Dec 2025 - A Caroling We Go

[Janice, Moderator]

🎼Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir🎼

I hope people are looking for some festive reads this Christmas season - or not. Maybe you just want some light fluffy reading. Or maybe you're still reading your Halloween horror stories. With this challenge, you may chose a book based on your own desires.

I found the top 5 Christmas songs:
"White Christmas" by Bing Crosby
"All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"" by Brenda Lee
"Jingle Bell Rock"" by Bobby Helms
"The Christmas Song"" by Nat King Cole

For the December 2025 challenge. find a book inspired by one of the songs above. Let you imagination go wild and end the year with "just the right book". You will need to explain how your chosen book fits one of the songs. The connection needs to be reasonable.

You coud chose "White Christmas" and read a book whose author has the initials BG. "All I Want for Christmas is You" could be a romance. You could be smitten by the lyrics and read a novel with a character named Jack. A Christmas theme could be applied to any of the carols.

General Rules:

1. The book may be in any format - paperback, ebook, audiobook.
2. The book may be combined with the Year Long Challenge and the Group Themed Read.
3. The book must be started and read between Dec1-31, 2025 (based on your local time zone).
4. The challenge is for one book. You may read more books if you chose but you need only report one.
5. The book must be 175 pages or more determined by the issue you read.
In the case of ebooks & audiobooks, the ebook edition must be at least 200 pages and the audiobook must be a minimum of 6 hours long.

Reporting:

- List your WoF name.
- Link to the book you read
- Tell us which prompt you chose and how your book fits the prompt
- Give us a small blurb about your reactions to the book.

[Janice, Moderator]

I thought I'd get the monthly challenge posted sooner than later so you can get the gophering for it done prior to the posting of the annual challenge.

[Laura]

That sounds like the opposite of Meanie 😄

I like this idea and will try to gopher something 🐿️ (we need a gopher emoji)

[Kristie, Moderator]

Thanks for posting early, Janice! Excited to gopher.

[Alexandra]

This is the perfect December-challenge for me as I still have to read about 9 books for the yearly challenge. I’m sure I can fit one of them in. Thanks, Janice!

[Jayme, Moderator]

Love a holiday challenge, Janice.

I just finished Holiday Romance and was looking for a reason to read the second book in the series Snowed In, but I still have 4 books to read for the annual challenge... however
If you are dreaming of a "White Christmas", you just might get "Snowed In."

[Kristie, Moderator]

I think I'm going to go with another King (Stephen King) for Nat King Cole. I'll read Carrie. I suppose that could also work for Mariah Carey too, but that wasn't my first thought. lol

[Lanelle]

This is perfect.

I have 8 books left for the year-long challenge. One of the books is A Texas Kind of Christmas. I'll save it to read in December.

[Laura]

I’m considering

A Boy Called Christmas bc I love Matt Haig
And also The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Could anyone who’s read Snow Child tell me if it could be considered a comforting read? I’m not into violence or missing children but I’m getting the feeling this isn’t at all like that?

[Sharon]

I LOVE this. On vacation with my family this week but can’t wait to get to this!

[Sharon]

The Snow Child is sweet in some ways and bittersweet in others. I’m not sure you would call it a “feel good” book.

[Laura]

ooh. Thx for letting me know that, Sharon.

[Pragya]

I'm planning on reading 'Red, white, and royal blue' for white Christmas song. It fits the group theme in December too!

[Karin]

Janice wrote: "🎼Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir🎼

I hope people are looking for some festiv
e reads this Christmas season - or not. Maybe yo..."
This is fun. I haven't figured out what holiday books I'll read this year, if any, but of course it only has to be inspired :)

"White Christmas" by Bing Crosby
"All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"" by Brenda Lee
"Jingle Bell Rock"" by Bobby Helms
"The Christmas Song"" by Nat King Cole

[Janice, Moderator]

I've only considered two books so far:

Hercule Poirot's Silent Night
The Holiday Hate-Off

I'll do a little more gophering tonight.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I do have a romance to read too, so I could always steal your "All I Want for Christmas is You" romance link. ;) Two Wrongs Make a Right I think I'll still go with my King connection though. December will have a lot of 'wrapping up' challenges to do.

[Laura]

I was just leaving my favorites in that thread and happened to see this one. I may just reread it. Would be wonderful even if you’re not a Dickens fan, but if you like him and/or A Christmas Carol: The Original 1843 Edition, you’d enjoy this.

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

[Karin]

I'm guessing that gophering can include our want to read shelf on GR since I primarily use the library. I'm off to check now!

[Katrisa]

I like your King idea Kristie. I have Stephen King's Never Flinch on my to read list (as i didn't get to it during the Toppler)so I think I'll read that!

[Karin]

Books I'm borrowing to choose a book from (not typing it all out now) hoarded on my want to read shelf (I do have a hoard!)
Initialsauthor MC for Mariah Carey song Mary Connealy - Whispers of Fortune

(still need to check for a king connection)

"Jingle Bell Rock" - tie into Bell with author surname - Angela Bell A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure

Not complete as I only have time to search author initials. No want to read books have Christmas in the title and that's the only title word I looked up.

There were more, but not from my two library systems.

[Laura]

Janice, if the main character’s last name is also Cole, would that be enough to tie to “The Christmas Song”?

I’m thinking about The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson.

I don’t think it’s a straight up romance, as it’s more of a mystery, although MC is a widow and a man who is a friend of her dead husband comes along and wants to be with her…..not sure if that could also tie to “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, or if you’re looking for a romance novel for this.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Thanks for the recommendation, Laura. I have Mr. Dickens and His Carol on my TBR too.

Karin - Gophering really just means looking for books that fit the task, so you can search anywhere.

I hope you enjoy Never Flinch, Katrisa. I'm a fan of the Holly Gibney series.

[Janice, Moderator]

Karin wrote: "I'm guessing that gophering can include our want to read shelf on GR since I primarily use the library. I'm off to check now!"

Gophering is not limited to what is on your tbr shelf. You can type in "Christmas" in the "search books" fields on Goodreads, your library, Amazon, Kobo, Audible - wherever you acquire books to read.

[Janice, Moderator]

Laura wrote: "Janice, if the main character’s last name is also Cole, would that be enough to tie to “The Christmas Song”?

I’m thinking about The Art of a Lie by [author:Laura Shepherd-Robinson..."

Yes, Cole as a character connects with Nat King Cole.

[Margo]

I'll probably go with "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey, and read something by M.R. Carey.Not only the same initials, they share a surname!

The book I should read is Fellside as I've owned it for a couple of years - the one I want to read is one I picked up recently Once Was Willem. New, shiny one will probably win LOL

[Janice, Moderator]

Margo wrote: "I'll probably go with "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey, and read something by M.R. Carey.Not only the same initials, they share a surname!

The book I should read ..."

I've enjoyed MR Carey's books. I had to chuckle about "new, shiny". :)

[Karin]

Kristie wrote: "Thanks for the recommendation, Laura. I have Mr. Dickens and His Carol on my TBR too.

Karin - Gophering really just means looking for books that fit the task, so you can search anywhere.

I hope..."

Excellent. I do a lot of gophering as it is :) The song I like best is Jingle Bell Rock, but I'm not sure if that's the song I'll go from.