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Links I love and books on my nightstand.

Links I love:

• Listen to Neil Gaiman read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

• What happened when I lived according to the Pinterest popular page. This is surprising and funny and relatable. (Language warning.)

• The unbreakable Laura Hillenbrand. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this long form piece. It’s worth it. The ending kills me: She said she knew the subject of her next book but wasn’t ready to make it public.

• The New York Times reviews the Serial podcast finale. “A writer for The Guardian has called the fever around the show ‘the Beatlemania of the nebbishy public radio long-form nonfiction world.’ ”

Most popular on the blog:

Great reads for your Christmas vacation.

Series kids love (and their parents do, too)

Best book you’ve never heard of on … getting over it.

• The great kindle deals page is hopping this week. Lots of good stuff on sale.

books on my nightstand

On my nightstand:

(I’m borrowing this great idea from Erin.)

Greenglass House by Kate Milford. Katie recommended this (and she has great taste). I’m only on page 40 but so far it reminds me of Flavia. That’s a good thing.

The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick. I’m reading these with 9-year-old Sarah. This book (#1) in the series makes me want to read Little Women. Maybe that’s next?

Elements of Style: Designing a Home & a Life by Erin Gates. This design book has good info, beautiful photos, and a nice layout, even if sometimes the writing makes me cringe.

Before I Go by Colleen Oakley. This book (coming January 6) is getting tons of buzz. My one word review: don’t. 

Italian for Beginners by Kristin Harmel. I picked this up at the library today and might let it jump line.

Have a great weekend!

10 comments

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  1. Hannah says:

    Happy reading! With Christmas break officially started in our house, I plan to get to some books that have been languishing on my nightstand. ‘Tis the season.

  2. Lee Ann says:

    I’ll second Jacie’s thanks for linking the Laura Hillenbrand article. Both Seabiscuit and Unbroken were fascinating, and I can’t wait to see what Ms. Hillenbrand comes up with next.

  3. Sonya says:

    Am I to assume from your post that you haven’t read Little Women? If that is the case, bump it to the top of your list! It definitely has a particular style due to the time period in which it was written (you may or may not like the style) but it paints a lovely picture of a dedicated family working together through ups and downs, with all the moral lessons of the time period woven through. A lovely read, particularly on an indoor, large-pot-of-tea, wintery kind of day. If you enjoy Little Women, follow it up with Good Wives and Little Men, although you may want to space out the books as it can become too much of a good thing all at one go.

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