely delightful, quite clever, and plenty heartwarming novel How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn. Inspired by the Christmas Kringle contest at the heart of this book, let’s take a cue for a little friendly competition.
For your book club meeting, might we suggest a sweet and delicious contest? There’s no better time for a cookie competition — and make it a swap by providing everything from ballot cards to takeaway boxes for your dedicated readers. Our favorite holiday cookie recipes? This Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookie and this Peanut Butter Miso masterpiece.
Tips: Be careful to not overbake the former, and if you don’t have the required subscription for the latter, poke around the internet for similar versions. And the only thing we ever pour at our cookie parties is Prosecco.
Theme: 8 Wild Nights
The Matzah Ball
by Jean Meltzer
Successful author Rachel loves Christmas, but has kept her feeings secret from her Jewish family for quite some time. Her publisher, however, has been cashing in on her Yuletide devotion via Rachel’s best-selling Christmas romance novels. When said publisher insists she turn her attention to Hanukkah, Rachel is compelled to seek inspo from a former camp nemesis.
Inspired by The Matzah Ball, we’re taking this book club meeting to the intersection of the two holidays for a part jolly, part Jewish mash-up. That’s right, dear readers: welcome to Chrismukkah, Page & Pairing style! For your Chrismukkah meal, serve up these Crispy Classic Potato Latkes with some sour cream and chives, alongside this poached cod (a nod to Christmas’s traditional seven fishes) and jelly donuts and gingerbread for dessert. Rather than the traditional Manischewitz wine, pour something a little more subtle like this Gamay from Burgundy.
Theme: Seasonally Sinister
Last Christmas
by Maria Frankland
Sometimes family dynamics can make the holidays a little extra stressful. So many personalities, so much history, such pressure to feel and show gratitude. Add to that true hatred for a member by marriage and you’ve got the setup for Last Christmas by Maria Frankland. Sacha’s husband, Neil, doesn’t like her family any more than they like him, and yet he’s off to spend the holidays with them. Fatefully fatal circumstances, if ever there were some.
Opt for a darker twist on the usual holiday sparkle by adding something a little more sinister to your book club meeting. While you dig into the turns this story takes as it teases readers with its many clues and reveals, invite your guests to nibble on blood sausage tapas with a side of candied cranberries. For dessert? Gingerbread corpses, of course. (We'll leave the edits up to you, baking reader.)
Bonus: for an extra fun twist serve it all alongside a proper murder mystery.
Theme: Diyas for Diwali
Kaikeyi
by Vaishnavi Patel
The Hindu holiday Diwali usually falls in mid-Autumn, and what a perfect time for a new year celebration. Vaishnavi Patel’s novelization of the life of princess-turned-queen Kaikeyi, stepmother of Rama, brings back to life the story of a woman who was instrumental in the tale of how Diwali came to be, in beautifully compelling fiction.
For this book club, it’s all about the Hindu festival of lights, which celebrates the “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.” Nothing but good vibes here! Serve up this book club alongside Aloo Samosas and Sag Paneer with an absolutely delightful Mango Lassi alongside.
Bonus: If your book club friends are the crafty type, consider finding plain clay diyas online and bust out the paintbrushes. Paired with tea lights, your readers never saw a lovelier book club memento.
Theme: Auld Lang Syne
Rules of Civility
by Amor Towles
Speaking of New Year’s, a fairly agnostic version of the holiday hits about about a week after Christmas, and boy oh boy does it serve up a fabulous excuse to get all dolled up to welcome in the calendar’s big change. For your New Year’s Eve-themed book club meeting, reach for the absolutely wonderful novel Rules of Civility by the one and only Amor Towles. As the year 1937 comes to a close, a young woman named Katey has a right-place, right-time moment in New York’s Greenwich Village, with a man who will set her world upside down in the best way possible.
Say so long to the Jazz Age in your sparkly party best. Sequins? Great. Jewels? Even better! Roast Beef Canapes sound like just the thing to serve, and pour plenty of Wet Martinis (tip: get good vermouth for this spin on the classic). Now you can truly party like it’s . . . 1938.
Bonus: If Amor Towles is new to you, be sure to move right along to his second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, once you’re through his first.
Theme: Have a Very Merry Grischtdaag
An Amish Christmas Table
by Tracy Fredrychowski, Mindy Steele, Rachel J Good, Jennifer Beckstrand
The Amish are known for a lot of things, and though parties aren’t one of them, that shouldn’t stop you from embracing the culture for your next book club. First up: the novel An Amish Christmas Table, which has four sweet Amish romances by four poignantly penned writers. Settle in for something cozy and clever.
When it’s time to round up your book club pals, pull it together potluck style, and ask all members to contribute a simple, satisfying element of the meal. This book club meeting is all about community — and the simplest, purest approach to it. So nosh, of course, and keep focus on the book discussion.