Books like The Geek Who Saved Christmas — picked by fans

Cyrus is a man who has planned his success down to the most minute detail, including the type of girlfriend he should have. College, law school, career, and companionship have all been carefully orchestrated to contribute to Cyrus’ preconceived notions of what wealth and success look like. It isn’t until his girlfriend hires an unmatchmaker company to break up with him, and he meets Zora (an owner of that unmatchmaker company) that he realizes he’s had the wrong idea about success all along, especially with the type of woman he should want in his life.

I love this book because it upholds the notion that happiness can’t be bought. No matter how much money and prestige you have, unless you know how to love and be loved, success can end up being a hollow victory. Besides the running commentary on what happiness truly is, this book is equal parts steamy… show more.

Max and Lina have a complicated history, to say the least. He’s the brother of her ex-fiancé, the former best man at Lina’s wedding, and he’s also the reason her intended groom left her standing at the altar. As she makes a bid for a prominent hotel’s business, she’s paired with Max on a marketing project that forces her to deal with the man that ruined her life. Determined to keep him from ruining everything again while indulging in a bit of petty revenge, Lina seeks to get Max to drop out of the marketing campaign. But as they spend more time together, she realizes that Max, who was the worst best man ever, might be the greatest love of her life.

I love this book because it’s rich with humor, heart, and culture. Mia Sosa does a terrific job of making us laugh, while still making us aware of… show more.

Duchess is a female rapper who’s worked hard to get to the top of her game. As a rapper, she’s reached the pinnacle of her success. As a skincare entrepreneur, she’s almost at the precipice of realizing her dreams when bad press caused by an unscrupulous adversary in the entertainment industry nearly topples her ambitions. An invitation to a charity performance for the Queen of England’s late consort is exactly what Duchess needs to erase the bad PR. At least she thinks this is a good idea until she meets and ends up having to stay with Prince Jameson, the patron of the charity events. Instant sparks fly, but as a member of the Royal family, Jameson’s life is entirely mapped out for him, and that doesn’t include falling for a savvy and outspoken Black rapper. The scandal could ruin them both if word of their relationship gets out.

Funny,… show more.

Even before he loses his memory, Diesel is a man who says what he means and doesn’t take foolishness from anyone. That usually works to keep people in line. Except when it comes to Mandy, it seems to generate the exact opposite reaction. Before his loss of memory, her stubbornness irritates him to no end. Once he’s lost his memory, however, that annoyance turns to outright attraction and lust. The humor in this story comes as Mandy tries to keep things platonic between them because of Diesel’s memory loss, and the fact that she’s convinced herself she can’t stand him. But as they spend time together at his snowy cabin, Diesel is intent on wearing her defenses down.

This is the funniest, amnesiac love story I have ever read. It’s emotionally messy and yet so adorable and sexy at the same time. The two leads are both alphas, which leads… show more.

In this story, we follow a Swedish family as they celebrate Santa Lucia early in the morning on December 13th in a traditional manner.

I love the way the family then piles in the car to share their Lucia buns with their grandparents and then extends the joy even further by visiting neighbors who are new to Sweden.

If you are looking for help in creating your own Lucia pageant or home celebration, look no further! The back matter has you covered: it includes the story of St. Lucia, recipes for Lucia buns and pepparkakor, music and lyrics to Lucia's special song (in both Swedish and English!), and patterns for making the costumes.

At school Sam feels different from his classmates because he celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, but after talking it through with his mom, he realizes that he’s excited to be able to observe two holidays instead of one.

The book addresses a child’s feeling of being different because his parents have different religious backgrounds.

I absolutely love Hallmark Christmas movies! Much to my husband’s chagrin, I fill up our DVR with Hallmark movies every November and December and never manage to watch them all. Many of those movies have a royal theme with a prince or princess wanting some normalcy and finding love with an American “commoner.” I originally saw this book on a shelf at Barnes & Noble and knew it would be an enjoyable holiday read. The author didn’t disappoint as she spun the tale of a NYC cab driver and his younger sister who cross paths with Princess Marie of Eldovia.  

This poem was published anonymously in 1823. It’s such a Christmas staple that it’s hard to imagine how ground-breaking it was, but the simple plot – a family sleeps on Christmas Eve while the father hears a noise outside and sees Santa Claus in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer – was the first to set that quintessential Christmas scene. A friend of the author was charmed by the poem and sent it anonymously to a New York newspaper. The author finally owned up to it in 1837, confessing that as a Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature, he had been uneasy about being associated with “unscholarly verse” that he had written only to amuse his children. But this “unscholarly verse” made his name and charms us still.

I absolutely love all of Holly Webb’s books, sometimes she writes about animals in real life and sometimes about animals and magic but whatever she is writing, her books always have fantastic characters and show the bond between humans and animals. I particularly like her Winter Journeys series, they are longer than some of Holly’s other books and sensitively explore different cultures and family relationships. The Snow Bear is one of my favorites. It tells the story of Sara who loves to listen to her grandfather’s stories about the Inuits. One night she goes on a magical snowy adventure with a beautiful polar bear and finally discovers the magic of the Arctic for herself. A gorgeous, wintery story to share or to read alone.

Out of the many Christmas picture books my children received when they were small, this is the one that still gets pulled out and re-read every year.

Annika and her family draw us in as they prepare for the annual Christmas Eve smorgasbord. We hope, along with the main character, Annika, that this year we’ll be lucky and find an almond in the rice pudding, granting us our dearest wishes for the year.

We feel Annika’s moral dilemma when she does find the almond and wonders what she should wish for. Her love for her disabled little brother helps us understand once again that selfless love is at the heart of our favorite holiday.