December. The race to the finish line of the holiday season and the end of the year. Remember those things you told yourself you were going to accomplish back in January? Yeah, sorry I reminded you. We have enough stress in general to “Go! Go! Go!” and “Do! Do! Do!” without the addition of the holiday to-do’s. If you’re reading this column, then you probably have a reading goal you’re wishing you had thought about several months ago. Whether you have a reading challenge you’re trying to finish for total numbers or descriptors, reading doesn’t have to be one of those things that you “have to get done.”
Time feels short, but time is just time. Let’s carve out some somewhere to create a reading oasis. You may think it’s too late to start a new book, but it doesn’t have to be a door-stopper. No matter when you find some spare minutes, here are some books that may just sweep you off your feet for much-needed time to yourself.
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley (Graphic Memoir, Coming of Age, Food Writing)
Having grown up surrounded by delicious food, thanks to her gourmand father and earthy superchef mother, Knisley looks back on her childhood and adolescence through her roving palette and voracious appetite for new tastes and experiences. With each memory Knisley shares, she shows that life, like a good meal, should be savored and that all food—even junk food—is more than “just fuel.” For those uninitiated in the mysterious art of pickling, the nuance of cheese, or making sangria (yes, a couple cocktail recipes appear), Knisley’s candid storytelling, deadpan humor, and clear-line cartooning make the book entirely accessible, extinguishing the pretensions that sometimes predominate the culinary world. Nostalgic and funny, this comic memoir will keep you in the chair to read it in one sitting.
Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny (Short stories, Lives and Relationships, Funny, Emotional)
Short story collections make great end-of-year reading because each self-contained story is a built in stopping point. Think of each story in this collection as excuses to pause in your day. Ranging from mischievous to tender, Heiny’s lighthearted and amusing yet deeply resonant stories offer sly insights about human connection and can, in the space of a single sentence, take your breath away.
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham (Novella, Comedy of Errors, Witty)
You should know by now I like to read on theme with the season. This delightful, darkly humorous Christmas tale was adapted for the screen in 2004 and retitled “Christmas with the Kranks.” Curmudgeonly Luther Krank adds up what he and his wife, Nora, spent on Christmas the previous year and discovers they could actually save money by going on a cruise over the holiday. That is if they completely skip Christmas. No parties, no tree, no gifts, nothing. Nora is on board, but their close-knit community is not. And they let the Kranks know it.
Oh, It’s You: Love Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano (Poetry, Humor, Cats)
Poetry is another wonderful way to read through something in one sitting. Especially if the poems are short, hilarious thoughts from cats to their humans. That’s really all there is to say about this tiny joy.
Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson (Illustrated, Humor)
If you’re a fan of Edward Gorey like I am and love a good cozy murder, then you will love this tongue-in-cheek guide, detailing the countless ways you could perish in a seemingly picturesque English village.
A Charm of Goldfinches and Other Wild Gatherings: Quirky Collective Nouns of the Animal Kingdom by Matt Sewell
A charm of goldfinches, an ascension of larks, a school of dolphins, a cloud of bats, a murder of crows. All these and more are portrayed in this enchanting, beautifully illustrated book that will make you smile.
For more short reads, check out this list from the Tulsa City-County Library.
