The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Either people think that books make excellent holiday gifts, or else I've trained my family well. For Christmas this year, I unwrapped the following books:

* The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia McKillip
* The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
* The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (technically I didn't unwrap this -- it was in my stocking)
* Vicious Circle by Mike Carey
* The Gentleman's Daughter: Women's Lives in Georgian England by Amanda Vickrey
* Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten
* Book of Soups by the Culinary Institute of America

Hmm. Cookbooks, fantasy, literature, and history -- it's no wonder that my brother indicated that I'm turning old and lame before my time. He had corroborating evidence in the form of my other gifts, since I got a heating pad, a teapot warmer, and several kitchen gadgets, all at my request.

But so what if I'm old -- hopefully I've done my small part to help the publishing industry this year. Between the seven books I received and the six books I gave this Christmas season, I feel rather proud about fulfilling my civic duty. Now I'm going to curl up under the covers, listen to the ice cracking outside my window, and start one of my new books. Merry Christmas!