Sunday Salon: the holiday break reading binge

-
I confess: today feels like a normal Sunday. I haven't quite accepted that Christmas Eve is tomorrow or that I don't have to go to work again until January 2 (bless you, academia.) The one thing reminding me it's my annual (and glorious) holiday break reading binge: my overflowing reading pile. This week is when I scramble to try to read all of those books I've been meaning to read all year. If I spend my time reading while Mr. Nomadreader works reading, I can usually read a book a day.

I'm almost finished with Heather Lende's fascinating collection of essays about living in a small Alaska town, If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name. She has me dreaming of (and planning) a trip to Alaska, a destination I've wanted to visit for years. When I finish it, I'm really looking forward to devouring Colm Toibin's new novella, The Testament of Mary, in one sitting this afternoon. It might not be everyone's pick for Christmas reading, but I'm eager to see how Toibin paints an aging Mary as she reflects on her life, Jesus's life and her role in the foundation of Christianity.

I hope to spend the rest of the week with three new releases I've been meaning to read for months: Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close, Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple, and Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt, plus one new release I'm ecstatic has finally made its way to the U.S.: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes.


I'll continue to post this week as I try to finish reviewing all of the books I've read. I'm also working on my Best of 2012 list, although I'm still playing around with the format. This year I there are three authors who will have more than one title on the list, and I'm still deciding how to handle that. I'm pondering doing a best of awards by category rather than a straight ranking, but I haven't made a final decision yet. As always, I'll post my Best of 2012 on January 1. I consider all books I read in 2012, regardless of when they were originally published, so I keep reading until the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve!

Now tell me: what are you hoping to squeeze in before the New Year (in books or not)?

As an affiliate, I receive a small commission when you make a purchase through any of the above links. Thank you for helping to support my book habits that bring more content to this blog!

Comments

  1. JennyDecember 23, 2012 at 11:58 AM

    I've recently added Where'd You Go Bernadette and Tell the Wolves I'm Home to my list because I've read such good praise. Looking forward to your thoughts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. nomadreaderJanuary 3, 2013 at 3:13 PM

      Update: I loved Bernadette and still haven't made time for Tell the Wolves, but I'm looking forward to it!

      Delete
  2. Sam (Tiny Library)December 23, 2012 at 12:24 PM

    I'm planning on lots of reading over the Christmas break too - I don't go back to work until the 7th Jan so I'm hoping to get through lots of books.
    I've heard great things about Me Before You, hope it lives up to expectations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. nomadreaderJanuary 3, 2013 at 3:29 PM

      Sam, I can't wait to read about all the books you read over break!

      Delete
  3. (Diane) Bibliophile By the SeaDecember 23, 2012 at 1:24 PM

    I am so happy to be off until Jan 2 as well. One big perk of academia as you stated:)

    Hope you enjoy Tell the Wolves I'm Home. I liked it a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousDecember 23, 2012 at 9:50 PM

    I read Lende's book a few years ago and loved it...it made me want to visit Alaska, too...a place I otherwise really have no desire to visit. I get cold too easily, my fingers would probably fall off. ;-)

    And two thumbs up on Tell the Wolves...that's one of my favorites of the year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. nomadreaderJanuary 3, 2013 at 3:30 PM

      I'm so glad to hear someone else loved Lende! I just picked up her second memoir and am looking forward to it.

      Delete
  5. VasillyDecember 24, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    There are so many books I want to squeeze in during my break between semesters! Why Nations Fail, House of Stone, Me Earl and the Dying Girl, and Narcopolis are just a few I'm hoping to read. Happy reading.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. nomadreaderJanuary 3, 2013 at 3:30 PM

      Happy reading to you, Vasilly! I hope you get to them all:-)

      Delete
  6. JoVDecember 25, 2012 at 3:20 AM

    I'm trying to squeeze in one last book. Perhaps something light and doesn't require too much time to read! Happy holidays!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AndiDecember 25, 2012 at 6:57 AM

    Enjoy your break!!! I'm also going to try to devote some of my break to reading. Life will be hectic in January as we're putting together the next issue of our alumni magazine. Cheers to good books and Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. nomadreaderJanuary 3, 2013 at 3:31 PM

      Cheers to a busy January at a job you love, Andi!

      Delete
  8. JennersDecember 29, 2012 at 12:47 PM

    I hope you have a wonderful break. (By the way, Merry Belated Christmas but Happy Early New Year! I've been having blogging issues -- basically, no time to blog. HA!)

    I'm curious about the Bernadette book. I'm thinking of reading that in 2013. I'll look for your review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. nomadreaderJanuary 3, 2013 at 3:32 PM

      Jenners, I think you'd love Bernadette! I'll be reviewing it one of these days or weeks;-)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Happy reading!

Popular posts from this blog

book review: A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear

-
Image
The backstory: A Dangerous Place  is the eleventh historical mystery featuring Maisie Dobbs. My reviews of the other eleven (plus Winspear's stand alone historical novel) are in my Book Review Database . The basics: Set four years after the last Maisie Dobbs novel, Leaving Everything Most Loved , in A Dangerous Place , we meet up with Maisie in Gibraltar in 1927 during the Spanish Civil War. She gets off her England-bound ship in Gibraltar because she's not quite ready to return. Note: this review contains spoilers about what happened in those four years of Maisie's life between books, all of which are revealed in this novel's first thirty pages.  My thoughts: Sunday I wrote about the Maisie Mail I received. These postcards appear in the book itself, along with many others. After setting the stage in Gibraltar in the opening pages (Maisie stumbles upon a dead body), Winspear recounts the last four years of Maisie's life in the form of postcards, letters, an
Read more

book review: Run by Ann Patchett

-
Image
The backstory: After loving State of Wonder  ( my review ), I set out to read all of Ann Patchett's books. The basics: Run  is the story of the Doyle family: Bernard, an Irish Catholic ex-mayor of Boston, his deceased wife Bernadette, their adult son Sullivan, and their two adopted college ages sons, Tip and Teddy, who are biological brothers. My thoughts: I'm beginning to think Ann Patchett is my soul sister. Her writing reaches me deeply, and I've adored everything she's written. It was a special treat to read Run , the novel of hers I knew the least about going in. Although I had the framework of two of her novels and one memoir, I didn't know what to expect. Run  isn't as universally loved as some of her other works, so I was particularly curious to see how it measured up. Admittedly, Run  started off slowly for me. It took two chapters to really get into the heart of the story, but once it happened, I was hooked. One of the things I love most about
Read more

book review: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

-
Image
The backstory: Gilead  won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005, the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2004, and was longlisted for the Orange Prize in 2006. The basics: As Rev. Ames nears the end of his life in the 1950's, he begins a letter to his young son because Ames realizes his son is too young to really know him. Gilead  is that letter. My thoughts: Gilead  is a novel I'm been meaning to read for years. It's a character-driven, Midwestern narrative by one of our best contemporary writers. It should be a novel I love, yet I struggled to finish it and admit I was wowed by neither the story nor the writing. Gilead  seemed almost stream-of-consciousness at first. I appreciated that Robinson jumped right in: this novel is a letter from father to son; the reader's ignorance of these two characters is not the focus. As the novel progressed, more details began to be filled in, and the reader begins to understand the characters, setting and purpose. I enjoyed the fir
Read more