What a cozy little volume to read in December. Based around the series of annual letters written by the women of one family, this is not a plot-driven chronicle. It's a meditative, quiet collection of updates on everyday family life. You know, the Christmas Letter. As the author indicates in
The final window opens with talk of ice wine, the paradox that "the hardest weather makes the nicest wine". And then I learn a botanical term, vernalization, which refers to "seeds that can only thrive in spring if they have been through the severity of winter". But how
Jonathan Yardley's Second Reading: Notable and Neglected Books Revisited Europa Editions, 2011 Originally published in "The Washinton Post" between 2003 and 2010, these pieces were accompanied by this snippet: "An occasional series in which the Post's book critic reconsiders notable and/or neglected books from the past." Well, what could be
Inspired by the the lost stories of two women and five children who survived an ancient massacre, Alice Hoffman spent five years writing The Dovekeepers. She doesn't feel that she chose to tell the story; she felt driven to tell it. "It was a gift from my great-great
They don't have to be lumped in with your vegetables, with what you think is good for you: there are some terrific short story collections just waiting to shatter your expectations of the form. Ivan Coyote's Missed Her Arsenal Pulp, 2010 These stories are very short (usually 4 pages), so
