A cold, dreary month should be good for reading. A cold, dreary month in the burgeoning dystopia should be very good for reading. As one who no longer participates in the winter holidays, I found the idea of reading xmas ghost stories aloud very appealing. Hubs and I started doing this in the afternoons with a cup of hot tea. It’s a nice break in the day and I get to read or hear a short story.
Star ratings: 0= did not finish; 1= not very good; 2= okay; 3= good; 4= really good; 5= excellent
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. This book was highly recommended, and I thought I’d give it a go even though it isn’t the kind of thing I usually read. There’s a lot in it about video games and the video game industry and the process of creating video games. I would call it as a romance, although the two main characters are only ever platonic friends and business partners. It was well written and interesting, and I can see why a lot of people love it.
Storm Front by Jim Butcher. This is the first novel in the Dresden Files series. Contemporary fantasy is a genre I haven’t read much of. Aside from the main character being a wizard, and the existence of faeries and vampires and the like in his world, it follows the structure of hard-boiled detective stories of Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade and the like. In the end, I found the supernatural stuff distracting. It was entertaining, but I probably won’t continue the series.
Mad Magazine, December 2025. It’s been a seriously long time since I read Mad. I think the last time, I was probably 10 or 11. The Don Martin strip on the back cover I actually remember from when it was new. There were some other reprints of classic stuff, and some new stuff. It was a lot like I remembered. I would probably have enjoyed it more if I were still 10 or 11 years old. The Sergio Aragones cartoons in the margins were so tiny that they were difficult to make out, even with a magnifying glass.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. This book was a pleasant surprise! A post-apocalyptic tale that follows several characters before and after the end of civilization. Very well crafted and hard to put down. Very enjoyable indeed!
Ride The River by Louis L’Amour. Book 5 in the Sackett series, this one departs from the format of the previous books. The main character is 16-year-old Echo Sackett, a Tennessee mountain girl who takes a trip to Philadelphia to collect a surprise inheritance. I love a story with a strong female lead, and L’Amour doesn’t disappoint. A short and satisfying read.
Return To Romance! The Strange Love Stories of Ogden Whitney. This is a very nice collection of comics from the late 50s and early 60s. They are different from other romance comics of the time, very different indeed. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and the information in the foreword and afterword. The volume itself is lovely, printed in full color on heavy stock with stitched binding. I don’t buy a lot of new books, but I think this was worthwhile.
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran. This was a pretty good mystery story. I didn’t much care for the title character, but she was written vividly enough to form an opinion about. At times the story was confusing and it went from reality to dreams, visions, or drug-induced hallucinations and back without any warning. There were supernatural elements, but I couldn’t tell you why. Overall, an entertaining read, if a bit weird. I probably won’t read more in the series.
Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy. Well, now, this was different! Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen next, I got a surprise. As a horror novel, it’s nicely paced and plenty scary and suspenseful. But there’s more. Somehow, this cis male author gives an accurate look into the frustrations of being a “woman of a certain age”. (He describes his writing process in the afterword.) A very, very good read.
The Reddening by Adam L. G. Nevill. The idea for this story was different and pretty interesting. I found the characters a little flat and the story longer than it needed to be. I listened to the audiobook. The narrator, Conner Goff, has a nice voice and read well for the most part. There were some words he mispronounced, which annoyed me, and I think it would have been better read by someone from Great Britain. Still, it was a solid folk-horror-ish tale.
Memento Mori by Muriel Spark. This is a humorous British mystery that was recommended and had great reviews. I couldn’t get into it, and returned it to the library after just a few chapters. I might try it again someday when I’m not in a dark December mood.
The Girl With The Long Green Heart by Lawrence Block. This I had no trouble getting into – I love reading grifter stories, and this was no exception. How does Mr. Block know so much about crimes? Or is he just making it all up? Whatever, this was a really fun read with a nice twist and a satisfying ending.
The Librarianist by Patrick DeWitt. This is a very engaging story of one man’s life. Beautifully written, perfectly paced, with charming, interesting characters, pathos, and a touch of humor. An absolute delight!
Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller. This was more interesting than I thought it would be at first. If I knew a teen or young adult who wanted to understand how we got into the “culture war” going on right now, I’d have them read this book. It was published in 2024, and takes look at both sides from a personal level. Challenged books drive plot points as characters read them, which I found a clever device. A very worthwhile read that celebrates compassion with an optimistic outlook.
Ghosts of Christmas Past, edited by Tim Martin, and Christmas and Other Horrors, edited by Ellen Datlow. These are the collections from which our afternoon stories were selected. So far, all we’ve read have been delightful. We plan to continue the readings as long as I have anthologies from which to read. I have a few, and there’s always more at the library!
I hope you had a gentle December. Happy New Year!
Jade Threadbear 