Sydney Reads and Reads: December

Hello and Happy New Year readerly friends! I realize it's a little late in the month to be saying Happy New Year, but I've been sitting on this post for a while, so I hope you'll forgive me! How many of you added reading goals to your list for 2019? I'm not making any specific reading goals, but I'm keeping up my intention to read at least 4 books a month in the coming year. I'd also like to challenge myself to read a more diverse array of books, but I'm sure I'll still read plenty of history and historical fiction! 

My December reads were a lot of fun. A good mix of holiday and every day that I really enjoyed, so let's dig right in!

My first read of the month was Kate Morton's The Clockmaker's Daughter.  I'd read a few Kate Morton before, at the behest of Rachel Holmberg, so I was very excited to get her latest as my Book of the Month in October. At the heart of this story is a house with a mystery, and we meet many generations of its inhabitants.  Morton is so deft at weaving her readers in and out of time. Leaving you begging for more at the end of one chapter while making you ravenous to pick up with the other characters at the top of the next. This was an emotional read for me.  I read a good half of it one Saturday in one sitting and I had to give myself a break to recover.  But once I finished I found myself missing the characters and the home already.  This gave me strong Rebecca and The Haunting of Hill House vibes, though it's more whimsical than both. 

Next, I picked up an old classic, Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies.  This story started as a movie and was then adapted to a book and you can tell.  In fact, the book follows the screenplay almost word for word. I would know, I did the Meredith Wilson musical adaptation two Christmases in a row! What this book does drip with is heart and I found myself misty-eyed more than once. At just over 100 pages, this would make a great family read-aloud next holiday season. 

In a year where my holiday spirit was sorely lacking, this book was a comfort. "Christmas isn't just a day.  It's a frame of mind." - Kris Kingle

My favorite part about Carnegie's Maid, by Marie Benedict, was getting a glimpse of what it may have been like for the new-monied wealthy immigrants in the late 19th century.  The struggle to fit in with the wealthy class while still maintaining the grit and values it took for you to rise and find success.  Also gratifying was to see the relationship between Clara Kelly, a maid, and Mr. Carnegie develop, to see her fight for her worth and to fight with equanimity for her ideas. Though Clara and her fight to maintain her sense of self and worth in her circumstances is what really makes this book shine.  I want to be friends and learn from her through political debate like Mr. Carnegie does. I'm sure I'd be the better for it.  Not my favorite of the month, but I'd definitely recommend it as a good weekend or commute read. 

After reading Charlotte Hubbard's A Mother's Gift this spring I was so excited to hear about A Simple Christmas! A Simple Christmas is actually the third and final book of Charlotte's Simple Gifts series but, having not read any of the others myself, I can tell you it's an easy book to pick up and fall into. My favorite part about Charlotte's Amish stories is, though they may seem provincial and out of our time, the struggles of her characters and the heartfelt messages are indeed current. They're just told in a softer, almost magical way.  They're honest, plain, folk and you can feel their warmth jump off the page.  I won't even bother telling you what the book is about, because you should just pick it up and devour it like I did. 

I'll admit it.  I picked up Josie Silver's One Day in December because the cover was cute and I'd seen it all over #bookstagram. And who doesn't want a little star crossed, Love Actually style romance at Christmas? This story follows Jack and Laurie who lock eyes one Christmas at a bus stop but don't speak or actually meet until a year later.  But it's fate.  They're meant to be together, aren't they? You'll have to follow their ten-year journey to see! At the beginning Laurie was a little too heavy on the Bridget Jones, "poor me, my life is crap" bit, and Jack was a little too clueless.  But after 50 pages I felt differently.  It was interesting to watch Jack and Laurie grow up over the ten year period and to discover how I related to them differently at each point in the story. Having now been to both London and Edinburgh I got a distinct sense of place from the scenery that intensified my enjoyment factor. 

This would make a great travel or chick-lit read at any time of year, not just at Christmas.  I've already sent it to DC for Rachel to read. 

When I was going through boxes in my dad's basement this fall I happened upon my great grandmother's copy of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. In all the classic literature I've consumed over the years, I'd never actually read any Dickens, so this was a perfect discovery for me as I was compiling my December book pile.  What I enjoyed most, and what I think most adaptations lack, was Scrooge's true sense of urgency throughout the story.  As the plot develops you can feel his sense of desperation, of hurt, of loneliness, of longing right along with him and those feelings become the engine that moves you forward. I typically find Scrooge to be an exhausting baby, who rushes toward euphoria and change right at the end of the story. Through reading the text in full, I was able to see more clearly how he evolved into the penny-pinching Ebenezer the world has come to know, and feel a great deal of sympathy for him.  Put simply, rather like Ebenezer himself, my opinion was entirely changed.

I don't know if Charles Dickens ever had the occasion to sample tequila, but I sure enjoyed sipping on some while I read his story. :) 

Following A Christmas Carol, I picked up Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva from my library. Silva's tale introduces us to an exhausted and lost Charles' Dickens at the peak of his success. His latest story is not being well received, and his ever-growing family is placing increasing stress on their financial situation.  So his publishers give him an ultimatum.  He writes them a Christmas book in less than a month, or they begin cutting his pay! What follows is an interesting look into the mind of one of the worlds greatest writers and his beloved Christmas tale.  I love a good backstory, real or fictionalized, and this one is full of mystery, ghosts, and some of life's deepest questions.  Don't hesitate to pick it up if you see it at a book shop or library near you! 

One of my favorite parts about reading is sharing what I'm enjoying with others.  I'll be back soon with my January reads, but until then you can follow my progress on Instagram at #sydneyreadsandreads! - xo Sydney