Author Archives: lydias

About lydias

I'm a sci-fi writer who loves lifting weights and hates eating Brussels sprouts.

What I Read in 2023

The words “wishing you a prosperous new year” have been printed on a white sheet of paper and glued to an off-white wall. There are evergreen boughs surrounding this cheerful message. Happy New Year, readers!

In January of 2013, I began blogging about everything I’d read that previous year.  This tradition began when my dad asked me how many books I’ve read in my entire lifetime.

I couldn’t begin to give him an answer to that question, but it did make me decide to start keeping track from that moment forward. The previous posts in this series are as follows: 2022,  202120202019, 2018,  2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013.

I read 55 books this year not counting the ones I review pseudonymously for other sites. That number is a little lower than usual, but I also tended to read longer books this year than I did in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

2023 was a year of me diving more deeply in the biography genre and less deeply into the history genre than usual. My brain is can handle a little horror now if I stick to the psychological or paranormal flavours of it that avoid the gory stuff. Before 2020, I read much more about zombies and pandemics and such, but these past few years have changed my preferences.

I’m enjoying the gentler sides of fiction and nonfictions these days.

Here are the books I’ve read (or reread) over the past year. I’ll wait for Top Ten Tuesday tomorrow to share my favourite stories of the year, so stay tuned.

Biographies, Autobiographies, and Memoirs

Closeup photo of an opened handwritten letter, a bundle of handwritten letters that have been folded in thirds and tied with a rough brown string, and a few faded photos tucked underneath the open letter. “After the Annex: Anne Frank, Auschwitz, and Beyond” by Bas  von Brenda-Beckmann

“Never Give Up: A Prairie Family’s Story” by Tom Brokaw

“Don’t Let Them Bury My Story: The Oldest Living Survivor of the Tulsa Rase Massacre in Her Own Words” by Viola Ford Fletcher

“Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder” by Caroline Fraser

“Kukum” by Michel Jean

“Quiet Street: On American Privilege” by Nick McDonell

“The Story of Tutankhamun: An intimate Life of the Boy Who Became King” by Garry J. Shaw

“Waswanipi” by  Jean-Yves Soucy

“Peace by Chocolate: The Hadhad Family’s Remarkable Journey from Syria to Canada” by Jon Tattrie

“Little House in the Big Woods” by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“On the Banks of Plum Creek” by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Farmer Boy” by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“By the Shores of Silver Lake” by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“The Long Winter” by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Little Town on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“These Happy Golden Years” by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“The First Four Years” by Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

Fiction

A photo of a black woman lying on a bed and petting her dog with her right hand as her left hand holds open a book. She is wearing jeans and a white button-down shirt and looks as if she just came home from work to spend time with her beloved pup and read a good book in her well-lit, comfortable bedroom. Light is streaming onto the bed from a nearby window, and you can see a few potted plants on the white dressers behind her and in front of her. “Destination Prairie” by Cathie Bartlett

“Don’t Cry for Me” by Daniel Black

“Yes, Miss Thompson” by Amy Boyes

“Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan

“Foster” by Claire Keegan

“Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe

“Looking for Jane” by Heather Marshall

 

History

“Ghosts of the Orphanage: A Story of Mysterious Deaths, a Conspiracy of Silence, and a Search for Justice “ by Christine Kenneally

 

Psychology and Sociology

A group of young Asian people are laughing and talking as they sit on a large couch together. One of them is reading something on his cellphone. They all look happy and relaxed. “50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food” by Susan Albers

“CBT for Social Anxiety: Simple Skills for Overcoming Fear and Enjoying People” by Stefan G. Hofmann

“NPR Funniest Driveway Moments” by NPR

“NPR Laughter Therapy: A Comedy Collection for the Chronically Serious” by NPR

“Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream” by Alissa Quart

 

Science Fiction and Fantasy

A young red headed girl is reading a book and attempting to cast a spell with a wooden wand. She’s holding the wand above her head and looking expectedly for some sign it’s working! “The Girl With All the Gifts” by M.R. Carey

“The Boy on the Bridge” by M.R. Carey

“A Psalm for the Wild-Built” by Becky Chambers

“A Prayer for the Crown-Shy” by Becky Chambers

“The Last of What I Am” by Abigail Cutter

“Bloom” by Delilah S. Dawson

“A Canticle for Leibowitz” by Walter M. Miller

“Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland” by Lisa Schneidau 

“The Necessity of Stars” by E. Catherine Tobler

“War Bunny” by Christopher St. John

 

Science, Health, and Medicine

Mysterious blue liquid in a beaker, a pipette, and a series of glass test tubes that are lined up neatly in a row. “Cave of Bones: A True Story of Discovery, Adventure, and Human Origins” by Lee Berger and John Hawks

“Ravenous: How to Get Ourselves and Our Planet Into Shape” by Henry Dimbleby

“The Last Cold Place: A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica” by Naira de Garcia

“Into the Forest: The Secret Language of Trees” by Susan Tyler Hitchcock

“The Invaders: How Humans and Their Dogs Drove Neanderthals to Extinction” by Pat Shipman

“Homo Sapiens Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution Rewriting Our Origins” by Paul Pettitt

“The Autumn Ghost: How the Battle Against a Polio Epidemic Revolutionized Modern Medical Care” by Hannah Wunsch

 

Young Adult

An olive-skinned father reading a bedtime story to his son as the child lays in bed. The book is spread out over the child’s lap. “Still Stace” by Stacey Chomiak

“The Other Pandemic” by Lynn Curlee

“Sarah, Plain and Tall” (#1 in series) by Patricia MacLachlan

“Skylark (#2 in series)” by Patricia MacLachlan

“Caleb’s Story” (#3 in series) by Patricia MacLachlan (Middle Grade)

“More Perfect Than the Moon” (#4 in series) by Patricia MacLachlan

“Grandfather’s Dance” (#5 in series) by Patricia MacLachlan

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Christmas for Everyone: A Review of Snowfall

Book cover for Snow Fall: A Prophecy Series Short Christmas Story by Liz Bullard. Image on cover shows a black woman with an Afro standing outside and looking at a large snowy mountain. She’s wearing a warm, dark jacket and looks cozy. Title: Snowfall

Author: Liz Bullard

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: August 22, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Holiday

Length: 54 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Sometimes spreading holiday cheer leads to a bit of disaster…

In “Snow Fall,” readers are transported to a fantastical world filled with elemental magic and mighty warriors. In this short side adventure, readers are introduced to the world of Zodia and the central characters. The Chosen One, Tabatha, longs to share a piece of her native land with a strange world full of fierce warriors, but her naivete may bring about the opposite of holiday cheer. As Tabatha struggles to control her abilities and spread holiday spirit, she must also navigate the path to doing the right thing in a world filled with danger and uncertainty. Will she be able to make amends and save the holiday season, or will her actions lead to devastation and ruin?

The Prophecy Series, a three-part adventure, is set in a fantastical world rife with elemental magic and mighty warriors. This novella, a short side adventure, introduces the world of Zodia and the central characters.

Review:

Hope is essential for a good life.

Christmas isn’t celebrated in Zodia, so Tabatha has her work cut out for her when she attempts to help the people who live there understand the many bizarre traditions like cutting down trees that nobody in Zodia would think to do for perfectly understandable reasons that other readers should discover for themselves. Some of the most interesting scenes were the ones that explored all of the reactions to this holiday, from confusion to horror to curiosity to cautious joy.

I would have liked to more attention paid to a mistake the main character made that had serious repercussions for the village she was staying in. It involved her performing magic without knowing how to properly guide her powers or ensure that they had the right effect on the land. When her actions destroyed some crops, I was expecting her to be in huge trouble. What actually happened was disappointing due to how quickly everyone around her brushed it off. Just because she’s the Chosen One doesn’t mean that everything she does is the correct choice, after all, so I wish those scenes had been explained better.

Speaking of mixed reactions, I loved the way the characters reacted to each other’s opinions about Christmas as well. There was so much kindness in their interactions, and no one was pressured to feel any sort of way about this new experience for them no matter whether their impression were positive, negative, or somewhere in between those two extremes. This is something I wish were more common in our world as the pressure to express nothing but happy feelings about Christmas can overshadow the moments of joy I might otherwise find in it. Kudos to the author for creating such sensitive and sensible characters!

Snowfall was an interesting glimpse into a new fantasy world.

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The 2024 Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge Topics

An image of a laptop sitting on a wooden table. The large text reads Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge. In the white box below, the topics for each week in 2024 are listed.

Long and Short Reviews has released the list of topics for their sixth year of Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge posts. All of the details on how to participate can be found on their site.

If you’re having trouble reading the graphic above, scroll down for a transcription of the weekly topics. I plan to participate every week and hope to see you all over there next year.

 

January 3 – Hobbies I Used to Enjoy

January 10 – A  Celebrity I’d Like to Meet

January 17 – New Words I’ve Learned Recently & Meaning

January 24 – Languages I’m Learning or Want to Learn

January 31 – Series I Wish Had Just One More Books in Them

 

February 7 – Things I Like to Do on Stormy Days

February 14 – What’s New in My Life Lately

February 21 – Pets I Used to Have (or Wish to Have)

February 28 – How I Amuse Myself in Waiting Rooms

 

March 6 – Non-Fiction Books I’ve Read Lately

March  13 – A Book Trope I Wish Happened IRL More Often

March 20 – A Book Trope I Wish Wouldn’t Happen IRL

March 27 – An Interesting Story About Family or Friends

 

April 3 – Books on My TBR List the Longest

April 10 – A Moment I Wish I Could Relive

April 17 – Introvert vs. Extrovert: Which One Are You?

April 24 – Songs That Confused Me When I Was a Kid

 

May 1 – Villains I’d Root for Instead of the Protagonists

May 8 – Books/Movies/TV Shows I Wouldn’t Revisit and Why

May 15 – Funny Things I’ve Googled

May 22 – How I Feel About Staycations

May 29 – Museums/Galleries I’ve Visited/Want to Visit

 

June 5 – Books That Are Tearjerkers

June 12 – Characters I See Differently Now Than I Used To

June 19 – Things I Totally Misunderstood as a Kid

June 26 – A Skill I Wish More People Had and Why

 

July 3 – My Thoughts on Social Media

July 10 – Do You Enjoy Shopping? Why or Why Not?

July 17 – Something You Might Not Guess About Me

July 24 – A Sport I Want to Try

July 31 – Would I Stay in a Haunted House? Why or Why Not?

 

August 7 – Funniest Advice I’ve Received

August 14 – Things I Wish More People Talked About Openly

August 21 – A Book I Wish Were More Popular

August 28 – A Funny Animal Video, Photo,  Story, ect.

 

September 4 – Things I Like/Dislike About the Mystery Genre

September 11 – Books With Fantastic Endings

September 18 – Books That Should Have Ended a Different Way

September 25 – Describe Your Sense of Humour

 

October 2 – A Genre I Want to Read More Of

October 9 – Something That Was Better When I Was a Kid

October 16 – Something That’s Improved Since I Was a Kid

October 23 – What I Do When I’m Bored

October 30 – Superstitions I Secretly Believe In/Find Interesting

 

November 6 – Things I’ve Learned from Another WWBC Blogger

November 13 – My Thoughts on the Mystery Genre

November 20 – How I Spend My Weekends

November 27 – A Musical I Liked

 

December 4 – Something I Wish Would Come Back Into Fashion

December 11 – Myths or Legends From Where I Live

 

 

 

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Top Ten Tuesday: The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A person who is all wrapped up in a a warm winter coat and a red and black headscarf is sitting on a snowy bench in a park reading a book. You can see evergreen trees covered in a thick layer of snow in front of them, too. I was originally thinking about discussing library books this week, but December is such a busy month for me that I needed to finish this post well in advance and therefore would probably have already read (or DNF) any library books I had on my radar when I wrote it by the time this goes live.

Therefore, I’m going to be discussing books I’ve bought or downloaded for free but have not read yet (with two exceptions) instead.

Every Thursday, I share a list of free speculative fiction books on Mastodon. Everything but the first book on this list came from those toots, but they may or may not still be free by the time this post goes live.

Here are my answers and why I’m excited about them.

 

Book cover for The Long Arms by Michael Kanaly. Image on cover shows a fire burning brightly. There is a rock in front of the fire that has a few deer or cows painted on it in a prehistoric style.

 

1. The Long Arms by Michael Kanaly

Why I’m Interested: As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m fascinated by Neanderthals and read everything I can find – both fiction and nonfiction – about them. This looks like it could be a great story.

 

Book cover for Magic, Mistletoe, & Murder by Ruby Blaylock. Image on cover shows a witch flying on her broom in front of a full moon. On the city street below two black cats sit together and peer up at her. The cats are surrounded by a red gift wrapped in a white bow, a witch’s hat, some Christmas lights, and a bat flying low to the ground.

2. Magic, Mistletoe, & Murder by Ruby Blaylock

Why I’m Interested: It’s a cozy mystery set at Christmas. I love reading gentle stories like this sometimes.

 

Book cover for Neuro Noir by Al Hess. Image on cover shows a drawing of about a dozen different eyes that all have black irises and sclera. the one in the centre is red instead!

3. Neuro Noir by Al Hess

Why I’m Interested: I actually have a review of this book scheduled for January 11, so stay tuned.  Artificial intelligence always makes for such interesting protagonists.

 

Book cover for Devil's Night - A Halloween Short Story by Richard Chizmar. Image on cover is a drawing of three jack-o-lanterns leering at the viewer as they sit in a field under the light of a full moon at night.

4. Devil’s Night – A Halloween Short Story by Richard Chizmar

Why I’m Interested: Halloween is my favourite holiday, so I read a lot books set then so long as they’re not gory.

 

(No cover photo)

5. Hologram Kebab by Phillip Kebar

Why I’m Interested: The title was what first grabbed my attention. Isn’t it creative? My review of this book is scheduled for January 4.

 

Book cover for Don’t Look Back - Short Halloween Stories by Jason Thomas. Image on cover shows small, black-and- white drawings of a scythe with blood dripping from it, a gravestone, a stake, and a mushroom that has a little dirt on it.

 

6. Don’t Look Back – Short Halloween Stories by Jason Thomas

Why I’m Interested: See #4. There are never enough non-gory Halloween stories for my tastes.

 

Book cover for The Ballad of Mary-Anne by Kody Boye. Image on cover shows a starry evening sky that is partially lit up with a beautiful pink and purple light shining up from the bottom of the page. It may be from a sunset?

7. The Ballad of Mary-Anne by Kody Boye

Why I’m Interested: One word – aliens. I think they’re such fascinating things to read about.

 

Book cover for Free Will by Lisa Shea. Image on cover shows a human skull that has some gears drawn onto it. I’m sorry, but I have no idea what that symbolizes either! I guess we’ll both have to read the book to find out. :)

8. Free Will by Lisa Shea

Why I’m Interested: Here’s a fun, quick little story for you. My spouse is adamant that free will doesn’t exist. This is not a topic I honestly think about very much, but sometimes I like to tease my spouse a little by picking rabbits or other random creatures and saying those animals have free will but no one else in the universe does. (Yes, we are a little geeky sometimes. Hehe).  So I want to read this book mostly because it reminds me of this silly memory.

 

Book cover for Life on the Other Side by Daniel Powell,. Image on cover shows a peaceful little cottage covered in several feet of snow. It’s surrounded by gigantic fir trees that are also covered in snow, and there is a friendly little light emanating from a window in the cottage. It is overall a peaceful and happy scene.

9. Life on the Other Side by Daniel Powell

Why I’m Interested: The cover looks rather peaceful, while the blurb promises a lot of conflict. I think it’s cool when there’s a little conflict between a blurb and a cover. Which one will win, I wonder?

 

Book cover for The Fall Of Denver - A Tribute Story to the Original War Of The Worlds By H.G. Wells’ by Richard Paolinelli. Image on cover is a black and white drawing of an alien spaceship that looks like it’s beginning to crash onto a large pile of rubble on Earth. Everything is so messily drawn that it’s hard to tell where the rubble ends and the alien vessel begins. This feels like an intentional choice on the part of the illustrator and makes me wonder what other parallels might be drawn between the two.

10. The Fall Of Denver – A Tribute Story to the Original War Of The Worlds By H.G. Wells’ by Richard Paolinelli

Why I’m Interested: I adored War of the Worlds and am so curious to see what a contemporary author does with those ideas.

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Reporting to Santa: A Review of Hellf on the Shelf

Book cover for Want to read Buy on Amazon CA Rate this book Hellf on the Shelf: A Christmas Short Story by Rumer Haven. Image on cover shows a ceramic toy elf looking up and over at a Christmas tree behind them.

(If anyone from the Top Ten Tuesday community is reading this, it’s a book I mentioned in a Top Ten Tuesday post last December. I saved it for this Christmas season to review!)

Title: Hellf on the Shelf

Author: Rumer Haven

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: December 3, 2017

Genres: Fantasy, Holiday, Contemporary

Length: 17 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

‘Tis the season for Santa’s elves to deck the shelves, but this one’s on Mom’s naughty list.

No matter where or how she arranges the toy at night to surprise her sons in the morning, Mom wakes to find it just sitting on the shelf each and every time. Are the kids messing with her? Is her husband a traitor? Or is there more to the grinning elf on the shelf than its package advertised?

As Mom keeps trying to make spirits bright this season, she learns the true mystery and magic of Christmas.

Review:

Christmas magic is anything but effortless.

I adored the message of this short story. Too often the holidays are wonderful because women – and especially mothers – perform hours of invisible, unpaid work behind the scenes to ensure that the house is sparkling clean, the kitchen is stocked with plenty of delicious things to eat, invitations have been sent out for the parties organized by women, and there is a large pile of presents beneath the tree to suit everyone’s interests among countless other tasks. This isn’t to say this work is joyless. It can make amazing memories for everyone, but that doesn’t detract from the point that the labor is unevenly distributed and not always done happily. Keep this in mind while reading because it’s an important part of what plays out for one exhausted and confused mom as Christmas inches closer.

The unnamed family featured in this tale were genuinely nice people who loved each other and enjoyed spending time together. That’s not always present in what I read, so I sighed with relief when I realized that the twist had nothing at all do with anyone being unkind to each other. It was relaxing to get to know these characters better and wait to see what marvelous things might await them.

There was a gentle quality to the storyline that I appreciated as well. Yes, there were fantasy elements to it, but they all seemed like stuff that could occur at anyone’s house at this time of the year if that family believed in elves who watch over households and report back to Santa on what they find. I liked the ordinariness of the magical scenes and thought it blended in well with the sort of metaphorical magic that exists in our world.

Hellf on the Shelf was a breath of fresh air.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Winter Solstice Bookish Wishes


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Painting of a young, blond, white woman who is standing outside in a snowstorm and looking at a fir tree whose branches are heavily coated in snow. She is wearing a red dress with white cuffs on it and a white cloak with a yellow, possibly fur trim. She is also holding a lantern that’s about the size of an infant. The lantern is glowing steadily in the dark winter scene, illuminating her, the tree, and the snow. Happy (almost) Winter Solstice to everyone who will be celebrating it in a few days! I’m eagerly anticipating the changing of the seasons and the few extra minutes of daylight we’ll soon have each day here in Canada.

Here are my Winter Solstice bookish wishes.

1. More Audiobooks at the Library 

A few years ago, some Top Ten Tuesday bloggers encouraged me to give audiobooks a try during an audiobook prompt. I listened to you and have since learned to love having this option while doing chores or getting cardiovascular exercise on a brisk walk!

My local library has a pretty decent selection of audiobooks, but I’d love to see them offer even more of them than they currently do. For example, I’d love to listen to audiobooks of Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children series this winter or even just listen to more fiction in general. Nonfiction is better represented at my library than fiction is from what I’ve seen.

2. Quiet Reading Time 

My spouse prefers watching YouTube videos to reading books and we live in a small apartment, so sometimes I wish for more quiet time to read.

3. An Abundance of Novellas

I’ve really been on a novella kick lately and wish there were more books of this length being published, especially in the speculative fiction genres. It’s refreshing to have something longer than a short story to dive into that doesn’t require my attention for 200+ pages. Some storylines don’t need that much space to shine.

4. Dairy-Free Chocolate

I like to save it for emotional scenes, whether it’s a tense moment in a horror novel or a sentimental chapter in a piece of mainstream fiction. There’s something about chocolate that makes those passages even more memorable.

5. Living Happily Ever After

This is something I’ve mentioned here before, but since 2020 I have felt stronger and stronger urges to read stories that end happily. Occasionally, I will actually look up reviews of certain books or skip ahead to the last few pages to see if the good guys won and if everything is peaceful in the end. While I’m still willing to read some stories that don’t fit that pattern, I’m limiting them much more than I used to and am quicker to DNF them if they become too sad.

6. Endings in General

Maybe I should explain this one a little better. I’m a writer, and I’ve been having trouble coming up with endings for my stories. Beginnings are easy, middle sections aren’t too bad, but endings can be tricky. Here’s hoping I get a flash of inspiration in 2024.

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Looking for Monsters: A Review of Forest of Bones

Book cover for Forest of Bones: A Short Winter Horror Story by Jessie Thomas. Image on cover is a close-up photo of someone wearing a black dress and holding the skull of an animal that has two long, mostly straight antlers protruding from its head. Title: Forest of Bones – A Short Winter Horror Story

Author: Jessie Thomas

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: December 17, 2019

Genres: Horror, Holiday, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 53 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Armed with her well-worn Field Guide to Cryptids of North America and a macabre sense of enthusiasm, Ana’s mission to visit and capture evidence of every known cryptid in the United States puts her on the trail of the elusive Covey Devil. Not many people are willing to spend their winter break looking for monsters, but Ana’s trio of friends seem up for whatever the adventure entails.

Review:

Content Warning: Blood and death.

Cold, dark forests are nothing to fool around with.

I loved the fact that the author chose Christmas time as a setting for this tale. The cold weather and long nights of that time of year in certain climates definitely sets the mood for scary things to lurk in the shadows. No matter how you personally feel about this holiday, there’s something to be said for acknowledging that it isn’t a shiny, happy season for everyone for a wide variety of reasons. I also appreciate the juxtaposition between the audience’s expectations for a Christmas story versus what was actually waiting for the characters in the Forest of Bones.

It was difficult for me to understand why four teenagers who had  only limited camping experience and no self-defence or first aid training so far as I could tell would head into a forest with such a frightening reputation in the middle of the night in December. While the storyline did eventually explain why this happened, I would have appreciated far more details about how this was supposed to look and how all four young women, one of whom was extremely nervous about the trip, were convinced to take such serious risks with their health and safety when they could have just as easily gone on a warm June afternoon with a much larger group of explorers instead.

Speaking of the ending, it was exactly what I thought it might be. It was nice that the author trusted the audience so much to connect the few clues about what was going on. Not everything always needs to be spelled out directly, and in this case it was much more fun to be a little confused at first than to have everything explained before it strictly needed to be.

Forest of Bones – A Short Winter Horror Story made me shudder.

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Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Gifts for People Who Are Hard to Shop For

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

A closeup of a blue box wrapped in a dark blue velvet piece of cloth and tied wih a medium blue ribbon. It’s been a fun year with all of you as always! Thank you for being such an interesting group of people to talk to each week.

Here are my ideas for gifts for people who are hard to shop for:

1) Experiences

For example, you could give a gift certificate for their favourite restaurant, a massage from a professional massage therapist, or tickets to a play, concert, sporting event, museum, or some other event that suits their tastes.

2) Donation to a Charity They Like

I have relatives who sometimes buy a goat or chicken for each other through certain charities in lieu of giving physical gifts for the holidays because they honestly already have everything they need.

(That is to say, you give the charity X number of dollars, and they use that money to buy a goat or chicken for a family living in a developing country who can use that animal as a recurring source of food and/or income. If your budget is huge, you could even buy someone an entire cow.)

If I were going to do this one, I’d be tempted to buy a little plastic or cloth chicken or goat to include with the certificate that says what sort of animal you’ve donated in that person’s name.

3) Time 

You decide how you give the time. Think a night of free babysitting so parents of little ones can have a break;  doing home or car repairs for them; deep cleaning the homes of those who can’t physically do all of that lifting, bending, and scrubbing anymore for whatever reason; organizing photos (and noting who is in each photo, roughly what year the photo was taken, and how everyone knows each other!); researching genealogical records for their family tree; sitting down to record stories from their life for future generations; or whatever else it is they’d appreciate that you have the time and energy to do.

 

4) Gourmet Food and Beverages

You could bake them some fancy homemade cupcakes, share your top secret family recipe for a dish they love, pick up a nice bottle of locally-produced maple syrup or wine (or whatever delicious food or drink your region is known for), or surprise them with favourite candies from other countries that are hard to find where you live.

I’ve done this one a lot. It’s a very economical way to give a physical gift that, allergies and medical issues aside, just about everyone loves.

 

5) Teaching Skills 

Not everyone knows how to crochet, troubleshoot a malfunctioning computer, run a professional social media account, create a thriving garden, speak multiple languages, fix a car, or do any other number of useful things. If they’re interested in learning and you know how to do X, this could be a great gift that also gives you a fabulous excuse to spend some quality time together.

 

6) Hobby Supplies

This is one of those cases where asking exactly what they want is an excellent idea, but you could give all sorts of things that people use up while doing various hobbies: yarn, paint, coloured pencils, canvases, ballet slippers/tap shoes, sports or hiking gear, tools, empty notebooks, heirloom seeds, a cutting or seedling from a plant you’ve grown that they’ve admired, fancy pens, shelf-stable baking supplies,  rolls of film (for traditional photographers), a higher quality or limited edition version of X that you know they would never splurge on themselves, etc.

 

See you all in January!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Winter 2023-2024 To-Read List


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

 

Three white pillar candles are sitting on a stack of four antique hardback books. The candles are of varying lengths from short to tall. The books have grey, red, green, and blue covers respectively. As I mentioned last week, winter is a time of year when I often get a lot of reading done.

I love the outdoors in spring and autumn, but I don’t spend as much time there when I have snow, ice, and freezing temperatures to think about.

Thank goodness there are countless books out there for all of us to rely on for entertainment until it warms up again! (Or cools down again for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere).

Here are some of the upcoming titles I’m curious about and why I want to read them.

 

 

 

Book cover for Escaping Mr. Rochester  by L.L. McKinney. Image on cover shows a drawing of Jane Eyre wearing a red, 1800s style dress and the first Mrs. Rochester wearing an off-white 1800s style dress. They are both young black woman who have determined expressions on their faces.

Escaping Mr. Rochester  by L.L. McKinney

Publication Date: January 16

Why I Want to Read It: Jane Eyre is one of my favourite classics novels, but I always thought Jane should have chosen not to marry either of the men who proposed to her. I am intrigued by a retelling that shows her teaming up with the first Mrs. Rochester to make better lives for themselves.

 

Book cover for The Warm Hands of Ghosts  by Katherine Arden. Image on cover shows a pair of painfully pale hands clasping a red rose. They have a bracelet with a small pendant on their left wrist, and both hands are partially covered by the leaves and branches that are concealing the rest of this person’s body.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts  by Katherine Arden

Publication Date: February 13

Why I Want to Read It: While I normally shy away from fiction set during either World War, I love ghost stories and enjoyed the Small Spaces quartet enough to see what Ms. Arden is planning to do with Flanders field and life during the First World War.

 

 

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A Review of When Sam Met Santa and Other Stories

Book cover for When Sam Met Santa by Samantha Moon by J.R. Rain. Image on cover shows Santa flying in his sleigh pulled by reindeer against a full moon.Title: When Sam Met Santa and Other Stories

Author: J.R. Rain

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: November 12, 2020

Genres: Fantasy, Holiday, Contemporary

Length: 43 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

 

Santa’s surprise visit, a backroom deal, a rare map, and someone’s been really, really bad. Five holidays tales, including an all-new Samantha Moon short story!

“When Sam Met Santa” – When Santa Claus shows up at Samantha Moon’s door, it’s hardly the strangest thing that’s ever happened to her. What happens next, however, is another story…

Also included:

“The Santa Call” – After accidentally forgetting his wife at home during a weekend getaway, ol’ St. Nick returns to discover she’s left him. At wit’s end, Santa turns to a radio talk show for some much needed love advice. But will he win Mrs. Claus back in time to save Christmas?

“The Deal” – Where does Santa get his coal for all those stockings? You’re about to find out.

“The Christmas Map” – Purchased from eBay, one young adventurer is about to discover if this map really does lead to Santa’s village.

“Santa Snitch” – Sometimes the Big Guy has to step in to deal with those who grow up to be really, really bad…

Review:

Content Warning: Life-threatening illness in a child, and a small amount of blood in one story.

Since the blurb already provided brief descriptions of every stories, I’ll stick to sharing my impressions of them in this review. The interesting thing about “When Sam Met Santa” was how it turned many common beliefs about Santa – among other magical beings – on their head. It reminded me of how gossip can take a sliver of truth about someone and wildly distort it into something that is all but unrecognizable in the end. Of course humans would do this to Santa, too!

“The Santa Call” was a humorously accurate snapshot of radio culture and advice programs. Regardless of how you feel about that sort of entertainment, it was well done.  I liked the brusque manner of the Love Doctor as well as how Santa responded to him when he refused to help. The deep dive into Santa’s personal life and problems with his wife and elves was also worth reading.

Mr. Rain tends to write pretty dialogue-heavy stories, and this technique worked especially well in “The Deal.” It involved a conversation between a buyer who urgently needed more coal and a seller who quickly grew more mystified by the details their client was providing. Due to how short this one was, I can’t say much else about it without giving away spoilers other than to note I wish more details had been included as there was a lot more the author could have done with such a concept.

Anything can be bought online, and if you’re a character in “The Christmas Map” it might even be the real deal! I appreciated the fact that the author was willing to write such naive and selfish characters for this one. Those were exactly the personality traits needed to take the Christmas map seriously and try to see if the village drawn on it really existed. With that being said, I did find myself wishing more time had been spent exploring why these characters behaved this way and what might have happened to them in the past to explain it. Not having that information made it harder for me to connect with them than I would have liked to see.

Can I give “Santa Snitch” a little extra credit for using the name Earl for its protagonist? That name is sorely underused in modern fiction in my opinion, and it gives me a thrill every time someone decides to use it. As everyone knows, only good kids receive toys on Christmas Eve. This tale expounded on that idea by introducing readers to a man who had been on the naughty list for many years. This was the darkest instalment in the collection, and I only wish more time had been spent developing  Earl’s backstory and explaining why he was in such big trouble.

When Sam Met Santa and Other Stories was a gentle, playful look at Santa lore.

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