Yikes! I have not written anything down yet, and it is already almost the end of the month. Is it really possible that I have only read one book so far this month? I have been super busy this month with work and Christmas, so perhaps it is.
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is my absolute favorite because I can just sit in my chair by the tree and read read read. Which is what I did starting around 5 on the afternoon on the Feast of Stephen (aka Boxing Day/the Second Day of Christmas/December 26/yesterday). I planned to finish on book by T.V. time (Stranger Things, y’all!), and I did.
So, first up:
Sharp Force by Patricia Cornwell
As you may already know, I own every book in Cornwell’s Scarpetta series, which is a lot of books! Every few years I read them all again, in order. And most years there is a new one out for Christmas. A few years back the books declined in quality, but inspiration appears to have returned and while this is certainly not the best of the series, I enjoyed it very much.
Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global by Laura Spinney
This is a nonfiction book about Proto-Indo-European, a language that linguists have reconstructed backward from its descendants. The Germanic Languages (like English) and the Romance languages (like Spanish) and many others all descended from this mother tongue. And this probably is not interesting to most people, but I live for this stuff.
The Maid by Nita Prose
I put this on my Christmas list because I saw it recommended somewhere and I am so glad I did. The protagonist, Molly, is autistic, although that word is not used. She is a hotel maid who is absolutely devoted to her job, and when a murder occurs her special skills prove crucial to solving the case. Molly is simply a delightful and original character and I am so excited that there are more books about her.
That was all for December but I kicked it into high gear in 2026, as you shall see.
