Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

There is an hour in late December that feels unlike any other.

It might arrive early in the morning, before the house wakes. Or late at night, after the dishes are done and the lights are low. Outside, the world is hushed. Inside, there is nothing urgently asking for your attention.

This is the quietest hour of the year.

I’ve come to recognise it not by the clock, but by the feeling. The sense that time has loosened. That no one is waiting for a response. That the noise of obligation has briefly stepped aside. When this hour appears, reading feels less like an activity and more like a natural response.

During one such hour a few winters ago, I opened a book almost instinctively. There was no plan to read much — just enough to fill the silence. But the silence held. The pages turned slowly. The hour stretched. And when it passed, I felt steadier than I had in days.

That is the gift of reading in deep quiet:

It meets stillness with stillness.

Some books are especially suited to this hour. They don’t rush you forward. They don’t demand sustained alertness. They feel content to sit beside you while the world rests. These are not books for multitasking. They are books for presence.

Today, on Day 21 of our Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar, I invite you to notice when your quietest hour arrives. Don’t schedule it. Don’t announce it. Just recognise it when it comes — and meet it with a book that understands the moment.

🌙 Today’s Reading Picks — “Books for the Quietest Hour”

Gentle companions for reading in near-silence:

• Still Life — Sarah Winman
• The Living Mountain — Nan Shepherd
• A Book of Silence — Sara Maitland
• The Book of Disquiet — Fernando Pessoa

These are books that don’t interrupt the quiet. They deepen it.

You can explore the full Advent Calendar titles here:
👉 Explore the Advent Calendar collection on Bookshop.org

And if you’d like to continue gently:
👉 Visit the Reading-for-Pleasure Starter Shelf

• A Man Called Ove — Fredrik Backman: Short chapters, deep heart, unforgettable payoff.
• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine — Gail Honeyman– Relatable loneliness, gentle humour and hope
• The Reading List — Sara Nisha Adams: A love letter to books for non-readers.
• Before the Coffee Gets Cold — Toshikazu Kawaguchi – Short, magical and deeply satisfying.
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time — Mark Haddon: Fast, different and instantly engaging.
• Remarkably Bright Creatures — Shelby Van Pelt: An octopus narrator that wins over even non-readers.
• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry — Rachel Joyce: Simple premise, quietly transformative.
• The Outsiders — S.E. Hinton: Fast, emotional and accessible at any age.
• Sapiens — Yuval Noah Harari: Big ideas, conversational tone.
• Educated — Tara Westover: Compulsive, human and inspiring.
• Born a Crime — Trevor Noah:  Laugh-out-loud storytelling with substance.
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind — William Kamkwamba: Short, hopeful and deeply motivating.
• Atomic Habits — James Clear:  Bite-sized, practical and confidence-boosting.
• How to Stop Time — Matt Haig: Gentle fantasy with emotional pull.
• Tuesdays with Morrie — Mitch Albom: Short, meaningful and accessible.

When the quietest hour finds you, don’t rush to fill it.
Let a book sit with you inside it.
And allow stillness to do its quiet work.