Recently I received a book I’d requested from the publisher, called Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas by John Baxter. I was planning to save it to read for the upcoming Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge, but I was in the mood for some holiday reading and Baxter’s tale of preparing a feast for his French in-laws was too tempting to resist. Australian by birth, Baxter is a world traveler who moves to Paris after falling in love with a French woman. The book is a bit like sitting down in front of a roaring fire while the snow falls outside, listening to a older uncle regale you with tales of his life and travels. Baxter shares his thoughts on the nuances of French cooking and customs, interspersed with reflections on his Australian childhood, his travels in America and the UK, and the things he’s experienced since calling France his home. All this is told in a meandering, tangential style, so that the uncle you’re listening to is the slightly doddering one, and you’re not quite sure when the story he’s telling is taking place or how this particular recollection fits in with the rest of the story, but really it’s doesn’t even matter because it’s all interesting stuff. Immoveable Feast is a pleasant read, sure to boost your holiday spirit and make you wish you had a place set for you at Baxter’s table.

I created a book display at the library this month that highlighted some of our holiday books, including one called Auggie Wren’s Christmas Story by Paul Auster. Billed as an unsentimental Christmas story, this compact little book, whose story first appeared as an op-ed piece in the New York Times, shares what Auggie claims to be the best Christmas story ever, all for the price of lunch. For me, the best part of this book were the illustrations, funky and colorful. As for the story itself, I guess I like a little more schmaltz with my Christmas after all, so while I appreciated the message of Auggie Wren’s story, it was a little too understated for my holiday mood.

This was a very special Christmas, since I got to have some of my family with me for the first time in several years. But one thing that doesn’t change is that every year there are some books for me under the tree, and of course, this year was no different, with five new books unwrapped and sitting on my shelf: Shakespeare Wrote For Money by Nick Hornby, I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosby, The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, and Celtic Daily Prayer by The Northumbria Community. Plus there was a gift card from Borders Bookstore in my stocking, so I’ll probably have a few more Christmas presents to put on the bookshelf over the next few days.

I hope everyone is having a very happy and book-filled holiday!