I am way behind as I just decided to sign up today, so this is that post as well as the first day post.
But first, you all know what Bout of Books is, right?
It's a Read-a-Thon!
It is low pressure, meaning participants are only asked to push themselves to read more than they normally would during any given week. There is no competition between readers.
It's my favorite BECAUSE I have no goal---only to read more. You don't have to ask me to read more, more than once!
Today is the last day of the HoHoHo Read-a-Thon, and I think I've done a pretty good job.
I finished 2 novels
1 novella
and 2 short stories
Twitter party tonight!
(We'll see if I can do this. Twitter is not really in my comfort zone. I'm too old and by the time I finally get it---we'll have moved on to another form of social media. That's the one I'll master!)
My latest -- the novella --- is the book we are reading for our book club in December:
The Christmas Letters.
From Goodreads:
In The Christmas Letters, three generations of women reveal their stories of love and marriage in the letters they write to family and friends during the holidays. It's a down-home Christmas story about tradition, family, and the shared experiences of women. Here, in a letter of her own, Lee Smith explains how she was inspired to write this celebrated epistolary novel:
Dear Friends,
Like me, you probably get Christmas letters every year. I read every word and save every letter. Because every Christmas letter is the story of a life, and what story can be more interesting than the story of our lives? Often, it is the story of an entire family. But you also have to read between the lines with Christmas letters. Sometimes, what is not said is even more important than what is on the page.
In The Christmas Letters, I have used this familiar format to illumine the lives, hopes, dreams, and disappointments of three generations of American women. Much of the story of The Christmas Letters is also told through shared recipes. As Mary, my favorite character, says, "I feel as if I have written out my life story in recipes! The Cool Whip and mushroom soup years, the hibachi and fondue period, then the quiche and crepes phase, and now it's these salsa years."
I wrote this little book for the same reason I write to my friends and relatives every holiday--Christmas letters give us a chance to remember and celebrate who we are.
With warmest greetings, Lee Smith
From Me:
This was a lovely little book. Told the story of a family thru the years and I do love that.
It wasn't very "Christmasy" tho, if that's what you are looking for.
The story wasn't about getting you in the Christmas spirit--it was about a family and how perhaps you really do need to read between the lines of those Christmas letters. Life is never as perfect as we make it seem.
Personally, I am a lover of the Christmas letter. I love to see what's been going on with old friends and family. I don't care if they do exaggerate! Still fun for me.
I think the author said it best when she said "Christmas letters give us a chance to remember and to celebrate who we are.
I've had a fun time this past week, reading two Holiday novels, 2 short stories and hopefully will finish a shorter novella by tomorrow!
I told you about the Christmas Joyride earlier ( a fun light-hearted novel) in this weekend's post, but yesterday I had the luxury of reading the most charming holiday book! It was perfect day-- Blustery and rainy and cold. I had a fire in the fireplace and something good smelling in the oven and I read all day long.
It was over 300 pages, but a finish-in-one-day kinda book.
From Me:
If you need to read a book to get into the holiday spirit---and I mean the true spirit--- of Christmas, this just might be the book for you.
I loved it.
Going back and forth from the Civil War era to present day, the author weaves a story of the true holiday--sometimes it's not what we imagine, but it still has the power to fill our hearts with wonder. As it should.
I thought the character development was great--- each 'present day' chapter was told in a different point of view from different characters.
4 stars!
PS- I did not know that Longfellow wrote this poem. So there was lots of historical things I learned while reading this novel. I have a new respect for Longfellow and want to find out more about him.
From Goodreads:
I heard the bells on Christmas Day/ Their old familiar carols play/ And wild and sweet/ The words repeat/Of peace on earth, good-will to men! In 1860, the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow family celebrated Christmas at Craigie House, their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The publication of Longfellow’s classic Revolutionary War poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” was less than a month hence, and the country’s grave political unrest weighed heavily on his mind. Yet with his beloved wife, Fanny, and their five adored children at his side, the delights of the season prevailed.
In present-day Boston, a dedicated teacher in the Watertown public school system is stunned by somber holiday tidings. Sophia’s music program has been sacrificed to budget cuts, and she worries not only about her impending unemployment but also about the consequences to her underprivileged students. At the church where she volunteers as music director, Sophia tries to forget her cares as she leads the children’s choir in rehearsal for a Christmas Eve concert. Inspired to honor a local artist, Sophia has chosen a carol set to a poem by Longfellow, moved by the glorious words he penned one Christmas Day long ago, even as he suffered great loss.
Christmas Bells chronicles the events of 1863, when the peace and contentment of Longfellow’s family circle was suddenly, tragically broken, cutting even deeper than the privations of wartime. Through the pain of profound loss and hardship, Longfellow’s patriotism never failed, nor did the power of his language. “Christmas Bells,” the poem he wrote that holiday, lives on, spoken as verse and sung as a hymn.
Jennifer Chiaverini’s resonant and heartfelt novel for the season reminds us why we must continue to hear glad tidings, even as we are tested by strife. Reading Christmas Bells evokes the resplendent joy of a chorus of voices raised in reverent song
I'm having a good time this week, trying to get some holiday reading in--in between 3 book clubs that happen this week and some non-fiction (because, of course it's nonfiction November also) I do have to say that when I sit down with a Christmas book, I feel a lot more relaxed than when I'm trying to get the book club books in.
So having said that....what have I read that is Merry and Bright?
A fun, lighthearted book about spreading Christmas cheer. With a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure!
And even tho it didn't go into this much, it was the setting for the story-- they were joyriding on Route 66. I love that old historic Highway, so I was happy to be along for the ride.
Goodreads says:
Miranda did not put adventure on her Christmas list, but thanks to her eighty-five-year-old neighbor Joy, that's exactly what she's getting this year. When Joy tells Miranda that she plans to drive an old RV decked out in Christmas decorations from their Chicago neighborhood to her new retirement digs in Phoenix--in the dead of winter, no less--the much younger Miranda insists that Joy cannot make such a trip by herself. Besides, a crazy trip with Joy would be more interesting than another Christmas home alone. Unemployed and facing foreclosure, Miranda feels she has nothing to lose by packing a bag and heading off to Route 66. But Joy has a hidden agenda for their Christmas joyride--and a hidden problem that could derail the whole venture.
No one captures the heartwarming fun of the Christmas season quite like Melody Carlson. Fasten your seat belt, because it's going to be an exciting ride!
Yesterday, while having my coffee at 6am I read these two:
Short, but sweet (48 or 50 pages each), but Mitford has a special place in my heart, and these were both lovely little reads. If you are familiar with Mitford and it's quirky characters, I suggest reading these --- they'll help you get in the Christmas spirit!
Goodreads says of Esther's Gift:
In Esther's Gift, Esther Bolick is filled with the holiday spirit as she prepares to bake the annual batch of her famous-and utterly scrumptious-orange marmalade cakes. Right after Christmas Eve service at Lord's Chapel, she and Gene will deliver a two-layer marmalade to each of seven friends and neighbors, all of them favorite Mitford characters. Then Gene calculates what it costs to bake this legendary cake, and Esther is stunned. Is it worth it to spend so much money on people who haven't always measured up to her expectations? The answer is clear. She'll cut her list back-way back.
This decision makes perfect sense until the lyrics of a Christmas carol steal into her heart, and help remind her what a gift really means.
Goodreads says of the Mitford Snowmen:
It's Christmastime in Mitford, and everyone's favorite characters are filled with holiday spirit. In The Mitford Snowmen, a swirling snowfall brings them to Main Street for a snowman-building contest complete with doughnuts, hot chocolate, and contagious good cheer. A charming small trim size and enchanting four-color illustrations make this the perfect way to visit Mitford—and gather a heart full of Christmas joy.
Today I have NOTHING to do, so plan on settling down with a good book or two, I have 2 more Christmas novel that I'd like to get done by Tuesday.
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, so break out the cocoa, the coffee, and cookies! Grab those holiday theme books and bring your holiday spirit. This is our third year hosting, and we are excited to get together with you. Prepare to enter challenges, win prizes, meet new friends and Twitter chat with us. You can join for a day or sit by the fire and hang out every day.
This is my first time participating in the Ho-Ho-Ho read-a-thon and I'm very excited!
I've always imagined a 'time period' where I could just read some Holiday Cheer, watch old Christmas movies and just relax for the holidays. It never seems to go like that does it?
I'm hoping this will force my hand!
I'm looking forward to getting in some holiday books, which I never seem to get to.
This is what I plan to read during the Read-a-Thon:
