Christmas Shorts

 Are you finding this month too busy to find much time to read?  Don't let your reading life suffer, consider trading in those novels for short stories!

 Short stories are a great solution when your time is limited: what a breath of fresh air to be able to finish a story in one sitting.  Of course there are so many options, but I'm highlighting these three that are perfect December reads (or presents).

1. A Very Russian Christmas: I bought this for myself after going way down a Russian literature rabbit hole.  I believe it started with A Gentleman in Moscow, but Anna Karenina or Pnin may have come first.  In any case, this is a delightful way to acquaint (or reacquaint) yourself with literary giants like Tolstoy, Chekhov and Dostoevsky in less intimidating, bite-sized chunks. Pour a glass of vodka and settle in by the fire with this for a pleasurable evening.

2. The Gift of the Magi:  Speaking of literary giants.  This is considered by many to be short story perfection and it certainly is a sentimental favorite worthy of sharing with your whole family.  If you haven't read this since your childhood I highly recommend picking it up again.

3. Ghosts of Christmas Past: For those that enjoy a different kind of Christmas spirit(s)! I stumbled upon this volume on a staff picks display at the library last week.  The stories aren't horror, just atmospheric and spooky.  Great to cuddle up with under a warm blanket when you've had enough of the sappy Hallmark movies.  Most of the low reviews on this are due to the fact Neil Gaiman's contribution is barely a full page of text, and rather odd at that.  In my opinion, the other stories more than make up for it.

*The links in the post are Amazon affiliate links.  Your price is not affected but I may earn a small commission if you purchase using the links and for that I am very appreciative.

Happy Holiday Reading!