Month: December 2020

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (December 7, 2020)

You guys. We made it to December. I’m not celebrating the fact that 2020 is almost over, though. Have you noticed that every year starting with 2016 has been worse than the one that came before? Part of me wants to shout from the rooftops, SMELL YA LATER 2020, DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT, but tbh I’m concerned about what 2021 may bring if I do that. So I’ll just quietly whisper (tiny voice) we made it to December, y’all.

I had a busy workweek and was kind of looking forward to a relaxing, chill weekend, but – well, you know me. I just don’t do that sort of thing. On Saturday we were out the door for Nugget’s swim lesson: Peanut is done for the year. Both kids were supposed to go through December 19, but with our COVID numbers going through the roof Steve and I had a long talk about whether the kids should continue with swimming. I felt strongly that being able to swim is so huge for safety – and I think it’s fun and want them to enjoy it – and Nugget in particular has made major strides in getting over some fear he was dealing with last year; I didn’t want to finish early. But the numbers are undeniably terrifying. In the end we compromised: we pulled Peanut out because there are eight kids in her class, but we are letting Nugget finish out the season because he is the only one in his class. He had a great lesson, then we headed home for lunch and rolled right back out to hit a local vintage market and farmstand a few minutes from our house, for this year’s Christmas tree. We thought about driving out to Middleburg to cut our own like in 2018, but in the end we decided, it’s 2020, let’s just do the easy thing. Peanut picked the tree, it was trimmed up and loaded on the car, and we were home in less than half an hour. Nothing to it. Spent Saturday evening blasting Christmas carols, eating party snacks and decorating the tree – a tradition.

We had no plans on Sunday. I had some vague ideas about cleaning out the guest bedroom or organizing the family bookshelves, but in the end I just loafed around the house – other than a brief family hike at one of the local parks. No exciting bird sightings on the hike, but we notched two new-to-us species in the front yard: brown creeper and yellow-bellied sapsucker. And I think I may have seen a northern flicker, but I didn’t get a good enough look to say for sure.

Reading. Season’s Readings! (Sorry. Had to do it.) It’s been a mostly-Christmassy week here. I started the week off with the rest of The Folio Book of Christmas Crime Stories. As with any short story collection, there were hits and there were misses – but overall it was a lot of fun. Moved on to Village Christmas: And Other Notes on the English Year, by Laurie Lee. Contrary to what the title and the wintry cover scene would have you believe, it’s not really about Christmas. There’s a little Christmas in the beginning (mostly the caroling and winter scenes from Cider with Rosie) but it’s just a small part of the book. I suspected this, based on the subtitle. Still good! It’s Laurie Lee, after all. Then I set aside the traditional Christmas books (or deceptively non-Christmas, as the case may be) to whip through the latest issue of Slightly Foxed, which arrived midweek and sat temptingly on my coffee table from Thursday on. Really enjoyed this one – especially the last essay, about writers’ superstitions and talismans. Finally! Ended the weekend with some Trollope: Christmas at Thompson Hall and Other Stories. Trollope is never the wrong choice, right?

Watching. The usual this-and-that. A few episodes of Rick Steves’ Europe, The Great Festive Bake-Off, and The Mandalorian. I told Steve that I am having a love-hate relationship with the Rick Steves shows right now. On the one hand, it’s Rick Steves, so how could it be anything but great? But on the other hand, I am decidedly pouty as I sit on my couch, in the butt divot I’ve been working on since March, watching Rick travel to all the places that I can’t go. STOOPID COVID.

Listening. Still working on podcast back episodes. A few episodes from the Tea or Books archive. I was delighted to find that Simon and Rachel found Marilynne Robinson’s When I Was a Child I Read Books as opaque and incomprehensible as I did. That made me feel less stupid for not understanding any of it!

Making. Not much – once again. The usual piles and piles of work product. It was kind of a crappy week on the work front, but I guess that didn’t stop me from churning it out. Curse my Type A work ethic. In nicer news, I made a decorated Christmas tree, and lots of yummy snacks to enjoy while we hung ornaments – including a “cheesmas tree” inspired by Lavender and Lovage, old family classic artichoke dip, and bourbon-soaked fruitcake cookies.

Moving. I thought about “forgetting” this category this week, because I really was not on it. Just one hike and a lot of pacing around while on work phone calls. No running, no barre, no strength training, no yoga. No fun. Must do better next week – I deserve better.

Blogging. In time for holiday shopping season, I am sharing my outdoor gear pet peeve on Wednesday. And then December’s edition of Themed Reads on Friday. I’m excited about this one, so do check in then.

Loving. Is it trite to say I am loving my Christmas tree? Guys, it’s just been such a long pandemic. Twinkle lights lift the spirit, and I really need that right now. I am loving having the tree right next to my bookshelves, having my space bedazzled by tiny white lights, and looking at all my favorite ornaments – pottery ornaments picked up on my travels; National Parks ornaments; sloppy homemade kiddo contributions; nods to Cornell and Jane Austen and paddlesports – all of my favorite things, basically. It is bringing me such joy. And yes, come December 27 I will be googling “where to compost Christmas tree near me” but these two things are not mutually exclusive. Twinkle on, friends!

Asking. What are you reading this week?

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My Christmas 2020 Reading List

In a month that is crammed full of tradition from start to finish, one of my favorite traditions is my own personal practice of reading Christmas books every evening – ideally by the light of a Christmas tree. I don’t have the tree yet (getting it tomorrow, I think!) but I’m already deep into the twinkly reading. I never manage to make it through my entire Christmas shelf in a single holiday season, but I sure do have fun trying. Here’s what’s on my Christmas 2020 reading agenda:

  • The Folio Book of Christmas Crime Stories, by various authors. I’ve already started this one! It’s a fun collection of short stories from the golden age of crime, featuring Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and other famous names – as well as a few new-to-me authors.
  • Village Christmas: And Other Notes on the English Year, by Laurie Lee. I wanted to read this one last year, but couldn’t find it. When it turned up during unpacking from our recent move, I made sure to secure it safely on the Christmas shelf.
  • Winter Solstice, by Rosamund Pilcher. Another one I wanted to read last year – in the case of Winter Solstice, I just didn’t get around to it. This year!
  • Round the Christmas Fire, by various authors. Another one that was missing, and turned up in the move. Who can resist a volume of Christmas stories from Charles Dickens, Nancy Mitford, and everyone in between?
  • Christmas Crackers, Volume I, by John Julius Norwich – Last year, I read Norwich’s hilarious The Twelve Days of Christmas (and I’ll probably re-read it this year; it takes about 20 minutes and is an absolute riot). But I’ve also been wanting to dive into Norwich’s commonplace books, which he called Christmas Crackers. There are literally decades of them, but I’m planning to tackle the 1970s this year.
  • A Country Doctor’s Commonplace Book, by Philip Rhys Evans, and An Englishman’s Commonplace Book, by Roger Hudson – More commonplace books! Country Doctor has been a Christmas Day tradition of mine since Slightly Foxed published it two years ago, and Englishman is a new addition to the library this year. I’m eagerly anticipating both!
  • Christmas at Thompson Hall, and Other Stories, by Anthony Trollope – Yet another one that was missing, and turned up in the move. I love Trollope and have been carefully rationing his novels; this will tide me over until I get around to the next installment in the Chronicles of Barchester.
  • The Twelve Birds of Christmas, by Stephen Moss – Unpictured, because it’s not here yet – my copy is winging its way (see what I did there?) to me from England as I write this. I loved Moss’s book about English bird names, Mrs. Moreau’s Warbler, and I’ve had my eye on his bird “biographies” for many months now, so I’m excited to read this when it arrives.
  • Silent Nights: Christmas Stories, edited by Martin Edwards – There’s nothing like a little murder at Christmas, am I right? The British Library Crime Classics series includes several entries set at and around Christmas, and this collection of golden age crime stories looks great.
  • Crimson Snow: Christmas Stories, edited by Martin Edwards – Another volume of stories from the British Library Crime Classics – I may not get to this; we’ll see.
  • Portrait of a Murderer, by Anne Meredith – One more BL Crime Classic! I doubt I’ll make it through all of these, of course, but they’re ready and waiting on the shelf.

Well, this is some list, right?! And this isn’t even my entire Christmas shelf. I think it’s extremely unlikely I’ll make it through all of these (although you never know). What I do know is that it’s looking like a very good month of reading ahead.

What do you like to read to celebrate the holiday season?

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Reading Round-Up: November 2020

Reading Round-Up Header

Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby. I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book. Here are my reads for November, 2020:

Slightly Foxed No. 67: A Separate World, ed. Gail Pirkis & Hazel Wood – It’s always a pleasure to curl up with the latest issue of Slightly Foxed (bonus points for a cup of tea to go along with it) and this one was no exception. I particularly enjoyed the article about the latest Slightly Foxed Edition, Jessica Mitford’s Hons and Rebels. (I already own a copy, so won’t be buying it – but I’m inspired to pick it up off my shelf sooner than later.)

High Wages, by Dorothy Whipple – Dorothy Whipple continues to deliver the goods! I really enjoyed her first novel, a story of a young shopgirl with a head for business. Fully reviewed here.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bronte – This was a re-read for me, and I loved it as much as I did the first time I read it, years ago. Anne Bronte might be the least-known of the three Bronte sisters, but Tenant is possibly the most revolutionary of their collective bibliography – the story of a woman hiding from an abusive husband in a time when that was just not done, it’s unabashedly feminist. Fully reviewed here.

A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes #1), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – I was feeling a pull to 221B Baker Street, and wanting to read the great detective’s origin story, so I pulled A Study in Scarlet off my shelf. Bit of an oddball story, but fun to finally get to the first appearance of Holmes.

Going Solo (Roald Dahl’s Memoirs #2), by Roald Dahl – I skipped the first volume of Dahl’s memoirs, Boy, having no desire to read about the real-life versions of the atrocious adults from his fiction. (Imaginary Trunchbull is quite bad enough.) But I was in the mood for adventure, and Dahl’s memoir of his young adulthood as a Shell Oil employee in Dar-es-Salaam, followed by his days as a fighter pilot in World War II, was captivating. (“Simba” was my favorite chapter, but really every page was exciting and wild.)

The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery, by Agatha Christie, with Mathew Prichard – Still in the mood for adventure after blowing through Going Solo, I picked up a book that’s been lingering on my TBR for too long. In the early 1920s, Agatha Christie and her first husband, Archie, embarked on a trip around the world as part of the British Empire Exhibition. The Grand Tour collects the letters she wrote home during the epic voyage, along with Christie’s own photographs from the trip, and is edited by the Queen of Crime’s grandson, Mathew Prichard. It was a fun glimpse into a vanished world, and good for scratching the armchair travel itch during COVID-times.

A Promised Land, by Barack Obama – I pre-ordered President Obama’s memoir (part one!!) and it arrived on release day, and I almost immediately dove in. A Promised Land was a perfect combination of insider political baseball, fun anecdotes, and introspective musings about the most consequential moments of President Obama’s administration (through spring 2011; the remainder of his time in office will be addressed in the second volume). I loved every minute, but I also kind of hated it, because it brought back memories of when we had a President with not only the ability to string three words together, but the capacity and inclination to be thoughtful and considered in his decisions, and who put the country before his own interests… sigh. Those were the days. Is it January 20, 2021 yet?

Persuasion, by Jane Austen – Another re-read, a good one for fall. Persusasion is one of my favorites of Austen’s novels (to the extent that one can have a favorite; they’re all wonderful) but it had been years since I visited Kellynch and Uppercross and Camden-place. I blew through it in a day, but what a day – walking the gravel walk in Bath with Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth is always such a joy.

Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke – Since Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell came out more than fourteen years ago, I’d pretty much given up on another novel from Susanna Clarke (although I did enjoy her short story collection, The Ladies of Grace Adieu). So naturally I snapped up Piranesi when it was released and I happened to luck into a copy at my favorite indie bookstore, Old Town Books. It was good, well-written and interestingly plotted, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as Jonathan Strange, nor as much as I’d expected to. A solid three stars, and it’ll stay on my shelf, but I can’t imagine I’ll hanker for a re-read anytime soon.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson – I’ve been meaning to meet Miss Pettigrew for years now, and what took me so long? Another one that I blew through in a day, and I loved it. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a quotidian novel of an impoverished nursery maid who reports for a job interview and finds herself swept into a world of nightclubs, cocktails, and romance. Other than one or two instances of dated opinions, it was a joy from the first page to the last, and I’ll be re-reading it soon.

What a month of reading! I’m not even sure I can pick a highlight. President Obama’s memoir (which I’ve been awaiting for years, like so many others) was absolutely wonderful. High Wages and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day were delightful confections, Going Solo and The Grand Tour were full of adventure and fun, and Tenant and Persuasion were wonderful as ever. I’ve moved on to my Christmas reading now, but November was a banner month in books, indeed.