The Christmas Bookshop

What is a haberdashery, and what types of things did Carmen sell there?

How was working for Mr. McCredie different from working for Mrs. Marsh?

What types of odd customers and requests did Carmen get in the bookstore? (Hint: Christmas Fish book and the lady who wouldn't leave and hated “capitalism.”

What was Oke a professor of, and what was his real name?

What is a Thundersnow, and how did Carmen and her sister’s kids bond closer during it?

Why didn’t Carmen and Sophia get along at first? Why didn’t Carmen and Skylar?

What is a “suspended cup” of coffee at a coffee shop? Have you ever partaken in it, or do you want to?

How were Oke and Blair different, and why did each appeal to Carmen?

What is the Ormiston Yew, and why was it significant for Oke (and later Carmen as well)?

What is Camera Obscura?

Why did making mouse decorations and wedding dresses give Carmen a sense of peace? What things other things brought peace to each of the characters? What does for you?

Skylar believed that if you “follow good practices” (eat the right things, do yoga and meditation, educate yourself, don’t drink alcohol or caffeine,) then you can stop from ever feeling fear or sadness or worry. How do these things help but not completely solve those issues? How were she and Carmen perhaps each out of balance in this area?

What are some of the interesting things about trees Oke told Carmen?

What was wrong with Blair’s books, especially the Christmas children’s one?

How did things end with him and Carmen versus Skylar?

What was the connection between Carmen’s dreams about the train, an old photo, and Mr. McCredie?

Oke thinks that happiness is “a by-product to being useful. If you do good work and are useful, that makes you happy.” What was happiness to Carmen at the beginning versus the end of the book? What is it to you?