Bibliography: Hart, Carolyn. (2009).  Merry, Merry Ghost.  New York: William Morrow.  ISBN: 978-0060874377 (hc) 978-0061962929 (pb)

Plot Summary:  The late Bailey Ruth Raeburn is chosen to return to her old stomping grounds, Adelaide, OK just in time for Christmas and to help four-year-old orphan Keith meet his grandmother Susan.  When Susan decides to change her will to leave everything to Keith, someone makes sure that she can’t.  Bailey Ruth must catch the murderer and protect Keith.

Critical Analysis:  I have long been a fan of Carolyn Hart, especially the Death on Demand series.  When I found out she was writing a new series, I decided to give it a try, even though I am so tired and so over anything paranormal.  Well, am I ever so glad I did!  Bailey Ruth and the heaven she inhabits and the Oklahoma she visits are delightful all around.  Bailey Ruth is as feisty in death as she must have been in life, but her heart is in the right place.  I love the details of the world that Hart has created–Bailey Ruth’s ability to imagine a new wardrobe, to appear and disappear and carry things (but the items remain visible).  She pretends to be a police officer and provides clues to the sheriff.  She breaks all the “precepts” and is worried that she won’t get sent on any more missions.  In this series entry, lots of Christmas details and cerebration, a very dysfunctional family, and a very funny scene where Bailey Ruth and the ghost of the murder victim are pulled over while driving a car.  Well, and a murder.  Delightful and cozy and I recommend it highly (along with the others in the series.)  If you can get the audio version, even better, as the reader is excellent.

Review Excerpts: “When murder and mayhem ensue, Hart’s ghostly detective gets on the track of a clever killer. Bailey Ruth’s pleasure in her earthly wardrobe, her keen observations of the other characters and her unorthodox but expert sleuthing will engage readers from start to finish.”–Publisher’s Weekly

“A cute and cozy mystery.”–Library Journal

Reviewed from public library  audio book copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

 Bibliography: Washburn, Livia. J. (2008). The Christmas Cookie Killer.  New York: NAL Trade.  ISBN: 978-0451225344(t) 978-0451226662 (pb)

Plot Summary: Retired Weatherford, Texas teacher Phyllis Newsom  is sure that her lime snowflake cookies will win the local newspaper cookie contest.  She decides to take some to her next door neighbor Agnes who asks if she might make them with her grandchildren.  Phyllis runs home to find her special snow flake cutters.  Minutes later, she finds Agnes dead and is knocked out by a blow from behind.  Phyllis is determined to track down the killer.  Was it Agnes’ grandson, hiding in the attic and from the law?  the loan shark he borrowed money from?  One of the neighbors with a secret Agnes discovered?

Critical Analysis:  I am a sucker for cozy culinary mysteries. and this one was a Christmas one to boot! I don’t usually jump into a series in the middle, but I didn’t find myself lost or confused by not having read earlier entries.  I did enjoy Phyllis and her roommates and their dynamics, and all of the Christmas touches.  The mystery itself was maybe not the best part, but Washburn has the small town Texas dynamics down pat, and I may seek out another in the series to see what I think.  The recipes also sound divine, and I want to try injecting a ham with Coca-Cola just because it sounds like a great idea.

Reviewed from public library  copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Bibliography: Cohn, Rachel and David Levithan. (2010). Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares.  New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers.  IBSN: 978-0375866593 (hc) 978-0375859557 (pb)

Plot Summary:  On his own in New York for the Christmas holidays, Dash finds a red moleskine notebook in the J.D. Salinger section of the Strand bookstore.  The notebook contains a challenge from the mysterious Lily.  Are Dash and Lily destined to meet in real life?  Or do they only live in the notebook they pass back and forth?

Critical Analysis:  One of my dreams is to visit New York City during the Christmas season.  With this book, I felt like I was there.  I really liked the clever collaboration, and I will need to go back and read their other  joint novels (Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Naomi & ely’s No Kiss List) to see what other fun I missed.  The dares were fun, Lily’s crazy family who assisted her and Dash’s diverse group of friends just added to the story.  Lots of humor and wit along with holiday details and a New York back drop make this an excellent holiday read for teens and adults.

Review Excerpts: “Cohn and Levithan use a familiar but fun formula for this holiday-themed collaboration–think Saint Nick & Norah–mixing an enticing premise with offbeat characters and some introspective soul searching….there are more than enough amusing turns of phrase and zigzag plot twists to keep their attention”–Publisher’s Weekly

“The spirit of the season amplifies Dash and Lily’s loneliness and heightens the connection between them, in another surefire hit from the creators of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2006).”–Booklist

“As they did in Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Knopf, 2006), the authors combine their talents to write an appealing book. It makes readers long to buy a notebook, begin filling its pages, and find a friend who might turn out to be more. This book will spend as much time off the shelf as Lily’s notebook.”–School Library Journal

Reviewed from public library e-book copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

]]> http://readspace.net/2011/12/holiday-reading-dash-lilys-book-of-dares-by-rachel-cohn-and-david-levithan/feed/ 0 http://readspace.net/2011/12/holiday-reading-gingerbread-cookie-murder-by-joanna-fluke-laura-levine-and-leslie-meier/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=holiday-reading-gingerbread-cookie-murder-by-joanna-fluke-laura-levine-and-leslie-meier http://readspace.net/2011/12/holiday-reading-gingerbread-cookie-murder-by-joanna-fluke-laura-levine-and-leslie-meier/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:45:33 +0000 Susan http://readspace.net/?p=1765

Bibliography: Fluke, Joanne; Laura Levine and Leslie Meier. (2010). Gingerbread Cookie Murder. New York: Kensington.  ISBN: 978-0758234957 (hc) 978-0758234957 (pb)

Plot Summary:  Three wonderful holiday whodunuits.  In “Gingerbread Cookie Murder” by Joanne Fluke, Hannah Swensen just wants neighbor Ernie to turn down the music on his over the top Christmas display.  When she finally goes to his condo to confront him, she finds him sprawled on the floor with her gingerbread cookies scattered around him.  In “The Danger of Gingerbread Cookies” by Laura Levine, Jaine Austen is visiting her parents at their retirement complex in Florida where she has to suffer through an awful amateur holiday play.  It may be bad, but she didn’t wish for the “accidental” death of one of the actors.  In “Gingerbread Cookies and Gunshots” by Leslie Meier, intrepid local reporter Lucy Stone knows that there is more than meets the eye to the disappearance of a little boy from the back of his parents’ car.  Between her own holiday preparations, she races to track down the boy.

Critical Analysis:  These shorter novellas are perfect for holiday reading.  They are little treats to fans of the respective authors’ mystery series, and serve as introductions or light diversions for readers who may be less familiar.  I am a long time reader of Fluke and Meier, and also read 2007′s Candy Cane Murder, featuring three stories from the same authors.  (Which reminds me to seek out Levine’s series as well.)  I continue to read Fluke, although I have found the last couple of entries in her series to be uneven.  I actually love her shorter stories because the mystery and action are so tight.   I think the short story and novella are under-utilized forms these days, and look forward to more of these collections.  Plus I am a sucker for holiday stories and Fluke’s recipes.

Review Excerpts:  ”Fluke, Levine, and Meier each offer a yuletide whodunit treat in this entertaining follow-up to 2007′s Candy Cane Murder.”–Publisher’s Weekly

Reviewed from personal copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

Bibliography: Penzler, Otto, Ed. (2010).  Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop.  New York: Vanguard Press.  ISBN:  978-1593156176

Penzler is well known in the mystery world both as the owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan, and editor at the Mysterious Press, recently reacquired and set to relaunch with Penzler next year.  Every year for the past 17 years, Penzler has commissioned a well known mystery writer to pen a tale that was printed and given out to bookstore customers for the holidays.  The stories must take place at Christmas and feature the bookshop in at least one scene.

Contributors include Charles Ardai, Lisa Atkinson, George Baxt, Lawrence Block, Mary Higgins Clark, Thomas H. Cook, Ron Goulart, Jeremiah Healy, Edward D. Hoch, Rupert Holmes, Andrew Klavan, Michael Malone, Ed McBain, Anne Perry, S. J. Rozan, Jonathan Santlofer and Donald E. Westlake.  All of the stories are wonderful and none of them are alike–there are funny, serious, dark, silly and charming stories, something for everyone, or in my case, everything for someone.

If you love mysteries or short stories, this is a great way to get in the holiday spirit.

Reviewed from public library copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

I think I first read the Little House on the Prairie series in the summer time, but it is the winter scenes that really stick with me still.  Snow angels and sugaring snow, making pictures in the frost on the window, twisting hay and grinding wheat, Pa getting lost in a snow storm…Maybe because this was so different from my world and yet I felt a kinship with Laura.  I had a sister too, and I loved to run around outside and sometimes it was so hard to be good.

Christmas plays a big role in many of the Little House books.  In Little House in the Big Woods, several chapters are devoted to it, with the cousins visiting and staying the night, stockings and snow candy and presents–Laura’s rag doll Charlotte and Ma’s hand carved little shelf for her china shepherdess.

In Little House on the Prairie, Mary and Laura have resigned themselves to the fact that maybe there would be no Santa this year.  Laura was worried he wouldn’t be able to find them in their new home, and Mary didn’t think Santa and his reindeer could go where there was no snow.  Ma and Pa couldn’t do anything because it had been raining for days, and there was no way to get to town because the creek was overflowing and no one could get across.   Mr. Edwards a bachelor homesteader has been invited to Christmas dinner but it is doubtful he can cross the creek either.  But cross the creek he does, and he carries a package wrapped and tied on his head to keep it dry.  In the package?  Santa’s presents for the girls, for Mr. Edwards met him in Independence and walked back through the rain and flood to deliver their gifts.

In On the Banks of Plum Creek, there was Pa getting lost in a snow storm and ing shelter and eating all the oyster cracker crackers and Christmas candy, special Christmas horses and a beautiful tree filled with gifts and candy at church.  Laura is so happy with her little fur muff, not the least because it is nicer than Nellie’s.

By the Shores of Silver Lake finds the Ingalls wintering in the Surveyor’s house.  Everyone has secrets of presents made and hidden away, and the family is enjoying being warm and snug sharing company and song when the Boasts arrive half frozen from the cold and snow.  Ma again works her magic, making wonderful meals to share and finding gifts for their new friends which she places on the Christmas breakfast table, which sounds just as lovely as hanging stockings.

The hard winter weather of The Long Winter made it hard to feel merry about much, but every time the weather broke and a train got through, it felt like Christmas–letters and papers from back east, a special Christmas barrel full of gifts for everyone, it didn’t matter what day it was.  But the girls and Ma make Christmas special just the same–pooling pennies to buy a present, taking nice things they had made for themselves and giving them to others, Ma makes dinner from the last few cans of oysters from the general store, and Pa even has some Christmas candy to share.

What I take away from these scenes is the true spirit of Christmas, of having a generous soul, a loving heart, and being with family and friends.  It makes me want to reread all the books for the I don’t know which time.

Bibliography: Wilder, Laura Ingalls. (1932).  Little House in the Big Woods. New York: HarperCollins.  ISBN: 978-0061289804 (2007 75th Anniversary hardcover).

—-. (1935). Little House on the Prairie. New York: HarperCollins.  ISBN: 978-0064400022 (1994 paperback).

—-. (1937). On the Banks of Plum Creek. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN: 978-0064400046 (1953 paperback).

—-. (1939). By the Shores of Silver Lake. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN: 978-0060581848 (2004 paperback).

—-. (1940). The Long Winter. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN: 978-0060581855 (2004 paperback).

Reviewed from public library copies.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

]]> http://readspace.net/2009/12/holiday-reading-christmas-with-laura/feed/ 0 http://readspace.net/2009/12/holiday-reading-look-alikes-christmas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=holiday-reading-look-alikes-christmas http://readspace.net/2009/12/holiday-reading-look-alikes-christmas/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:08:36 +0000 Susan http://readspace.net/?p=701

When we were little, my sister and I got several magazines delivered to the house, Cricket, Ranger Rick, Penny Power, Muppet Magazine, Barbie Magazine to name just a few.  One was Highlights, which had stories and articles and crafts as well as regular features and puzzles.  One was a hidden picture puzzle:  A scene that at first looked normal but then if you looked closer, you could see things hidden in the pictures–a leaf that looks like a banana, a cloud that looks like a sheep and so forth.  You had to look carefully to find the different objects.  Later there were the Where’s Waldo books by Martin Handford.  My mom had a small plastic Waldo figure that she would hide in different places so young visitors could spot him

Bibliography: Steiner, Joan. (2003). Look-Alikes: Christmas. New York:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 978-0316811873

I first saw Joan Steiner’s Look-Alike books at the public library and they were amazing.  Scenes that at first look normal and real but then if you look closer, you realize that everything in the scene is made of something else.  And then the trick becomes spotting and naming all of those things.  I thought that these would be great for fans of Walter Wick’s I Spy series.  When I set out to choose books for holiday reading, I know I had to find Steiner’s holiday book to read and review.  I was not disappointed, I spent several hours studying the various scenes.  The first scene, a cottage covered in snow is astonishing, and I loved the Nutcracker scene.  The cathedral and New Year’s Eve fireworks though were jaw dropping in their intricacy and detail.

An added bonus is a section at the back of the book where Steiner includes a few activities for children to make their own “Look Alikes” as well as notes on how she comes up with and constructs her scenes.  Fascinating, and maybe enough to jump start creativity for young AND old.

After looking at this book, and online, I realize that we also had a jigsaw puzzle of one of Joan Steiner’s scenes, a general store I think, and was fun to put together and then try to find all the different things she had used to make the scene.  Several other puzzles are available, including the kitchen scene from this book.

Readalikes:  Walter Wick’s I Spy series as mentioned above, and books by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers who use fruit and vegetables to create scenes and stories.

Review Excerpt: “Eagle-eyed readers rejoice! There’s more to Christmas than meets the eye in Steiner’s latest Look-Alikes collection of astounding 3-D assemblages….A minimum of 100 objects makes up each of the nine settings (e.g., transporting the audience to a performance of the Nutcracker ballet, Santa’s workshop and an ornate cathedral where readers seem to stand before its stained-glass windows), and avid fans will want to seek them all.”–Publisher’s Weekly

Reviewed from public library copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

I first started reading Cooking Light in the mid-1990s, when I was still living in a college dorm.  I didn’t have a kitchen, but sometimes the cover would catch my eye from the newsstand and I’d buy the latest copy.  In addition to delicious sounding recipes with lots of photos, they also had healthy living product reviews, nutrition information, workouts, and more.  Not too long after that,  I moved out of the dorm to a little house with a kitchen and my parents got me a subscription.

I remember the first double issue (Cooking Light publishes one double issue a year that has tons of holiday recipes and gift ideas) I received had the recipe for Easy Chocolate-Caramel Brownies on the front.  I HAD to make them right away, but I didn’t have a car to drive to the grocery store.  So I walked to a little convenience store a little ways off and paid too much for all the ingredients but was so happy to bake (and eat!) the brownies.

Since then, I have subscribed to the magazine off and on, depending on whether someone was giving it to me as a gift or I could read it at the library.  I saved my back issues for years, only giving them up when we moved to Florida.  (They took up too much space.)  Fortunately, like many magazine publishers, Southern Progress Corporation realized putting their recipes and features online does not diminish their print readership.  Find Cooking Light and sister magazine’s recipes at MyRecipes.  A recent change in design, layout, and focus has made Cooking Light a joy to read and savor.

This year’s double issue includes a holiday party on the cheap, spectacular food gifts to make and give (toasted coconut marshmallows, cranberry liqueur and more), great gadgets and gifts for cooks, new takes on Christmas cookies and much much more.

I like this magazine so much that I am renewing my own subscription and giving some subscriptions as Christmas gifts as well.

Cooking Light publishes 12 issues a year (the double issue counts as 2.)

Reviewed from personal copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

The Anne books and all the short stories by L.M. Montgomery are all intertwined in my mind with the wonderful movies by Kevin Sullivan which I remember watching on PBS when they first came out.  After that, I had to read all the Anne books, followed by the Emily books, the Story Girl, several other novels and volumes of short stories.  One scene among many that stands out in my mind is when Matthew insists that Anne have a dress with puffed sleeves.  He knows that Marilla won’t approve, so he decides to make it a Christmas gift.  I have had this book on my shelf for years and not read it, because I assumed it was excerpts from the Anne books.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover many holiday short stories from Montgomery that were full of the characters, friendship, food and love that fill all her work.

Bibliography:  Montgomery, L. M. (1995).  Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories. New York: Delacorte. ISBN:  9780771062049

Review:  In addition to the excerpt from Anne of Green Gables about the puffed sleeves, there is also the story from Anne of Windy Poplars of how Katherine Brook came to Green Gables for Christmas and the magic of the place and Anne changed her life.  The other short stories in the book are all full of these moments, magic, where among other things lost relatives come home, quarrels are forgotten, Santa Claus finds you even snow bound on a train, and a cake delivered to the wrong address makes up for a Christmas alone.  But the real magic is in the people that live in Montgomery’s (and Anne’s) world.  Good natured, kind hearted, and human but willing to see the error of their ways.  Really the one thing I wanted to do when I finished reading this volume was go over to my shelf and start reading all the Anne books and then work my way through the rest of Montgomery’s work.

Readalikes:  Not holiday books, but Christy by Catherine Marshall has a lot in common with Anne, and A Girl of the  Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter was published around the same time and has at its center a determined young woman as well.

Review Excerpt: “Wilmshurst has selected tales as heartwarming as those set at Green Gables and beyond, and Montgomery’s fans are always ready for any new story that can be mustered from this fabled author’s pen.”–Kirkus Reviews

Reviewed from personal copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

]]> http://readspace.net/2009/12/holiday-reading-christmas-with-anne-and-other-holiday-stories/feed/ 0 http://readspace.net/2009/12/holiday-reading-the-sweet-smell-of-christmas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=holiday-reading-the-sweet-smell-of-christmas http://readspace.net/2009/12/holiday-reading-the-sweet-smell-of-christmas/#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:06:57 +0000 Susan http://readspace.net/?p=690

It is funny what sticks with you.  This book is one that it seems like we always had.  I remember reading it over and over again, and scratching and smelling the little stickers for hot chocolate and candy canes and a Christmas tree and oranges and apple pie.

Bibliography: Scarry, Patricia M. (1970). The Sweet Smell of Christmas. Illustrated by J. P. Miller. New York: Golden Books. ISBN: 9780375826436 (2003 edition)

Review: Simple and warm, this book takes children through some of the traditional preparation for Christmas, from Christmas trees to candy canes, holiday baking to Christmas stockings.  In just a few words, you are drawn into the Bear Family home, and the illustrations light up the page.  Really, the scratch and sniff stickers are just a bonus.  (I know I read our copy even after the smelliness was gone.)

Patricia Scarry was the wife of Richard Scarry, and seems to have his knack for writing for children.  J. P. Miller illustrated many Golden Books, including others in the “Scented Storybook” series.  The genius in using animals in a story like this is that somehow every child sees the story as theirs, with no race or ethnicity attached.

If you didn’t have this book as a child, I hope you’ll take advantage of the fact that it has been reissued and is available at a very reasonable price.

Reviewed from personal copy.  Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.