Christmas is just around the corner and for the holiday season, I plan to post a Holiday Season-related book tag every Saturday. For my first December Saturday post, I am doing The Joy of Christmas Book Tag which I have encountered through Adventures of Bibliophile. Her bookish contents are always compelling; do check out her page.

Without any more ado, here’s my 2019 version of The Joy of Christmas Book Tag.

Anticipation: The Christmas excitement is real, what book release(s) are you most anticipating?

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In preparation for my 2020 Books I Look Forward To list, I started doing some research; this question is timely as well. In a separate book tag, I named Emily St. John Mandel’s The Glass Hotel as an unpublished book I look forward to. I do look forward to it, honestly, but Isabel Ibanez’s Woven in Moonlight is another book I can’t resist looking forward to. South American literature features a very rich tapestry that always piques my interest.

Christmas Songs & Carols: What book or author can you not help but sing its praises?

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From South American to Japanese literature. Hiro Arikawa’s The Travelling Cat Chronicles is such a gem of a book. It is a tender and heart-warming read that will forever be embedded in my memory. I do have a lot of books on my mind thought but this one is latest and is also one of my most memorable.

Gingerbread Houses: What book or series has wonderful world building?

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I haven’t read that much world building books but I will always go back to my most basic – J.K. Rowling’s magically fantastic Harry Potter series. Hogwarts fed my imagination, from its architecture to its fabled halls. The entire set magical world is riddled with intricate and fascinating details.

A Christmas Carol: Favorite classic or one that you want to read

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To keep up with the holiday atmosphere, I’ll go with Charles Dickens’ all-time holiday favorite, A Christmas Carol. I’ve always told myself to read the book (like for the past five years or so) but I never got to reading or even purchasing a copy of it. To be fair, I have yet to watch the film adaptation in full.

Christmas Sweets: What book would you love to receive for Christmas

There is a lot of book I want to receive for Christmas, but I rarely get them anyway unless I buy them myself. Haha.

Nevertheless, it would be great if I get to receive either Edith Hamilton’s Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes (75th Anniversary Edition) or the illustrated version of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I am still hoping someone will think of me enough to buy any of these two before I get to buy them with my own money. Haha.

Candles in the Window: What book gives you that warm fuzzy feeling

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I was originally going with Hiro Arikawa’s The Travelling Cat Chronicles but it has already been given as an answer in a previous question. I will go then with Madeline Miller’s Circe. It does kind of sound as a peculiar choice but Circe’s love for her son was just too heart-warming. This is in stark contrast to how Circe was widely portrayed as the villain in the annals of Greek mythology.

Christmas Trees & Decorations: What are some of your favorite book covers?

These are just three of of the books whose cover I truly love. Yoko Tawada’s Memoris of a Polar Bear has that minimalist black and white cover that draws me in. It imbibes imagination and simplicity, two facets of Japanese authors’s writing that I admire. Patrick Suskind’s Perfume‘s cover easily arouses the senses. It rouses the olfactory senses, giving the readers a different sensation, and, hopefully, a wonder reading experience. Zeyn Joukhadar’s The Map of Salt and Stars is another book whose cover easily piques one’s attention. The other books with amazing covers (at least by my definition) include Benjamin Alire Saenz’ Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls.

Christmas Joy: What are some of your favorite things about Christmas And/Or some of your favorite Christmas memories?

Personally, the best thing about Christmas is being surrounded by my family. Christmas is more than the gifts or the food. Working away from my family, I always look forward to the holiday seasons when I can finally get some time off and be with my parents. The smell of mom’s cooking always seduces my senses. Oh, I miss home.

Thus ends my version of this book tag. Again, I am not going to impose on anyone to do their own version. If you feel like doing it, please go ahead. However, don’t forget to tag me so that I can also check out your answers.

Happy reading!