This year, Christmas feels a little strange and isolated. But it also feel a little cozy. The first snowfall was absolutely beautiful and really got me into the Christmas spirit. As I try to avoid malls and busy stores, I have of course turned to online shopping like many of us. But somehow that just seems impersonal this year. After weeks of quarantining, ordering carry out, groceries from Instacart, and pretty much everything else in the world from Amazon, I’m ready to get back to basics for this year’s holiday. My daughter and I tried our hand at making candles (we definitely need to read up on this a little bit, as I watch one of ours smoke itself out), we have plans for many more cookie varieties than ever, and are drawn towards handmade gifts from Etsy and local stores.
In keeping with this, I am buying books as gifts for the first time in years! My teen/young adult kids don’t read as vociferously as they used to, and most of my family reads on a Kindle. But this year, it just feels right to go back to basics, hold a real book in my hands while I sip coffee by my Christmas tree and lights. My kids have watched pretty much everything Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have to offer, so I think I’m going to try and entice them to take an electronic break, relax on the couch with me to read a good book by the tree.
Here are a few titles coming out in December. Some of them haven’t been published yet, but what is more fun then preordering a book and knowing you will be one of the first to read it? Remember that our local retailers need you this year more than ever. So head to bookshop.org to get some of these new titles that promise to be keepers! They also offer gift cards if you just can’t choose ;-).
Simply thrilling
There’s no such thing as a perfect family. And it’s usually not wise to point that out.
Thriller, romance and fantasy, all rolled into one.
A debut thriller that asks one simple question, shouldn’t a dead husband stay dead?
On the lighter side
Quinn and Minnie share their day of birth, but their lives couldn’t be more different.
A dare and a crash course in flirting turn a frumpy college professor’s life upside down.
An anxiety-ridden introvert finds herself in the spotlight and decides to fake it til she makes it.
Different times and places
Stunning debut explores Afghanistan on the eve of a violent revolution.
A story of survival, loss and love, and the sisters who changed fashion forever.
A poor girl with dreams grows up in the shadow of Biltmore House, the palatial Vanderbilt mansion.
Read it or Weep 