Whatcha Readin'?

Have you heard about how Iceland is known as a country where people give one another a book on Christmas Eve? They then sit around eating, drinking, and reading together. It’s called Book Flood, or Jolabokaflod, and I’m seriously thinking I was actually adopted from Iceland and my mother’s never had the heart to tell me. If the weather the last few days has you feeling Icelandic, here are some titles you can add to your gift/wish list.

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed is a collection of Dear Sugar letters and their responses with a few extra author asides added in. It's emotional and reflective, medium-paced, and inspiring. Apparently they’re going to (or have already) made a Netflix out of it? I know what I’m doing tonight.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult is a contemporary fiction book that takes place during the early days of the pandemic. It’s emotional, reflective and medium-paced. It’s not normally the sort of book I give four stars to, but I just can’t stop thinking about it. The sort of bait-and-switch of it made me angry until I read her afterward. Mostly it’s left me contemplative. I don’t know how to talk about it without giving anything away, so I’m gonna leave it at that. I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve read it, though.

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman is the fourth book in the Thursday Murder Club Mystery series. I am not a mystery reader but I absolutely love these books. Clever and medium-to-fast-paced, they’re like Golden Girls meet Murder She Wrote. Absolutely LOVE them.

Machine Without Horses by Helen Humphreys is a slow-paced historical fiction book that’s also a sort of how-to on writing. I’ve never quite come across anything like it. A story that asks what lives are worthy of writing about, and how do you do so when there’s no one left to ask.

Wild Dogs by Helen Humphreys is an emotional and reflective medium-paced fiction book about a woman who loses her dog to a pack of wild dogs. Really, it’s a book about love in all its myriad forms.

A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs is a coming-of-age memoir that’s fast-paced (even my husband couldn’t put it down). Unlike his other books which are positively saturated in humor, this one is much more…horrific. Unbelievably well done book that leaves you feeling empathy for all the characters, even the ones you loathe. And that’s no small feat.

Rough House by Tina Ontiveros is an emotional, medium-paced coming of age memoir. I loved it for its honesty and the way the author can show love amongst turmoil. It’s more than worth your time and is a fast read, only 200 pages. It won the Pacific Northwest Book Award.

The Blue Jay’s Dance by Louise Erdrich is a memoir about pregnancy, birth, and the first year with a new baby. It’s emotional, reflective, and beautifully written. It’s a slow-paced book, but you can easily read it in a day because you won’t want to put it down.

Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum is a nonfiction, medium-paced book about all the stages of book publishing. Too short to be an exhaustive dive into any one area, it is an excellent resource for finding more resources. It’s also hilarious. An excellent holiday gift for the writer in your life.

Braided Creek by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser is a compilation of over 300 poems between these two best friends. It’s at turns funny, sad, and beautiful. The newest hardback anniversary edition would make a lovely holiday gift.

I’m currently reading:

-Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

-The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr

-One-Sentence Journal by Chris La Tray

-Rain / Dweller by Risa Denenberg

Enjoy your holidays, be safe and warm and full of love. And if you start celebrating Jokabokaflod, drop me a line and tell me all about it. Oh, and since I didn’t open with it, and I know some of you are always curious: in November, I read 15 books.

Sunday Dutro is an avid reader and eBook convert living in Thompson Falls with her beautiful family and an enormous “to be read” pile. Reach her at [email protected] or sundaydutro.com.