Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly series created by Rukky at Eternity Books and hosted by Aria at Book Nook Bits. The full list of December topics can be found here.
This week’s topic is Holiday Reads.
Christmas books and movies dominate the media during the winter season, but Christmas isn’t the only holiday being celebrated. Do you like reading holiday books at all?
I do like reading holiday books but I would not say they are my favorite genre to read. Often I will read one holiday-themed book around this time of year and that’s it.
So far this year I haven’t read one because the mood simply didn’t strike me. I had planned to read A Virgin River Christmas by Robyn Carr but I had a huge stack of library books that I chose to prioritize instead since they were due back relatively soon. I still hope to read that book but it may not be during the holiday season.
Have you ever read a holiday book about another religion?
It’s no secret that the majority of holiday books are about Christmas. While there’s nothing wrong with that, I do yearn for books that feature more holidays such as Hanukkah.
The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer is the first book I came across that I thought did a really wonderful job of centering on a holiday that wasn’t Christmas. Another book that comes to mind is A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lali which is set during the holiday of Diwali in India.
What about a holiday book not set during the winter season?
Mr. Perfect on Paper by Jean Meltzer centers on the Jewish high holidays that take place in September. Other than that I don’t think I’ve read anything categorized as holiday that wasn’t set during winter.
If you’re religious but don’t celebrate Christmas, do you feel represented in the holiday media?
I am starting to see a lot more Jewish representation in contemporary fiction which makes me happy. Until recently I simply haven’t seen representation of anything other than Christmas, which is probably why I read so few holiday books.
I would love to see more authors like Jean Meltzer bringing that representation to contemporary fiction. Her books have been a breath of fresh air and make me feel connected to something in a way that Christmas books simply never have or will.
Hannah's Library 
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