The Reads of Christmas Future

During the holiday season, I only read holiday novels (either set during the season or have a seasonal theme) and this year the season started sooner. Usually, my holiday reading session starts on Thanksgiving and lasts until the first week in January, but this year I felt a need to start earlier and began November 1st. I especially love reading short stories and anthologies during this time as I can read a complete story between decorating, baking and crafting. Here are some of the books that I've added to my list. I'm not sure how many I'll get to but I know I'll enjoy trying to get through all of them...and maybe some others from my prior reading lists that I've rediscovered on my bookshelves or on my Kindle.

The 12 Slays of Christmas by multiple authors (anthology) - https://www.amazon.com/12-Slays-Christmas-Abby-Vandiver-ebook/dp/B075FGNTG4

Better Off Thread by Amanda Lee- https://www.amazon.com/Better-Off-Thread-Embroidery-Mystery-ebook/dp/B01CZCW26A

The Boyfriend Swap by Meredith Schorr - https://www.amazon.com/Boyfriend-Swap-Meredith-Schorr-ebook/dp/B074PBG2MP

The Cat of Christmas Future by Kathi Daley - https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Future-Whales-Tails-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0759XZ5JD

The Cat of Christmas Past by Kathi Daley - https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Past-Whales-Tails-Mystery-ebook/dp/B014QH43GE

The Christmas Letter by Kathi Daley - https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Letter-Cozy-Mystery-Tilly-ebook/dp/B075RR9JX3

Christmas in Venice by Maria Grazia Swan- https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Venice-Maria-Grazia-Swan-ebook/dp/B01N0KP3VW

Christmas Spirit: Cozy Mystery Series by Morgana Best - https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Spirit-Mystery-Middle-aged-Whisperer-ebook/dp/B0165221E4

Death in D Minor by Alexia Gordon- https://www.amazon.com/Death-Minor-Gethsemane-Brown-Mystery-ebook/dp/B071Y7QDYR

Death is Coming to Town by Eleanor Cawood Jones -  https://www.amazon.com/Death-Coming-Eleanor-Cawood-Jones-ebook/dp/B00H5D4C4A

Double Deck the Halls by Gretchen Archer – https://www.amazon.com/DOUBLE-HALLS-Bellissimo-Casino-Crime-ebook/dp/B076BJSQJG

Feliz Navidead by Ann Meyers - https://www.amazon.com/Feliz-Navidead-Santa-Cafe-Mystery/dp/0062382314

Finding Justice by Kathi Daley - https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Justice-Rescue-Alaska-Mystery-ebook/dp/B074MHGYY6

Fourth Victim by Kathi Daley - https://www.amazon.com/Writers-Retreat-Southern-Seashore-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0747TK39Y

Freshly Ground Murder by Tonya Kappes - https://www.amazon.com/Freshly-Ground-Murder-Killer-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0764DWFT2

Lowcountry Bordello by Susan Boyer - https://www.amazon.com/Lowcountry-Bordello-Talbot-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B0147MG9W4

Pearls Gone Wild by Diane Vallere - https://www.amazon.com/Pearls-Gone-Wild-Samantha-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B01MD0U8XS

Reindeer Roundup by Kathi Daley - https://www.amazon.com/Reindeer-Roundup-Donovan-Cozy-Mystery-ebook/dp/B075RR4X5C

Seeds of Revenge by Wendy Tyson - https://www.amazon.com/Seeds-Revenge-Greenhouse-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B07519T827

Trouble Under the Mistletoe by Rebecca Barrett - https://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Under-Mistletoe-Familiar-Mystery-ebook/dp/B076V2XZQZ

Gifts for Readers

Books make great Christmas gifts (also Chanukah). I say this not only because I write books; there are few gifts that give so much entertainment for so little money.

Therefore I will recommend some favorites to you.

A good reference/advice book for mystery writers: Don’t Murder Your Mystery, by Chris Roerden. Terrific advice for the would-be-published, she also offers sound counsel for the experienced writer. Highly recommended.

For fun, I am dipping again into Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimon’s Good Omens. The Apocalypse has never been funnier. The newest edition has a forward describing the authors’ encounters with some of the weird and ardent fans of this intelligent fantasy novel. I also recommend Gaimon alone and Pratchett’s Discworld series enthusiastically.

I’m not sure why, but I find Ngaio Marsh’s Overture to Death a comfort read. I get it out every few years and fall gratefully into its world for a few days – I read it slowly, savoring it. I like the locale and the characters, and the solution is perfect. My old copy was falling to pieces, literally, so I was glad to find a new issue of it at Once Upon A Crime mystery bookstore.

I feel the same way about Georgette Heyer’s Behold Here’s Poison. Though I dislike the sleuth, I like the other characters and the method of poisoning is brilliant. It and Overture are old, golden-age mysteries (1930s), and they give a glimpse into a world long-vanished as described by literate, gifted authors. (I love 1930s and 1940s movies for the same reason.)

Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond is wonderful -- a reasonable, accesible explanation for why Europe and Asia got so far ahead of the rest of the world in technology -- though the sequel to it is not.