Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I'm Mike - this is Riiff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome!
The 12 Days of BookTube is an original Christmas Book Tag inspired by The 12 Days of Christmas, featuring classic literature, favorite novels, unforgettable endings, and books that shaped my reading life.
Rather than the 12 days before Christmas, this tag is rooted in the historical Twelve Days of Christmas, running from Christmas Day through Epiphany. Each verse of the song becomes a bookish prompt, allowing me to highlight novels that have shaped my reading life, moved me deeply, or left a lasting impression.
In this video, I discuss:
A standalone favorite novel (Stoner – John Williams)
An iconic literary duo (Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray)
A French connection (The Day of the Jackal – Frederick Forsyth)
A narrator who never stops talking (Portnoy’s Complaint – Philip Roth)
A golden literary treasure (Diamonds Are Forever – Ian Fleming)
A book that laid the foundation for my reading life (Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy)
Lyrical, elegant writing (One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel García Márquez)
A comfort read for book lovers (84, Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff)
An immersive, intoxicating read (Erotic Vagrancy – Roger Lewis)
A novel that shocked and challenged me (Too Late the Phalarope – Alan Paton)
A book with a distinctive narrative voice (Frederick Forsyth’s autobiography)
And a novel with a devastating, unforgettable ending (Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton)
Timestamps & Chapters
00:00 Introduction & The 12 Days of Book Tag
01:51 Day 1 – Partridge in a Pear Tree (Stoner)
03:40 Day 2 – Two Turtle Doves (Vanity Fair)
05:04 Day 3 – Three French Hens (The Day of the Jackal)
06:32 Day 4 – Four Calling Birds (Portnoy’s Complaint)
07:45 Day 5 – Five Gold Rings (Diamonds Are Forever)
08:47 Day 6 – Six Geese a-Laying (Anna Karenina)
11:06 Day 7 – Seven Swans a-Swimming (One Hundred Years of Solitude)
12:59 Day 8 – Eight Maids a-Milking (84, Charing Cross Road)
14:45 Day 9 – Nine Ladies Dancing (Erotic Vagrancy)
17:44 Day 10 – Ten Lords a-Leaping (Too Late the Phalarope)
21:25 Day 11 – Eleven Pipers Piping (Forsyth Autobiography)
23:55 Day 12 – Twelve Drummers Drumming (Ethan Frome)
25:53 Final Thoughts & Invitation to Join the Tag
This tag is an invitation rather than a challenge. If you’d like to do The 12 Days of Book, please feel free — book tags exist simply to give us an excuse to talk about books we love.
The tag prompts are :
DAY 1 A Partridge in a Pear Tree - A book that stands alone: a favourite standalone novel A beautiful “single tree” that doesn’t need a series
DAY 2 Two Turtle Doves - A book with an unforgettable duo. Best friends, iconic siblings, or a romantic pair that lives in your heart.
DAY 3 Three French Hens - A book with a French Connection (or at least foreign to you)
Historical, international, glamorous — you choose!
DAY 4 Four Calling Birds - A book whose characters just can’t stop talking. Dialogue-driven fiction or distinctive character voices.
DAY 5 Five Gold Rings - A book about treasure, or that feels like treasure. A golden treasured favourite you’ll never part with.
DAY 6 Six Geese a-Laying - A book that “laid the foundation” for your reading life. The book that made you a reader, changed your tastes, or shaped your reading identity.
DAY 7 Seven Swans a-Swimming - A book with beautiful, lyrical writing. Prose so gorgeous it felt like it was gliding off the page.
DAY 8 Eight Maids a-Milking - A comforting, cosy book that “feeds the soul.” Your go-to warm blanket of a read.
DAY 9 Nine Ladies Dancing - A book that swept you off your feet. The most immersive, intoxicating, addictive read you’ve had this year.
DAY 10 Ten Lords a-Leaping A book that shocked you or made your jaw drop A plot twist, dramatic moment, or revelation that made you leap.
DAY 11 Eleven Pipers Piping - A book with a strong narrative voice. A narrator so distinctive you could recognise them by a single sentence.
DAY 12 Twelve Drummers Drumming - A finale that hit like a drumbeat. A book with an unforgettable ending — explosive, emotional, or perfectly done.
QUESTION:
What would your picks be for the 12 Days of Book? Let me know in the comments.
If you enjoyed this video, please consider liking, subscribing, and sharing. It genuinely helps the channel, and I’m grateful you spent this time with me.
And for the almighty alogorithm:
#12DaysofBooktube
#12daysofchristmas
#ChristmasBookTag
#BookTube
#ClassicLiterature
#HolidayReading
#BookTags
#LiteraryYouTube
I'm Mike - this is Riiff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome!
The 12 Days of BookTube is an original Christmas Book Tag inspired by The 12 Days of Christmas, featuring classic literature, favorite novels, unforgettable endings, and books that shaped my reading life.
Rather than the 12 days before Christmas, this tag is rooted in the historical Twelve Days of Christmas, running from Christmas Day through Epiphany. Each verse of the song becomes a bookish prompt, allowing me to highlight novels that have shaped my reading life, moved me deeply, or left a lasting impression.
In this video, I discuss:
A standalone favorite novel (Stoner – John Williams)
An iconic literary duo (Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray)
A French connection (The Day of the Jackal – Frederick Forsyth)
A narrator who never stops talking (Portnoy’s Complaint – Philip Roth)
A golden literary treasure (Diamonds Are Forever – Ian Fleming)
A book that laid the foundation for my reading life (Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy)
Lyrical, elegant writing (One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel García Márquez)
A comfort read for book lovers (84, Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff)
An immersive, intoxicating read (Erotic Vagrancy – Roger Lewis)
A novel that shocked and challenged me (Too Late the Phalarope – Alan Paton)
A book with a distinctive narrative voice (Frederick Forsyth’s autobiography)
And a novel with a devastating, unforgettable ending (Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton)
Timestamps & Chapters
00:00 Introduction & The 12 Days of Book Tag
01:51 Day 1 – Partridge in a Pear Tree (Stoner)
03:40 Day 2 – Two Turtle Doves (Vanity Fair)
05:04 Day 3 – Three French Hens (The Day of the Jackal)
06:32 Day 4 – Four Calling Birds (Portnoy’s Complaint)
07:45 Day 5 – Five Gold Rings (Diamonds Are Forever)
08:47 Day 6 – Six Geese a-Laying (Anna Karenina)
11:06 Day 7 – Seven Swans a-Swimming (One Hundred Years of Solitude)
12:59 Day 8 – Eight Maids a-Milking (84, Charing Cross Road)
14:45 Day 9 – Nine Ladies Dancing (Erotic Vagrancy)
17:44 Day 10 – Ten Lords a-Leaping (Too Late the Phalarope)
21:25 Day 11 – Eleven Pipers Piping (Forsyth Autobiography)
23:55 Day 12 – Twelve Drummers Drumming (Ethan Frome)
25:53 Final Thoughts & Invitation to Join the Tag
This tag is an invitation rather than a challenge. If you’d like to do The 12 Days of Book, please feel free — book tags exist simply to give us an excuse to talk about books we love.
The tag prompts are :
DAY 1 A Partridge in a Pear Tree - A book that stands alone: a favourite standalone novel A beautiful “single tree” that doesn’t need a series
DAY 2 Two Turtle Doves - A book with an unforgettable duo. Best friends, iconic siblings, or a romantic pair that lives in your heart.
DAY 3 Three French Hens - A book with a French Connection (or at least foreign to you)
Historical, international, glamorous — you choose!
DAY 4 Four Calling Birds - A book whose characters just can’t stop talking. Dialogue-driven fiction or distinctive character voices.
DAY 5 Five Gold Rings - A book about treasure, or that feels like treasure. A golden treasured favourite you’ll never part with.
DAY 6 Six Geese a-Laying - A book that “laid the foundation” for your reading life. The book that made you a reader, changed your tastes, or shaped your reading identity.
DAY 7 Seven Swans a-Swimming - A book with beautiful, lyrical writing. Prose so gorgeous it felt like it was gliding off the page.
DAY 8 Eight Maids a-Milking - A comforting, cosy book that “feeds the soul.” Your go-to warm blanket of a read.
DAY 9 Nine Ladies Dancing - A book that swept you off your feet. The most immersive, intoxicating, addictive read you’ve had this year.
DAY 10 Ten Lords a-Leaping A book that shocked you or made your jaw drop A plot twist, dramatic moment, or revelation that made you leap.
DAY 11 Eleven Pipers Piping - A book with a strong narrative voice. A narrator so distinctive you could recognise them by a single sentence.
DAY 12 Twelve Drummers Drumming - A finale that hit like a drumbeat. A book with an unforgettable ending — explosive, emotional, or perfectly done.
QUESTION:
What would your picks be for the 12 Days of Book? Let me know in the comments.
If you enjoyed this video, please consider liking, subscribing, and sharing. It genuinely helps the channel, and I’m grateful you spent this time with me.
And for the almighty alogorithm:
#12DaysofBooktube
#12daysofchristmas
#ChristmasBookTag
#BookTube
#ClassicLiterature
#HolidayReading
#BookTags
#LiteraryYouTube
