Some reading I've done lately:

Eragon, Christopher Paolini:

This one was a media darling and best seller. It's a fantasy novel that's basically a ripoff of Tolkien (Aragorn vs. Eragon -- coincidence? I think not) and some other fantasy authors. It's ok as a middle school level read, but I didn't love it and I'm not planning on reading the rest of the series. I hear they get more violent and less middle-schoolish. I liked Eragon's dragon, though. She was the best character in the book.

Cotillion, Georgette Heyer:

This was recommended by a friend. It's set in Jane Austen's Regency England. It took me a while to get into it. She's a little heavy on the period slang, esp her main male character, but once you get past that, it's a fun story. Very light, but good characterizations and it made me giggle. She's written about 50 books, so it's nice to know I have a fall back when I need some escapist reading.

North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell:

Despite the title, it's not about the Civil War! :) It's set in England in about 1850 and Gaskell is contrasting the old rural, aristocratic England with the new Industrial England in Manchester. It was really interesting because that's exactly where the Lukes were and what they were doing in 1850: working in the mills in Manchester, and also because it's just a well-written book. I liked the main characters a lot. I liked the romance part; it reminded me of Pride and Prejudice several times. Gaskell is a really good writer, and I hear the BBC movie version is great, too!

Happy New Year!

My Favorite Christmas Books

I have a few books I like to read in December, plus many children's books, but that's another post!

One book that is hilarious is Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. It was made into a movie, Christmas With the Kranks, which follows the book pretty well. Even the librarian, when I checked the book out, said she laughed out loud reading it. It is funny, pretty short, and easy to read.

I also like The Christmas Wish by Richard Siddoway. There is a second book, The Christmas Quest. I think The Christmas Wish was also made into a movie, but I haven't seen it.

And then Donna VanLiere wrote a series of books, the first one is The Christmas Shoes, it's based on the song Christmas Shoes. She has now 5 books in the series. They are pretty fast reads too.