Books to give YOURSELF for the holidays
Because you deserve it, dammit.
So, I was originally planning to write about my third post-election realization about how I want to move through the next four (or more) years in Trumpamerica. But it’s a complex topic, and I’m still working through how to express it. So I’m gonna hold off on it for now, and do a post about something way easier and more fun: BOOKS!!
One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving and Christmas when I was a kid and young adult—pretty much right up to the point I had the damned kids—was reading. I relished having those days off from school or work to devour a good book. And when it was a fresh new one I’d gotten as a Christmas present? Hoo mama. That was the best.
But do I do that now? Over the recent Thanksgiving weekend, did I allow myself the luxury of sitting around reading for an hour or two on Friday or Saturday? Because that surely would be a nice thing to do, especially after hosting and cooking for ten people, no?
No! Of course I didn’t! Because there were dishes to be put away, and emails to get caught up on, and I had to squeeze in a run after all that pie and cheese and wine. Meanwhile, the shower in the upstairs bathroom was in desperate need of a good scrubbing, and oh god, look at all those smudges around the light switches and doorknobs.
Somehow, in between all the doing, I also managed to squeeze in some mini-breaks for social media scrolling and posting, and doing the NYT Spelling Bee puzzle. But did I take an hour to kick back on the window seat on the stairs with a cup of tea and a blanket and the excellent novel I’m currently reading? (The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone, by Randy Susan Meyers.)
No. No, I did not. And I should have!! So I am vowing, right here and now, to take time to read on at least some of days I’m taking off before and after Christmas this year, and on Thanksgiving weekends in the years to come. And no, I don’t mean 30 minutes of reading right before bed, which I do most nights anyway. I’m talking good old-fashioned pre-house-and-kids-and-internet daytime reading.
I hereby order you (in bold type) to do the same. But not only that: I want you to buy yourself a book for the holidays. Or take one out of the library if you prefer. But, no, seriously. If you can swing it, buy yourself a damned book for the holidays this season.
Buy yourself that book that you’ve been wanting to read, or that spoke to you from one of the ten zillion best-of-the-year lists currently being published. You’re even allowed to take a break from the book you’re currently reading (if there is one) to read your shiny new holiday book if you like! I grant thee permission!
Buy the book at a bookstore if you can, because going to / supporting bookstores is awesome. But if you want to buy online, buy them by here, not the other place, so you can support local bookstores, ethical business practices, sustainability, and, well, me (I get a teeny kickback if you use this link, and any of the links below).
Not sure what to read? WELL. If you’re a fan of novels, I’ve got five delicious recommendations, complete with my signature non-star rating system. These are all books that I read this past year and thoroughly enjoyed. Click on any title to buy. And please feel free to add your own book recs. in the comments!
TLDR: Here’s the list on Bookshop.org, along with a few other recent favorites.
Night Watching by Tracy Sierra
On one level, Night Watching is just an excellent thriller: An intruder comes into a woman’s secluded home in the middle of a snowstorm and she has to hide in a crawlspace with her children, then make a daring escape. There’s menace and mystery and psychological complexity and all that good stuff.
On another level, though, it’s about how women are often not believed—or are written off as crazy or deluded or “under stress”—when they report violence or violation. This book will drive you bonkers, in a good way, and keep you guessing. The perfect read if you’re snowed (or rained) in.
Rating: One disturbing-looking weapon, ten billion snowflakes, and a hashtag: #BelieveWomen
The Husbands, by Holly Gramazio
This one was quick and funny and original. A 30something woman named Lauren comes home one night to find a husband (her husband, apparently) in her apartment that she has no recollection of ever meeting, let alone marrying. When he goes into the attic to get something, the person who comes back down the ladder is a different husband altogether—again, a total stranger.
Over the course of the book hundreds (thousands?) of husbands appear and disappear as Lauren tries to figure out what the hell is going on and considers what makes marriages work (or not), the role of fate versus choice when it comes to love, and whether it’s worth waiting for the “perfect” partner, or accepting that perhaps nobody really is.
Rating: Infinite penises
Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
There is so much story packed into this book! It’s bout two young Nigerians, Ifemelu and Obinze, who are very much in love, but choose different paths after university: She goes to America, where she discovers that being Black there is an entirely different reality from being Black in Nigeria (where “being Black” is next to irrelevant). Obinze, meanwhile, heads for London, undocumented and living on the fringes.
To be honest, I didn’t love this book, but I think it’s in part because I read it in fits and starts, during a rather stressful stretch of life (including a certain election). Some of the befuddled white American characters come off as caricatures, and it felt a bit long to me. BUT it has really stayed with me and I expect it will continue to—it was funny and sad and gorgeously written and I appreciated what it revealed about Nigerian culture and class and the experience of being an African abroad.
Rating: Three hours sitting in a salon, two passports, and one home-cooked meal.
The River, by Peter Heller
Peter Heller, hello!! I am so glad to have rediscovered you! I read Heller’s book The Dog Stars ages ago, being a MAJOR sucker for a good post-apocalypic or dystopian read, but for some reason it took me more than a decade to check out another one of his books. I’m so glad I did. The River is a combination thriller and wilderness survival tale with a tender male friendship at its heart.
Two college students, Wynn and Jack, set off on a long paddling trip in the Canadian wilderness that quickly turns perilous. There’s a wildfire, a possible murder, and some shady drunk fishermen, among other things. And, as in any good wilderness adventure, they lose a good chunk of their gear and food at one point, and have to figure out how to survive without it. I can’t get enough of that shit, man. (And if you can’t either, I highly recommend another kickass wilderness thriller, The River at Night, by Erica Ferencik.)
Rating: A whole lotta granola bars
Big Swiss, by Jen Beagin
Friends, I think this was my favorite book I read this year. It’s is messy and sexy and hilarious and completely wackadoo. A forty-something, emotionally stunted woman named Greta with a traumatic past that she’s never really dealt with lives in a ramshackle, bee-filled house in a Hudson Valley town with her bohemian roommate and transcribes therapy sessions for a sex therapist who calls himself Om. She ends up becoming obsessed with and then having a passionate and extremely erotic affair with one of his clients, a repressed, married woman that Greta refers to as “Big Swiss”—who has no idea that Greta has heard recordings of her therapy sessions.
This is definitely a love-it-or-hate-it kind of book. To quote one Goodreads reviewer: “my favorite genre is literary fiction about messed up women doing crazy sh*t.” YES! If you’re not into that kind of thing, don’t pick this one up. Or All Fours, either — another one of my favorite reads this year. I didn’t include it here because it is already on EVERY list. (And maybe don’t read my book. Or the next one I’m writing. Ha!)
Rating: Two donkeys, a spanking, and a great many bees
Bonus Book List: Hey, I know these people!
I’m part of a wonderful community of writers here in the Boston area, some of whom are dear friends. A bunch of my writer pals had novels or story collections come out in 2024, some of which I’ve read, and some of which I am dying to. I put together a list of them on Bookshop. (Most but not all are pictured in the graphic below, which is generated randomly each time you visit the page.) Boston writer friends, if I missed your book, I’m sorry! Let me know and I’ll add you!
BTW, I really appreciated the fact that after my last blog post a few folks upgraded to paid subscriptions. As someone who makes their living as a writer (and would, frankly, love to spend less time on corporate copywriting and more time on fiction / humor / essay writing) I am truly grateful. But I love my free subscribers too, and am so glad you are here! It’s all good!
Happy holidays. Now go buy yourself a book.
Yes, to reading for ourselves. I read during lunch and I see it as being part of my job, since I'm a writer. And by that I don't mean that it's boring (I love my job), but that I don't feel guilty about taking the time to do it!
I needed some new reads not from the NYT bestseller list. Thanks!