Book to make your day by John Grisham: 'Skipping Christmas' - The No. 1 bestseller and perfect holiday read to escape the festive hustle

John Grisham, born in 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, is a best-selling American author known for his legal thrillers and compelling storytelling. Grisham began his career as a lawyer before turning to writing, drawing on his legal experience to craft realistic courtroom dramas. He gained international fame with The Firm (1991), which was later adapted into a successful film. According to Penguin Random House, Grisham has written over fifty consecutive #1 bestsellers, including A Time to Kill, The Pelican Brief, Skipping Christmas, Framed, Camino Ghosts, and The Exchange: After the Firm, translated into nearly fifty languages. A two-time Harper Lee Prize winner, he also received the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award. Grisham serves on the boards of the Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries and resides on a farm in central Virginia. His works have sold over 300 million copies worldwide, cementing his place as a literary icon.

SKIPPING CHRISTMAS - GIST OF THE NOVEL

John Grisham’s 'Skipping Christmas', a New York Times bestseller in 2001, is a humorous holiday novel about Luther and Nora Krank, a middle-aged couple who decide to skip Christmas altogether after their daughter leaves home. Tired of the stress, expenses, and social obligations that come with the season, they plan to save money and take a cruise instead. Their decision shocks neighbors and disrupts the tightly knit community’s Christmas traditions, leading to comic misunderstandings and mounting pressure to conform. As the holiday approaches, unexpected events test the Kranks’ resolve and reveal the importance of generosity, kindness, and human connection. The novel blends satire and warmth, offering a lighthearted reflection on the true meaning of Christmas beyond decorations and rituals.


Grisham was born to a cotton farmer and construction worker father and a homemaker mother. According to CBC News, he spent his early childhood on a struggling cotton farm, which his family abandoned in the middle of the night - a move Grisham later called 'the best of my life'. His first novel, A Time to Kill, was inspired by the testimony of a young rape victim and tells the story of a father seeking justice against the men who attacked his daughter. The manuscript was rejected 28 times before being published by Wynwood Press. Remarkably, the film rights to his second book, The Firm, were sold to Paramount Pictures for $600,000 even before publication, as reported by CBC News, launching Grisham’s literary career.