So This is Christmas!

I know the holidays can be stressful, but as my slightly drunk co-worker opined as the holiday party, "it's fantastic because, just for a minute, everything stops."  Of course, everything up until that minute was complete insanity, but he's right.  Everything stops.  And it's really lovely when everything does.

In this year's crazy run-up to the holidays, I did manage to squeeze in a few of my holiday favorites.  I watched a couple of the classics, It's a Wonderful Life and Love Actually, plus my own personal Christmas classic, Little Women.  I added a couple slightly-less-classic but nevertheless well-known holiday films: Home Alone and Bad Santa.  And of course there was the terrible Amazon original Your Christmas or Mine?, which is destined to fade into oblivion (although it did have the perk of being set in England).

As an early birthday gift, my mother-in-law took me and her other D-I-L to lunch and to see the Ambassadors of Harmony's holiday show at UMSL.  We had a lovely day out before the bitterly cold weather set in.  I missed the SLSO show this year, but there's always next year!

We also got to visit with some family who were in town -- drinks with K&J at The Blue Duck, followed by dinner at Pizzeria da Gloria, which added J&T, M&K, and J to the party, making us a table of nine.  (When was the last time I ate a restaurant with nine people?  We're going back pre-pandemic here I think!)  And my mother-in-law is hosting her side of the family for their Christmas get-together this evening!

What I'm Reading Now -- The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared

In the waning days of the year, I'm diving into yet another book from my 2022 Reading Challenge.  I have two left un-started, so I'm picking the one I think will be the quicker read: The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared. 

I don't have realistic hopes that I will finish it before the end of the year, but you never know!

The Incredible Journey -- Take 2

I was able to use some not-ready-to-start-the-day time this weekend to tick yet another book off my 2022 Reading Challenge list.  The book in question was the December selection, "Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice": The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford.

l knew even before "about the author" section at the end that she was British (Scottish, actually).  The unusual combinations of words and clever turns of phrase were just so quintessentially British.  There was no way she could be anything but.

Her story of three beloved and indomitable pets who set off across the Canadian wilderness has become a classic theme, and this particular story has been remade a few times.  First, a couple of years after the book's release, Disney made it into a film which -- much to my surprise -- I have never seen.  (This situation will have to be rectified.)

Disney remade the story in the early 1990s, swapping some of the characteristics between the two dogs, and changing the breeds of all the animals slightly.  It also incorporated an additional plot line to add some interest to the human side of the story.

Such a great story.  Absolutely worth reading if you have not.

Good Dog. Stay. -- Take 2

For anyone who has ever loved and lost a pet, especially a dog, it's just about inevitable that the story of the loss of any dog will be touching.  So it is with Good Dog. Stay.  

Anna Quindlen, who has written several books none of which -- save this one -- I have ever read, tells the story of her beloved black lab Beau.  It's a sweet and heartfelt return to the life of her trusty pal, starting in his puppyhood and through his final moments, while she and her family move through their own lives alongside him.

I did manage to make it through without turning into an entire puddle, but certainly my eyes welled up a few times.  Mostly it was social conventions that kept me from falling completely to pieces, as that's generally looked upon quite curiously while you're waiting at a restaurant for your table to be ready.

One more book ticked off the 2022 Reading Challenge!

What I'm Reading Now -- Good Dog. Stay.

I am still mid-Dracula (and I think this might be the time!), but in the interest of ticking off another book or two before the end of the year, I'm turning my attention towards a shorter book on my 2022 Reading Challenge: Good Dog. Stay.

It's probably going to be a terribly sad read and I'm sure I'll be in a puddle at various points during the experience, but I think those things are supposed to build character, right?

What I'm Reading Now -- Dracula (A Third Attempt)

Many years ago, I started reading Dracula one night when I was visiting Dad in Breckenridge.  I eventually made it further than the 16 pages I had covered at the time I wrote that post, but not by much.  I started reading it a second time in the intervening years, and made it further still but probably not past page 60 or so.  

So here I am, trying it a third time.  One thing I have learned about books over the years is that sometimes it's just not the right time.  And that's okay.  Don't force it, come back and try again later.  Paradoxically, another thing I have learned is that sometimes a book just isn't for you, despite what you may think.  It's not always easy to tell which should be the guiding principle when one finds oneself struggling with a book.  The best advice I can offer is to go with your gut on which is the case with any particular read.

With Dracula, I'm giving it another shot.  In addition to all my initial reasons, it was also my October "Thrills and Chills" pick for my 2022 Reading Challenge.  So here we go again!

What I Read -- Muddied Oafs: The Last Days of Rugger

Some time ago, Dad gave me this book.  I didn't read it then, but I've been on a big rugby kick (so to speak) lately, watching Premiership rugby first, but really jolted into high gear with the broadcast of the Women's Rugby World Cup (supposed to be played in 2021, but actually played in the last couple of months due to COVID).

I had put this book on my list for the 2022 Reading Challenge, under the category of "Around or Out of this World (set in a country other than where you live, or by an author from another country, or set in space or on another planet)" (which was supposed to be read in July, but no matter).  When all this other rugby came into my life, it seemed like the opportune moment, even though it was November.

If one is willing to allow an author of a semi-autobiographical, semi-historical book about his own history in a sport, this is a pretty good one.  It does talk about the sport itself, the history of it, how it changed over time and how it's different in different parts of the UK (with a little bit of continental Europe sneaking in there as well).  But it also is a reminisce through his own years of playing.  As a former rugger myself, I was more than willing to indulge the stories of his glory days.  Non-ruggers may not be so generous, which I completely understand.  If you haven't done it, it doesn't quite hold the same allure.  But if you have, it's worth perusing if only because it helps you remember your own good fun from those days.

What I Read -- Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives

The Postal Book Club strikes again!  Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives was E's pick, and I'm glad she picked it because it's been on my "to read" list for a long time.

This is definitely a book to read in small pieces.  It seems like it'd be an easy one to blow through, because each story is quite short (a few pages), and the volume itself is dimensionally slim.  However, each story merits at least a few minutes of reflection before blowing through to the next one. 

Though the subtitle says most of what you need to know, I'll elaborate here a bit: each story is a different idea of what the afterlife might look like.  They're wildly imaginative -- some, of course, more than others, but to come up with 40 iterations (plus however many were scrapped in the editing process) is an impressive feat of creativity.  Even if you're not a believe in the idea of an afterlife, the stories still present a clever game of "what if" that you can play.

Great pick, E, lots of fun to read, and also thought-provoking.