photo credit: arquera

Recently, Library Journal posted a great list of upcoming Christmas reads… So, to get you in the spirit — or as a gift idea…  here is there list, plus LJ’s blurbs!
Ahern, Cecelia. The Gift. 

Ahern (P.S. I Love You) continues her current theme of writing modern fairy tales with this holiday treat. When workaholic corporate magnate Lou meets homeless Gabe (short for, ahem, Gabriel), Lou wants to help out, so he gets Gabe a job in his company’s mail room. No good deed goes unpunished though, and Lou soon finds Gabe constantly giving him unwanted advice and pushing him to see the importance of family and friends. This clever twist on the guardian angel story will appeal to Ahern’s fans and lovers of holiday fiction. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/09.]

Chiaverini, Jennifer. A Quilter’s Holiday: An Elm Creek Quilt Novel. 

The Elm Creek Quilters are back for their third holiday outing (after The New Year’s Quilt). Everyone is busy making gifts, Sarah is anticipating the birth of twins while her husband takes work out of town, and Sylvia discovers previously unknown family ties. Expect demand from fans of this best-selling gentle series. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/09.]

Dunnett, Kaitlyn. A Wee Christmas Homicide.

Liss MacCrimmon (Stone Cold Dead), proprietor of the Scottish Emporium in the Maine town of Moosetookalook, helps her fellow businesspeople drum up shoppers by launching a holiday campaign claiming their small community is the only place left to get this season’s hottest stuffed toy. Someone gets greedy, however, and the toy store owner is murdered. Liss and a quirky cast of supporting characters start their own investigation. For cozy mystery aficionados.

Evans, Richard Paul. The Christmas List.

It’s possible that Santa just won’t come if there isn’t a new Evans (A Christmas Box) holiday tale in his bag. This year, it’s the story of real-estate mogul James Kier, who gets the chance to read his obituary—before he dies. What he discovers unnerves him as the death notice portrays a ruthless, friendless man. James decides to make amends to the many people he’s hurt over the years. Sure to be a best seller, so buy accordingly. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/09.]

Fluke, Joanne. Plum Pudding Murder: A Hannah Swenson Mystery with Recipes.

Baker Hannah Swenson, star of Fluke’s popular cozy series (Candy Cane Murder), is busy with holiday orders when she stumbles across the body of a local businessman, murdered in his office. The list of suspects is long, and Hannah’s time is running short, what with her big job catering desserts for the wedding of the season. Along with recipes for a complete Christmas dinner, this will appeal to Fluke’s fans and cozy readers. [The first Swenson mystery, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, has been optioned for a Lifetime TV series.—Ed.]

Greeley, Andrew M. Home for Christmas.

Father Greeley offers his second Christmas tale (after 2004′s Star Bright!). Pete and Mariana have been in love since grade school, but when Pete runs away, eventually joining the army, he abandons his small-town life and becomes a hero. During his third deployment in Iraq, he is injured in a bomb attack and finds himself in limbo, surrounded by angels who convince him to head back to finish his life and make it up to his sweetheart. For Greeley fans and holiday fiction collections.

Hart, Carolyn. Merry, Merry Ghost.

The second entry (after Ghost at Work) in Hart’s new supernatural series. When wealthy widow Susan Flynn discovers that she has a grandson, she decides to change her will. Unfortunately, another beneficiary objects, and ghost Bailey Ruth Raeburn is sent down from Heaven to defend the boy. A cute and cozy mystery suitable for most collections.

Hinton, Lynne. Christmas Cake.

Hinton returns to her beloved Hope Springs, NC, cast of characters (Friendship Cake) for a tasty holiday treat. Margaret’s cancer has returned, and all she wants for Christmas is to take a trip out West to relive family memories and visit her dear friend Charlotte. So her Hope Springs Church friends gather together to make sure the trip goes off without a hitch. Series fans will be delighted.

Jacobs, Kate. Knit the Season: A Friday Night Knitting Club Novel.

In this holiday special, friends brought together by a Manhattan knitting shop continue to gather for their weekly knitting sessions, this time focusing on Dakota, the young daughter of the shop’s original owner. Dakota is running the shop and attending culinary school, intending to revamp the shop as a knitting café. Feeling overwhelmed, she decides to visit her grandmother in Scotland to gain some perspective and learns a lot about her late mother in the process. Word of mouth was key to the success of the first two books (The Friday Night Knitting Club, Knit Two), and a major motion picture is in the works. Expect demand. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/09.]

Lamb, Wally. Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Christmas Story.

In this charming departure for Lamb (The Hour I First Believed), feisty fifth grader Felix Funicello (yes, distant cousin to Annette) anticipates Christmas. It’s 1964 in blue-collar Connecticut, and Felix worries that he’s caused Sister Dymphna’s mental breakdown. When the school’s Christmas pageant rolls around, the school brownnoser and the new Russian girl duke it out over who gets to play Mary. Full of pop-culture references of the day (the Beatles, for example, as well as the Queen Mouseketeer), this will have broad appeal.

Martin, Kat. The Christmas Clock.

In small-town Michigan, a cast of sweet characters share in a Christmas miracle. Sylvia left town on the eve of her wedding to deal with a major health crisis, alone. She’s now back to set things right with her former fiancé, Joe, who had a rough time of it when she left. Meanwhile, Lottie is coming to terms with her advancing Alzheimer’s and needs to find a suitable family to take in her grandson. Could Sylvia and Joe be the right couple? This charming and romantic fable marks romance author Martin’s (Heart of Honor, The Bride’s Necklace) hardcover debut. A must read for romance readers.

Medlicott, Joan. A Blue and Gray Christmas.

Medlicott’s Ladies of Covington (A Covington Christmas) unearth a rusty box filled with Civil War-era letters and diaries. Realizing these documents tell the story of their town’s founding, they decide to track down the descendants of the soldiers who wrote the items. All of this culminates in a grand Christmas reunion. The perfect gift for Covington fans.

Michaels, Fern & others. Snow Angels.

Four romance authors present romantic holiday novellas. In Michaels’s “Snow Angels,” cranky Olympic skier Max plans on spending the holidays alone, when social worker Grace appears at his door, two little girls in tow. Marie Bostwick’s “The Presents of Angels” features an ex-Rockette who’s given up the big-city life to become a small-town minister’s wife; Janna McMahan’s “Decorations” is the story of Michelle, reeling from her divorce and weary from being her mother’s caretaker but ready to find her true purpose in life; and in Rosalind Noonan’s “Miracle on Main Street,” a New York cop and his family discover the true meaning of Christmas. A solid purchase for paperback collections.

Mortimer, John. A Rumpole Christmas: Stories.

Collected here for the first time in book form are five Christmas-themed Rumpole of the Bailey short stories. Horace Rumpole is not fond of the holidays, as everyone seems to get a break from work except him, because crime never takes a vacation. Fans who mourned Mortimer’s death earlier this year will be thrilled, but smaller libraries may get by without it.

Page, Katherine Hall. The Body in the Sleigh.

In her 18th adventure and her holiday debut, amateur sleuth Faith Fairchild (The Body in the Gallery) has two cases to keep her busy this Christmas—the death of a troubled young woman and the discovery of a baby boy left in a manger. How are these events related? Fans as well as readers new to the series will enjoy this heartwarming tale. (Dedicating this book to librarians, Hall includes a lovely essay celebrating librarianship.) [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 7/09.]

Pearlman, Ann. The Christmas Cookie Club.

Twelve women meet every December to swap homemade cookies, enjoy wine, and share stories. They all have some kind of family issue to resolve, and their stories are both humorous and heartbreaking. There’s a 350,000-copy first printing and film rights optioned by CBS, so watch for this fiction debut from psychotherapist Pearlman (Infidelity: A Memoir) to hit the best sellers lists. Cookie recipes are included.

Perry, Anne. A Christmas Promise.

Mystery author Perry returns with the seventh annual Victorian Christmas offering (after A Christmas Grace). Minnie and Gracie are working on the mystery of a missing donkey. Oh, and Minnie’s uncle has just been murdered, so they set off to solve that crime as well. Short and sweet, for mystery collections where the previous Perry Christmas offerings have done well. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/09; library marketing.]

VanLiere, Donna. The Christmas Secret.

In a another holiday novel (after The Christmas Shoes) from popular Christian fiction author VanLiere, struggling single mother Christina saves the life of a woman who works in Wilson’s department store. When the store owner tries to thank Christina, he discovers she’s disappeared and sends his grandson Jason to find her. Turns out, Jason knows Christina’s kids very well through a tutoring program. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/09.]

Walker, Joseph. Christmas on Mill Street.

In 1962, boys could still get in good with the gang by a show of bravery, such as sledding down the infamous Mill Street hill. But does Sam Andrews, a transplant from Arizona and a newbie to snow, have what it takes? Fans of Jean Shepard’s A Christmas Story will enjoy this short read.

Welcome back!