. The Great Christmas Reading List!

Dearest Readers,

It's to the point where my blog posts are so sporadic I can't even begin with an apology anymore. So without further ado:

Christmas break has been oh so lovely. We have lived in Mississippi for six months now, and celebrated with a beautiful getaway my parents surprised us with. It was perfect--we never got a chance to catch our breaths this summer with moving and multiple hospitalizations, so took this trip to catch up on time together. A hotel has always been my favorite place to be, even if we just sit on the bed eating room service and watching movies.

With the travels, I got a chance to catch up on my reading. It was pure bliss! I feel like I keep using those impossibly upbeat Anne of Green Gables adjectives, but y'all--I don't know that I have ever enjoyed Christmas break more. So excuse the gushiness.

Book club was one of my favorite parts of elementary school. We had a precious librarian who gave up her lunch hour to create a bubble of security and enlightenment for some awkward preteens. I learned how to read outside of my comfort zone and learned that it's still okay to love someone who doesn't finish the assigned reading ;). She taught me how to recommend books and how to read well. Her book recommendations were magical--you couldn't refuse a book once she detailed it to you.

So here I sit, your makeshift librarian, anxious to share the treasures I have found over this Christmas break. Please leave a comment with recommendations and favorites of your own!

Book number one:

Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon

The latest installment in the dearly loved Mitford series, my mom and I made a whole lunch date in order to purchase it. In September. Shameful, I know. I read it off and on all semester until I finally got to finish it at the beginning of break. (I had to leave it at home in the end of the semester because the temptation to read it was too great) If you have never stepped into the world of Mitford, you are missing out. It's a delightful little mountainside village in North Carolina, and you follow it through the eyes of its precious Episcopalian priest, Father Tim. By the end of the first page of the first book you'll be in love with Mitford and those who live there. This book, however, was a bit of a disappointment. It could have been the impossibly high expectations I set for it, but my mom and I agreed that it felt rushed. Many big life events were rushed by in a little flashback, which is not the way these books normally feel. So be wary, Mitford fans, but know it's worth a read anyway. I mean, of course it is--who doesn't want to watch Mitford's dear Dooley marry the love of his life??

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Oh, this book. Definitely my favorite of my Christmas reads, this book was magical and renewing. You'll follow Nell on her journey to discover who she really is. Her history was lost in time when she was found in an Australian boatyard at four years old with nothing but a small suitcase to her name, which she was unable to remember. Each chapter changes perspectives from Nell, her mother in the early 1900's, and her granddaughter, still searching for her truth, in the early 2000's. It is a delightful read, with enough mystery to keep you intrigued and enough history to keep it insightful. Fairy tale magic is sprinkled throughout, and this masterpiece will leave you begging for a sequel.


Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

I've only read two books by Jodi Picoult, and both are set in the world of medical families. After I sobbed my way through My Sister's Keeper you'd think I would have learned, but she understands special needs families in such an intimate way that I'm drawn to those books and fascinated by how completely she understands her subjects. This book is all about Willow, a brilliant and beautiful little girl who has Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bone Disease). Her family adores her, but the strain of her disability has made her parents desperate. They start a wrongful birth lawsuit to try to offset the heavy financial burden, but at what cost to their family? Willow begins to doubt her self-worth and their other daughter feels invisible and begins to take out this pain on herself. As they try to give Willow a better life their own lives begin crumbling. This book hurt. It felt too real. It wasn't so painful I couldn't read it, though; I picked it up just to see if it was worth packing, and I didn't put it down again until it was finished and cried over and across the Florida state line.

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

My second favorite book of break, and ranking with my most favorite books of all time. There is a lonely widow. A lonely widower. She calls him and asks him to sleep beside her at night, to talk with her in the dark, to be a companion. It is the simplest of love stories, not really about romance at all, but rather the craving in all of us to never be alone. My heart has been heavily pondering the plight of the lonely lately, probably because I experienced loneliness in entirely new ways in the past semester. This book demands reading--I believe it will soften your heart toward the lonely and give you the courage to love a little harder, and a lot braver.

Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy

This book was meant to be my last book of the summer. I began it with two weeks to read it, but then my sister was hospitalized. And then school started, and it sat on my bookshelf for a couple of months before I opened it. When I did a sweet letter from my mom fell out, and I cried a little realizing how long this book has been patiently waiting on me while my entire life shifted around it. With only two days left of break, I've only read a few pages, but that's okay with me. I've decided to make time for reading this semester. I almost lost my sanity in the past few months, spending every waking moment on biology. Even if it's one page a night, this book is worth the wait. Maeve Binchy always is.

I sincerely hope you pick up one of these books. If you could only choose one, I absolutely recommend Our Souls at Night. It is a brief read and so, so worth it.

Thank you for reading. I consider you a friend.

Your Blogger,
 Claire