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| photo: pixabay.com |
“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how
many of them you can get through,
but rather how many can get through to you.”
~ Mortimer J. Adler
Once the presents are handed out and the turkey dinner has been prepared and eaten, for me that's when the real holidays--the relaxing--can begin. I love Christmas and all the hubbub of getting ready. But I admit loving these days between Christmas and New Year's. Just as the days before Christmas were busy, the days following are now quiet and easy as we relax, spending time reading, playing games, putting puzzles together, going for walks on snowy afternoons.
When I was a girl, I loved getting books for Christmas. When the holiday festivities were over, my siblings and I looked forward to all those wonderful school holidays when we could play with our new toys, start our new craft projects, and spend hours whiling away winter afternoons with our noses in new books.
Decades later not much has changed in that department. I still get excited about receiving books for Christmas, and I still love to curl up on a winter's evening with something nice to read. I've been flipping through the books I received, facing the hard but gleeful decision about which book from my little pile to read first. I tend to read the front and back covers, flip through the introduction, and dip into a page or two. I do the same with each book, until I realize which one is drawing me in.
Here's what Santa brought me this Christmas:
Becoming Mrs. Lewis
by Patti Callahan (novel, 2018)
"The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis"
* * *
Prairie Fires
The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder
by Caroline Fraser (2017)
This biography draws on unpublished manuscripts, letters, diaries,
land and financial records, filling in the gaps in Ms Wilder's life story.
* * *
Becoming Madeleine
by Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Lena Roy (2018)
A biography of the author of A Wrinkle in Time written by her granddaughters.
* * *
No Time to Spare
Thinking About What Matters
by Ursula K. Le Guin (2017)
"...I am going to be eighty-one next week. I have no time to spare."
***
While I consider that, I'm also working my way through An Irish Country Christmas (2008) by Patrick Taylor. It's the heartwarming tale of two doctors living in the cozy village of Ballybucklebo, and all the adventures they get up to as they work hard to keep their patients healthy and happy as the Christmas season approaches. It's a delightful read.
“Reading one book is like eating one potato chip.”
~ Diane Duane
Today we're eating a few turkey leftovers, nibbling on sweet treats, drinking tea, working on a short book review due January first. There are plans in the wind to go see the new Mary Poppins movie with a girlfriend -- I'm hearing good reviews. Plus, we off to visit family later in the week.
Nice and easy ... grateful for these good gifts.
I'll be away from my blog for a wee while.
Here's wishing you beautiful days ahead.
Hugs,
Brenda
xox
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