Under the Tree

Because I love to gush, let me share the list of books I got for Christmas!  It's a combination of ebooks I've wanted but been too lazy to buy, books that I needed to get in print, and some excellent instincts on Mike's part.

 

I think In the Garden of Iden might have to qualify as a long-awaited read.  Time travel historical romance--yes please.  Winterling is by the author of The Magic Thief, and I just wanted more Prineas.  And I've been really into historical mysteries lately, somehow, and have been really tempted by Instruments of Darkness, partly because the protagonist is a married woman who solves the mystery in professional partnership with an elderly neighbor, which is very 19th-century-edgy.

 

I'm picky about what I get in print.  I wanted The Quilt Walk because I collect Sandra Dallas books, in honor of my grandmother, who loved them.  I wanted Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy because I love Rumer Godden.  I read the book years ago, and I've falling into a nun book place lately; the last scene in this book just sticks out in my head right now, and I really want to reread the rest of it--and it's only available in print.

Final Harvest is a collection of Emily Dickinson's poems edited by Thomas Johnson.  I realized a few weeks ago that I didn't own any Dickinson, even though the structure and imagery of her work makes it just the kind of poetry I would love.  Hereby rectified (thanks, Steph!).  Ebooks aren't right for poetry--they're no good for flipping through randomly.  This is also why a collection of fairy tales should be read in print, which is why I now own Philip Pullman's Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version.

 

Finally, Mike did some amazing mind reading.  He picked up the first volume of Gunnerkrigg Court, which I love love love and will now get to reread.  He also got me the first two volumes of the comic Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, which he bought about three days before I read a review that made me really want to read it.  I'm about halfway through rewatching the series, and I'm hoarding the comics till I finish up and go into withdrawal. 

Oh, and I almost forgot about the ebooks my Secret Santa got me!  She did an amazing job, clearly looking at my Goodreads lists and reading some of my posts here.  She got me Flashforward, which I had been really interested in when the TV show appeared a few years ago, and The Fatal Strain: On the Trail of the Avian Flu and the Coming Pandemic, because I love popular science and medical investigation books.  

Okay, looking over this post, I think this can only be called an embarrassment of riches.  I'd say thank you to everyone, but they don't all read here.  Thank you anyway.  I'm an incredibly lucky person--not just for the books, but for all the loved ones to share the holidays with.