As you all know, I love a book haul post. I especially love to read posts about other people’s book hauls, since those give me good ideas for what to add to my own wish list – wink, wink. And while I rarely share any book hauls of my own (because I don’t usually see books entering my house in waves… it’s more of a constant trickle, fam) Christmas is, of course, an exception to that.

2022 was actually a relatively modest book haul by my usual standards. The reason is that I am planning a big adventure this winter (read on) and most of my Christmas list was devoted to specialty gear for that trip. But there are always books – and to be honest, after last year’s stack started swaying dangerously when I tried to photograph it, this year’s more moderate pile was probably better. Even if it is still ridiculous abundance. Here’s what I added to my library:

First of all, Christmas always includes mysteries – right? And not just festive mysteries for Advent! Steve and my mom are great at ensuring I have murderous reads all year long. This year, Steve gave me the Harper Collins special edition of And Then There Were None, which completes my collection of those editions – at least until the next three drop this summer. And he also delivered bigtime with the new Marple, a collection of brand new Miss Marple stories by authors currently writing in the crime and detective fiction genre, including big names like Lucy Foley and Elly Griffiths. And then my mom always gets me “a Christie for Christmas” and this year I asked for some Miss Marple mysteries in the new paperback editions with the floral covers – they’re gorgeous. I opened A Murder is Announced and A Pocket Full of Rye, both of which I’ve read but not for many years, so I’m looking forward to revisiting them in these new editions. (And it was a very Miss Marple Christmas, now that I’m thinking about it.)

Steve also presented me with some gorgeous historical non-fiction, including The Windsor Diaries 1940-45: My Childhood with the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, which was the very top of my wish list. I’m reading it now and it’s so good and transporting me right to Windsor during World War II. And then there were these two pretty hardcovers of historic guidebooks – The Cathedrals of England and Sussex, Kent & Surrey 1939, which I wanted based at least 50% on their covers. But I am really excited to read them – especially the Sussex, Kent & Surrey book, which I expect will be a fascinating time capsule of that beautiful region of England right at the beginning of World War II.

I was also so excited to unwrap this new edition of Persuasion, one of my favorite Jane Austen novels, which is stuffed with thoughtfully presented ephemera. I have Little Women in the same edition, and they are such cool, beautiful books.

Here’s my miscellaneous pile, for lack of a better word. Steve bought me Images and Shadows, Iris Origo’s memoir, which I was very excited about. I read Origo’s World War II diaries this fall and found them absolutely captivating, so I can’t wait to dig into her memoir. And Steve also found this stunning anthology of writing about birds, beautifully illustrated with pen and ink drawings – so I’m really looking forward to reading that one too. And then finally, my mom got me Michelle Obama’s latest book, The Light We Carry, and the latest (I think?) Isabel Allende, A Long Petal of the Sea. Both look wonderful!

Also from my mom, and should have been in the pile above but I forgot and left it upstairs – The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There, by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey – this is exciting stuff, people! I am a huge fan of The Office and got the audiobook version of this – read by the authors, of course – but was really wishing for the hardback, since I figured it probably had all kinds of cool behind-the-scenes photos in it (spoiler alert: it does). I’ve already finished this, and it was a total joy to read from the first page to the last. And will go great alongside Tales of Dunder Mifflin: The Complete Oral History of “The Office”, which I got last Christmas. Spoiled? Yes.

Another one that deserves its own photo: Nugget bought this copy of the fifth Percy Jackson book at the Scholastic Book Sale, but wrapped it up and gave it to me on Christmas morning. Isn’t he sweet? I can’t accept it, though. I’ll sneak it back onto his shelf and suggest that we can “share it.” Funnily enough, I gave him the first Percy Jackson – which he didn’t have – for Christmas.

Last, but not least…

Remember that big adventure I keep mentioning? My mom got me a guidebook to help me prepare. Yes – Steve and I are going to Antarctica this winter! I am beyond stoked to see the seventh continent. This is going to the top of the pile, because embarkation day is ticking nearer and nearer.

Whew! Even though I opened lots of cold weather gear to pack in my luggage for Antarctica (and Patagonia, can’t forget about that part – which will also be epic) I definitely was still spoiled with reading material. How was your Christmas in books? Did you find anything especially exciting under the Christmas tree? And what did you read over the winter holiday break?