Holiday Reads

I just finished two pretty fun Christmas books--both are short story collections and they couldn't have been more different.

First up, Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories, by L. M. Montgomery.  I'm an Anne of Green Gables fan from childhood and by far the best stories in this collection were the two extracted from the series.

The first is from AoGG, when Matthew gives Anne a dress with puffed sleeves--it's the first pretty dress that Anne has ever gotten, and she is thrilled, thankful, and blown away by Matthew's love for her.

The other Anne story was from Windy Poplars, when Katherine Brook comes to Green Gables with Anne over the Christmas holiday.  I always loved that part of the story and it was a joy to reread.

The rest of the stories in the collection were ones that the editor, Rea Wilmshurst, culled from various magazines, circa 1905.  They are fairly conventional stories in which either one of the following happens:
1) A poor family is struggling to have a Christmas for their children and a rich benefactor showers Christmas goodies on them at the last minute.
2)  A fractured family or arguing friends are reunited due to a mistake of some sort that makes them celebrate Christmas together and mend broken fences.

My favorite was one in which a country woman feeds a train car full of various people out of her voluminous hamper when the train is stranded over night on Christmas Eve due to a snowstorm.  The spirit of giving and friendship shines through this one, without it being overly saccharine.

This was a quick book to read, a bit too sweet for my taste, but pure heaven to spend some quality time with Anne again.

The second collection of stories was The Mistletoe Murder: And Other Stories, a set of four stories, by P.D. James.  This is my first time reading James and I can finally appreciate her for the fabulous mystery writer she was.  All four were all well-crafted, tight, and interesting.  The first was a classic country house murder, the second an unreliable narrator, and the third and fourth featured Adam Dalgleish.

The setting was Christmas, but that was really the only thing Christmasy about these stories--no change of heart, no uplifting sentiments, just murder most foul...but very entertaining!

I'm keeping track of my Christmas reading, year to year, here.

Talking About Detective Fiction with P.D. James

I have shelves and stacks of TBR books that I draw from when I am ready to start reading a new book, but when I am looking for an audio book I indulge in browsing. I walk up and down the aisles of my library and pull titles off the shelf that intrigue me or somehow catch my eye, then I read the backs, check how many disks are involved, and finally winnow down the selection to one or maybe two, if both are short.

That's how I selected my latest audio book, Talking About Detective Fiction, by P.D. James. Truth be told, the book is on my TBR shelf in all it hardbound glory, but I knew it would be years until I found the time to read it the old-fashioned way so I listened instead.

In a word, it was delightful! While I haven't actually read any of P.D. James's detective novels, I certainly have known of her reputation in the field and so valued what she had to say about the genre and how it has evolved over time. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Sherlock Holmes and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Golden Age of detective stories (i.e., the years between WWI and WWII) when Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, among others, were at their peak.

I have a weakness for books about books, the writing process, and what works and what doesn't in this particular genre. And, of course, came away with a list of authors I simply have to read. I think I'll start with G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories. I like the idea of a priest detective, which reminds me, I really need to read the latest in Julia Spencer-Fleming's wonderful Clare Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne series, One Was a Soldier.

I did thumb through my printed version of the book after I was done listening to it in order to refresh my memory on a few points, and discovered that it is peppered with great New Yorker style cartoons. Here's one that I particularly enjoyed.

Finally, it's a funny book. James has a wry sense of humor that made me smile throughout. This was definitely a refreshing, fun read.