Holiday Reads

At this time of year, the holiday spirit can be infectious. And if, like me, you thoroughly enjoy that spirit and are a book-lover, give in to temptation and immerse yourself in it with a few choice holiday reads. There are rightfully beloved classics such A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, or Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. But there are also a host of others that touch briefly or indirectly on the topic and still seem imbued with that festive spirit. L.M. Montgomery is one of my favorite authors to suit that purpose and her Anne of Windy Poplars fits the bill nicely. Anne invites her curmudgeonly fellow teacher, Katherine Brooke, home to Avonlea for Christmas and the season and Green Gables conspire to work their transformative magic on Katherine. Even though it’s a familiar outline, it still always makes me wish I too, were spending the holidays on Prince Edward Island!

Do you have any favorites? Plus, any grinches out there who have their own alternative or anti-holiday picks?

 

Let it Snow!

Snell Library Friends (SLF), I hope you are all some place warm– perhaps under a blanket with a good read or in sunny Mexico drinking a cerveza. As for me I trekked home in the snow with my little black heels but luckily only fell down once, maybe twice. Am happy to report am now in bed with fluffy white cat, laptop, and a Sam Adams cherry wheat beer (an offering from my roommate– don’t want you to think that I would buy the stuff on my own– negro modela or an IPA for me thank you very much). So, wherever you are during this blizzard and over the holiday break, if you are looking for a good read I recommend Catfish and Mandala or The Last of Her Kind. Catfish is about a personal journey back to Vietnam as an adult after the author departed on a boat when he was 10 years old. Last of Her Kind is a novel that follows the friendship and heartache that occurs between two women as they experience the late sixties and beyond. What are your recommended reads for a wintry day?