Mystery Melange Christmas Edition

Last-minute gift givers (or just general book lovers) can take heed of some giveaways for the holidays: Criminal Element has a chance to win eight different books, several with holiday themes; and author Sue Coletta organized a Rafflecopter to win 30 crime novels.

Janet Rudolph has once again compiled a list of Christmas-themed mysteries for her blog Mystery Fanfare. Check out all the titles, beginning with A-D followed by E-H, then I-N, O-R, and finally S-Z.

Actor Stephen Fry has lent his vocal talents to two classic detective stories Audible is giving away as an exclusive Christmas gift to its members. The Coin of Dionysius and The Game Played in the Dark feature blind detective Max Carrados, part of Ernest Bramah's Carrados series that sometimes outsold Sherlock Holmes in the Edwardian era. If you don't have Audible, you can read the stories online (hat tip to Crime Fiction Lover who has the links).

Washington Post critic Michael Dirda chose "12 Books for Christmas" that include The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories, edited by Otto Penzler, and The Spectrum of English Murder: The Detective Fiction of Henry Lancelot Aubrey-Fletcher and G.D.H. and Margaret Cole.

Classic Mysteries offers up suggestions of books you might consider as "stocking stuffer" gifts to introduce readers to mysteries from the Golden Age and beyond. Need more ideas? Read Me Deadly has 13 more Golden Age nuggets.

CBC Radio's Mystery Book Panel came up with a list of "13 gripping good books for the holidays."

If you're a classical music like I am, look no further for gifts (for a friend or yourself) with the recently-announced Grammy Nominees.

If you're looking for some fab holiday entertaining recipes, check out the Mystery Lovers Kitchen blog, with some Scottish Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies, and the Cozy Chicks Blog  and some Red Velvet Truffles. If you're avoiding gluten, try the Mystery Lovers Kitchen Gluten-free Yule Log recipe.

Think you're a true Christmas fanatic? See how many of these "10 Interesting Facts about Christmas and Its Traditions" you know. (Hat tip to Bill Crider.)

Take a trip down memory lane with Mashable's video list of "100 years of toys will make you nostalgic for gift-giving of the past."

Mashable also made note (tongue-in-cheek) of "11 Christmas traditions from around the world we should all adopt immediately."

Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch sent a letter to Santa For National Letter Writing Day in the UK. But he was mostly asking for peace and literacy for the children of the world. And maybe a little something for himself.

Author, blogger, consultant, and former law enforcement officer Lee Lofland has a new take on a holiday classic, with "The Twelve Graveyard Shifts of Christmas."

What do you do when you work  in a company best known for its vacuum cleaners? According to these Dysons' engineers, it's only logical that you build a Christmas tree using the power of wind to create floating ornaments.

If you're feeling a bit Grinch-like this holiday season, you might enjoy binge watching the list of movies NPR compiled, "Oh Holy Fright: Christmas Horror Movies That Slay."

In that same vein, if you are thinking about poisoning someone this Christmas (only in your books, of course!), you might think again, according to Dr. Kathryn Harkup, a chemist and author of A Is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie.

Not a fan of Christmas sweaters? Try these "10 alternatives for people who hate Christmas jumpers."

And if all else fails, find that warm, buzzy holiday cheer through the "12 Days of Cocktails" via Omnivoracious.