Love these Christmas recommendations!

I finally read A Kiss for Midwinter because of you! It was my first historical romance, and I loved it!

When you started talking about The Winter Spirits, i got really excited to pick it up, but then you started going over the individual stories and i remembered that the reason i didn't was that from every author in that collection that i have read something, i disliked the thing i read. So maybe it won't be for me

I'm so glad you loved so many of these. Taking notes for next Christmas 😂

Lord of the Flys. So many praise it, it is a classic. As a young student, I can honestly say it traumatized me. I remember throwing it across my room and refusing to finish it. It really pulled my English grade down that year, but I honestly think that is on the curriculum. It needs to not be assigned reading.

I love her books for the atmosphere commentary on society mostly, with the murder coming second. I find it fascinating peeking into society from her perspective...it is my favorite time in history.

Mara, please tier rank all of mysteries/thrillers you have ever read! You can exclude Agatha’s, no surprise here.

Thanks for your thoughts on The Winter Spirits-I may get myself that one with Christmas cash. Currently reading Hogfather and enjoying it! Happiest holidays to you and Marple and Hastings!

That was great! Not the typical contemporary romance Christmas books.

Another great reading rec video...Merry Christmas!

Mara, this was wonderful! It was so fun to watch this at Xmas time. I really appreciate that you included some horror and mystery holidays reads. I'm not a romance girl so this was really kind of you. Many thanks!

I picked up The Winter Spirits too last Christmas. I had to order it from the UK. Going to start this tonight

Wishing you and the Like Whoa family a Merry Christmas!

I was hoping for the Benjamin Stevenson book :D Glad you liked it, sounds like exactly what I expected, can't wait to get into it asap!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!

Hundred Years’ War was a book club selection for me-so glad I read it because I learned so much. You said this was your top choice on Palestine which is great to know. I’d like to read more, so if you have any others that you thought were well written, I’d love a recommendation.

I think I’ll try Murder at Holly House after hearing your review!

I bought Winter Spirits last year too, intending to read it this winter after Christmas

I love this book. I have this particular edition. I ordered another edition because the newer edition has a kick-ass cover

I love Christmas book. Hope you do this every year!🎉

Merry Christmas. 🎄

I haven’t read ‘Hogfather’ but the character of Death is a hoot in the other books I’ve read of his.

Love Hogfather! The two-part mini tv series is a must every christmas for me.

If you're planning to try more Pratchett anyway, I think you will absolutely adore his Tiffany Aching series. It's technically for younger readers but doesn't really read that way, and soberly and poignantly confronts themes like death, identity, class, and prejudice through following the years of a young witch's (rather informal) training and coming of age. The books are laugh out loud funny at times, and at others so deeply moving. I never fail to choke up at some point in each of them. While most Discworld books can be read in any order the Tiffany books need to be read in publication order, starting with The Wee Free Men. The new audiobooks read by Indira Varma are incredible and I've already relistened to them twice or more each, so those are also an easy recommendation to get started. I really hope you give them a try, there's so much cosiness and heart and fire in them.

I'm glad you liked the Benjamin Stevenson! As an Aussie I am really looking forward to reading a Christmas mystery set here. And I love me a campy Christmas special, so it sounds perfect! Perhaps I will order the lovely hardcover from overseas as a treat for next year. His Australian covers are so boring, they look like ARCs! Glad you enjoyed your festive reading. Merry Christmas, Mara!

A Mara vlog on Christmas! What a lovely treat 🎄🎄

this was so so delightful! i love your murder mystery recommendations - my mum is a big big mystery reader and i'm always looking for good recommendations for her. hope you have a happy, safe and healthy festive season <3

This was very fun! Would love to see this kind of vlog again next year. I have, unfortunately, felt middling to badly about the pacing and plot of every Discworld book I have read, haha. People love that series, but I struggle staying interested. I wish you good luck with your reading plans!

Literally JUST finished my first read of A Kiss for Midwinter 😭. I feel like anyone who grew up entrenched in purity culture could get something from that story <3

Festive Season and Reading? Such fun! I could’ve had a better Reading year.

Love this! Thanks for sharing your reading. Merry Christmas Your sweaters are amazing 💕

Happy holidays! Thank you! I know this has been a tough year, but I am very glad that you hadn't given up on sharing your bookish thoughts with us. I always look forward to your videos and I wish you a much better and happier new year!

Hogfather sounds so interesting!!

Rereading "The Finishing Stroke" by Ellery Queen in preparation to watch a video on another fantastic BookTube channel (Summation Gathering). Glad to see you got a nice crop of enjoyable reads for the holidays!

This was fun as usual!! I hope you have a Merry Christmas!! 🎄🎁

This was fun! My favorite Christmas reread is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. It’s a children’s book but I always enjoy it thoroughly for its chuckles. Merry Christmas and happy reading for 2025.

Hogfather! I just began reading Discworld this year. Hogfather is my only Death so far. I adored Susan. I hope to read Soul Music next year which may be the first book she is in. The scene at the mall is ingrained in my brain as the best Christmas moment to be put into print of all time.

Currently doing a Christmas Reading vlog, which should be interesting.

I think it is interesting that your opinion on the mysteries was so different than Meg's. I read the Benjamin Stevenson and enjoyed it and wasn't going to give Murder at Holly House a try. But now that you enjoyed it, I'll check and see if my library has it. Thanks for all the reviews this year, we overlap enough in some areas of our reading tastes that you add to my library list every year which is much appreciated.

I adored happy bloody Christmas, and if you want something that feels really really christmassy twelve slays of Christmas is set on a Christmas tree farm full of events and activities associated with Christmas

Merry Christmas! I highly recommend The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year! It was such a funny, cozy holiday mystery! 🤩

If you’re interested, there’s a Hogfather mini-series that is really campy and fabulous. I watch it every Christmas.

I also read Hogfather this festive season 🎄I'm glad we have so many of these, they're the perfect palate cleanser for me

How delightful. The perfect festive content. Merry Christmas Mara 🎄🎅🏼

Such a fun holiday vlog! Thank you! Happy holidays,Mara.

What a nice surprise for Christmas 🥰💚

Merry Christmas Mara 💖

That copy of the hogfather is gorgeous. Always meant to read it and now I think I’ll be going to find myself a copy of it. Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas 🎄

Putting a lot of these on my TBR