Tag: George Matteson

#HolidayReadathon : 4th Annual Holiday Reading Celebration!

Posted Sunday, 8 December, 2013 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments



When I first received the happy news about this readathon, I instantly was thrilled being that I have always appreciated seeking out the spirit of Christmas in novels at my local library! Each year, since 2009 I have had the pleasure of finding a heap of choices specifically in the romance genre & children’s picture books! I have always focused on these two areas of story-telling as Christmas starts to spruce up our lives with a bit of an extra dose of joy! You know this time of the year is starting to arrive, whilst noting the decorations alighting in your neigbhourhoods as much as the streetlights donning their holiday lighted decorations! Tree lighting ceremonies and walkabouts by luminaries are planned. Festive hearts are seen wherever you go. Everyone feels caught up in the light and heart of the season. Even if everyone is celebrating differently, there is this congenial mindset to where each person you bump into wishes you warm joy and mirth!
I began at a very young age reading holiday romances, as I had settled into the Regency Christmas novella collections of which Mary Jo Putney was a contributor. The Christmas balls and galas swept me into the heart of the season as much as the joy of the celebrations in Regency England! I love the creative touch writers give the Christmas spirit aglow in their stories! I like reading romances because they highlight the unexpected paths our lives can take us and many a-time lead us to who we are meant to be with as we walk through life. Romance and Christmas for me are a natural companions. I think I will even appreciate reading them more whilst bundled up in warmer clothes, sitting by hearth or wood-stove, with snowflakes floating down outside — as I’ve spent all my Christmases in a Southern state whose temperatures barely drop past 80 degrees! I’m too used to 100 degrees in November and high 90s in December! A few times, our weather patterns will treat us to the low 40s and 50s, but those moments are too rare for me! I think this is why I have always appreciated reading the Christmas romances that I do! Always plenty of snow! Plenty of windows into a colder clime and the bliss of seeing a change in the season which is evident as soon as you duck outside crunching into snow & see the fir trees!

My Holiday Reading Selections: 2013!

  1. The Christmas Promise by Donna VanLiere
  2. The Christmas Pearl by Dorothea Benton
  3. Peiling and the Chicken-Fried Christmas by Pauline Chen
  4. A Covington Christmas by Joan A. Medlicott
  5. Christmas Letters by Debbie Macomber
  6. The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
  7. There’s Something About Christmas by Debbie Macomber
  8. Christmas Wishes by Debbie Macomber
  9. Home for Christmas by Jan Brett
  10. Tales from Christmas Trains by James F. Kaserman
  11. Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas
  12. Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan
  13. Christmas at Holly Hill by Martha Rogers
  14. A Christmas Ball by Jennifer Ashley
  15. A Nantucket Christmas by Nancy Thayer
  16. Nancy & Plum by Betty Bard MacDonald
  17. The Story of Holly & Ivy by Rumer Godden
  18. An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor
  19. Mistletoe and Molly by Janet Dailey

& Christmas Picture Books:

  1. The Friendly Beasts by Anna Voitech
  2. The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
  3. The Little Drummer Mouse by Mercer Mayer
  4. Merry Christmas, Merry Cow by Kathi Appelt
  5. Christmas at the Toy Museum by David Lucas
  6. Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon
  7. Yoon and the Christmas Mitten by Helen Recorvits
  8. The Christmas Tugboat by George Matteson
  9. The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore;
    retold & illustrated by Rachel Isadora

I wonder who will be joining the Twitter party for the Holiday #Readathon, 8th December 2013 at 9pm!? I had originally intended to read on Friday night & during the day on Saturday, but I suffered a bit of a hiccup in my plans to that regard! I am thankful that whilst conversing with Ms. Wiemer that even if my plans didn’t go as I hoped, I could still be a part of the joy of the Holiday Readathon! :)

Shabby Blogs

I plan to read books from these chosen selections
between 8th December through Twelfth Night (5 January 2014)
A “Twelfth Night Readathon”! {inspired by the “Holiday Readathon!”}

TwelfthNightReadathon

About the Readathon:
The Twelfth Night Readathon was created by Jorie of Jorie Loves a Story and Christine of Readerly Musings to promote the reading of Christmas and Holiday stories. We noticed there were a few readathons this time of year, but none were dedicated solely to Christmas and Holiday readings. While this readathon started out being between two bloggers wanting to share their Christmas and Holiday cheer with the bookish blogosphere, anyone is welcome to participate! With one stipulation: they must be willing to read Christmas and/or Holiday themed books throughout the readathon! The number of books they read is up to them!

This readathon will run from 8 December, 2013
until 5 January, 2014 (Twelfth Night).

| The Bloggers |

Jorie of Jorie Loves a Story @JLovesAStory
Christine of Readerly Musings @ReaderlyMusings

All of these links lead to the bloggers’ master posts for the readathon.

| Special Topical Posts Forthcoming |

{SOURCE: Holiday Readathon badge provided by WhoRuBlog to show support for participants! Twelfth Night Readathon Badge created to show support for those who participate each year!}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

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Posted Sunday, 8 December, 2013 by jorielov in Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Children's Literature, Holiday Readathon, Library Find, Library Love, Picture Book, RALs | Thons via Blogs, Romance Fiction