Sick Days

Nothing beats being sick in bed when you have a stack of books to finish up. This week I managed to polish off:

'Tis the Season by Lorna Landvik--a novel written entirely in email format

The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Lee Standiford--really well written. I was struck by how incredibly dismal life was in London during the Victorian era.

My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith by Benyamin Cohen--more snark than substance, but it was interesting to view so many different religions through the eyes of an orthodox Jew. Some of those southern churches are intense.

September Songs: The Good News About Marriage in the Later Years by Maggie Scarf--looks like old age doesn't really suck after all

Here's the Bright Side: Of Failure, Fear, Cancer, Divorce, and Other Bum Raps by Betty Rollin--actually, life in general doesn't really suck after all

The Foxfire 40th Anniversary Book: Faith, Family, and the Land --a collection of essays from the past forty years. I will never take running water for granted again.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas: A Holiday Mystery by Agatha Christie--The thing I enjoy most about Agatha Christie is that I never can figure out who did it before I get to the end. Not sure if this relflects more on her supreme writing skills or my basic lack of imagination, but it makes for enjoyable reading.

The Winding Ways Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini --for the twelfth book in a series, it wasn't a total waste of time. Best I can say.

The Quilter's Kitchen: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel with Recipes also by Jennifer Chiaverini --the thirteenth book in the series was a total waste of time.

Actors at Work by Rosemarie Tichler, Barry Jay Kaplan, and Mike Nichols --interviews with famous actors (such as Meryl Streep, Kevin Spacey, Kevin Kline), discussing the actual craft of acting. Lots of emphasis on their education. Gave me a real appreciation for the amount of sheer effort and practice that goes into the profession.