Recovering from the Holidays

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I enjoyed time with friends and family. I always have a hard time waiting for Christmas because I want my family to open the gifts that I bought them. The anticipation of watching them open gifts drives me crazy. I badgered my husband so much that he finally relented and opened a couple presents before Christmas morning. Of course, he made me open one for every one that he opened. We'll be married 22 years in May, and it is starting to show. We are beginning to think alike. We both bought each other a CD. We both bought each other books. The funniest thing is the big gift that we got each other. He got a Harley Davidson motorcycle back in August. He's been wanting a HD leather jacket, but they're very expensive. So, I started looking around and found one on eBay for less than $200 with free shipping/handling. It was new with the tags. So, of course I ordered it for him and couldn't wait for him to open it. Little did I know, but he had done the same thing. He ordered the exact same coat (except mine is a woman's) for me. Both of our boys knew what we had gotten each other and couldn't wait to see us open our gifts. It was pretty funny. The boys got me a beautiful piece of pottery and a digital picture frame. Of course, the best part was all being together -- happy and healthy. I'm looking forward to a great 2009! I wish everyone the same thing.

In case you're curious, the books that I received for Christmas are:

If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino
Serena by Ron Rash
Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman
The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

I've started If on a winter's night a traveler. I really don't know what to expect from this one. It sounds so very strange. However, there is a really nice introduction that has helped somewhat. I love the idea of this book, and I hope I'll actually enjoy reading it, as well.

I finished Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier and really enjoyed it. I"ll be posting a short review soon. I also hope to catch up on my blog reading over the next couple of days. Right now, I'm off to clean out a couple of closets.

The Christmas Letters by Lee Smith

This is a novella by the North Carolina author who wrote On Agate Hill and The Last Girls to name just a few. It tells the story of three generations of women through the annual Christmas letters they write to friends and family. I always enjoy reading books that are told through letters and/or diary entries. This is a new take on that format for me. It really worked well in this case. You'd think that you couldn't convey all that much about a family in a relatively short annual letter; however, Smith manages to paint a vivid picture of these characters and how their lives are intertwined over place and time. It begins with Birdie writing home to her family as she is spending her first days away from home with her in-laws while her new husband is away fighting in WWII. Smith captures the excitement and the fear in the young bride's words without being overly sentimental. Birdie describes how much she loves taking care of her new baby, Mary in subsequent letters.

It's this same child that takes up writing Christmas letters for the family years later. Mary had always been a very intelligent girl and dreamed of going to college. However, she quits school to elope. The children soon begin to come and life takes over as it often does. The reader sees the passage of time in society as well as in the family as the letters continue throughout the years. Just as in real life, there are joys and heartbreaks along the way.

It's Mary's daughter Melanie who takes up the post to write the Christmas letters when she comes of age. Though things have changed in many ways, they are still a family. As always, Lee Smith does a great job portraying these characters as real people that I easily identify with. This is a book that I'll probably revisit often at Christmas.

Secret Santa has Arrived!

I got home from work yesterday and had several packages waiting on me. One contained several things I ordered for my husband for Christmas and the other was from my Secret Santa. It turns out that my Secret Santa is Lisa C. from BooksListsLife in South Dakota. My box contained a Ruth Rendell Inspector Wexford Mystery, End in Tears. It also contained a package of lovely bookplates and an adorable cloth jewelry bag. I know I should really post a picture, but I forgot my camera. It's always so exciting to receive gifts in the mail, especially when they're as nice as this one. Thanks, Lisa! Another nice surprise is the fact that I've discovered a new book blogger that I didn't know before.

Christmas Swap 2008

I just found this at Nymeth's blog. I participated in this last year as a brand new blogger. It was so much fun. I'm definitely going to participate again this year. She asked that we help spread the word, so that's what I'm doing. Go check it out here to get more information.