What I Read -- Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas

This was one of my 2025 Reading Challenge books. Why did I elect to read it in the summer, despite its subject matter?  Simple, and usually the reason that I'll pick a book our of season: convenience. We have been undertaking -as is common this time of year - some summer travels. This particular little book was perfect. Its attributes in that regard include the following: 

• It's pocket-sized, even for me (as long as I'm wearing pants with cargo pockets, which I usually do for travel). That makes it easy to stow away quickly when the line suddenly begins to move, but equally as easy to pull out again when it comes inexplicably to an abrupt halt a few steps later.

• It's unserious. There are a few moments of serious content, but even they are, for the most part, told in a pretty unserious way. There are one-liners. It's a little bit like reading the script of a stand-up comedian's set, and frankly I found it to be more entertaining if I pretended that's exactly what it was; timing is everything.

• It's made up of vignettes. This is helpful for the same reason that it being pocket-sized is helpful: it's easy to dip in and out quickly. Each story, told in chronological order somewhat in the format of a journal entry, is a stand-alone tale that may be as short as a few sentences. This is perfect for when your attention is regularly pulled elsewhere by the constant streams of people and PA announcements. 

Also, let's not forget that this was actually my June book selection ("something funny"), so I'm not that out of season after all.

Having said all those positive things, this is not destined to become a classic. It feels like the guy had some funny or clever stories he wanted to tell and used the hook of Christmas to string them all together whether that really made sense or not. But if you need a book for an airplane - especially in July - this one does the trick.