Book Around the Corner

I wish you all a Joyeux Noël from France!

Whatever you’re doing today, I hope you’re having a great day. If you celebrate Christmas, may it be among friends and family. I hope my American readers weren’t stuck at home because of this historical cold wave and bad weather.

Here the extended family was reunited for the first time since 2019. The children are back home from school and we’re enjoying our time together. It’s good to be back to normal.

Life got busy before Christmas, I rushed through December and struggled to get in the Christmas mood and as often I found help in Christmas books.

After reading As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson, I spent some more time with Sheriff Longmire and read Christmas in Absaroka County.

Four short stories around Christmas time, with Sheriff Longmire and his daughter Caddy. In Ministerial Aid, he uncovers a swindle around selling luxurious bibles to people who are grieving. In Slick-Tongue-Devil, he lets an elderly lady believes he’s Jesus to help her in her case of domestic abuse. In Toys for Tots, he gives a veteran his dignity back, making him a hero. And in Unbalanced, he rescues a hitchhiker.

Each story has the same feel as all of Craig Johnson’s books, a mix of humour, of goodwill and empathy.

Then I turned to The Christmas Book by Selma Lagerlöf, the author of The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. It’s a lot more traditional than Craig Johnson but just as delightful.

The book includes eight short stories mostly based upon Swedish legends: the legend of Saint Luce, how robin got their red breast…It brings this magical atmosphere that comes with legends and fairytales.

My favorite one is actually The Christmas Book, the only one that is a regular short story.

A little girl expects books for Christmas and is disappointed because she opens present after present of useful items for knitting, embroidering and sewing. What if she doesn’t get any book? She eventually gets one by La Comtesse de Ségur, all in French and she spends her holiday improving her French to read it.

I can totally relate to this young girl.

And now I’m reading short stories by Angela Thirkell, Christmas at High Rising.

I haven’t finished the book but I love the light and playful atmosphere. It’s an excellent introduction to the Barsetshire series and I think I’m hooked. I enjoy my time with Laura Morland, her friend George and her boisterous son Tony.

This is going to be a nice TBR of thirty light books to turn to. Many thanks to British readers for the recommandations, she’s not a well-known reader in France.

Finishing these stories will put a nice conclusion to the 2022 Christmas festivities.

And I wish you again a Merry Christmas!