Christmas Eye Candy

Christmas Eve

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to collecting Christmas books, I gather holiday magazines as a small treat for myself. The best ones get saved and packed away with the holiday decorations and brought out again each year.

Downtown there’s a wonderful international news agent — Fog City News which offers magazines, as well as chocolates from all over the world (I know — brilliant right?).  Anyway if I’m in their neighborhood, I’ll stop by to browse and inevitably purchase a lovely magazine or two — but at Christmas time I go just a little nuts.  I’m especially partial to the British ones, because the English just know how to do Christmas right  — other than mincemeat* and plum pudding (shudder).

Anything with a cottage theme, french bocantes (antiques) or Scandinavian red and white decor is up for consideration.  I even buy the holiday issue of Martha Stewart – God bless her everyone.

The one exception to my foreign magazine no-subscribe rule is English Home (above) which I get for myself and then (at a discounted rate) I get English Garden for a friend every year…and we trade the issues throughout the year.  A small tradition that delights us both.

As I’ve aged and perhaps grown a little wiser (or is that wider?), these magazines no longer make me feel inadequate – with their images of perfect holidays:   why doesn’t my table look that pretty? or wow look, I could painstakingly hand-glue tiny seashell wreaths!  Now they are simply a treat – eye candy – a way to peek into different Christmas rooms, lavish meals and cultures around the world.  A way to travel during the holidays without waiting in long security lines or getting stuck at O-Hare.

I hope this Christmas Eve finds you where you want to be, warm and cozy —  enjoying your very own perfect Christmas.

 

 

* My friend Sarah, originally from England, actually makes really yummy little mincemeat pies – nothing like the mincemeat pies I was forced to politely choke down  in Scotland (again shudder).  But then again, the Scots national dish is Haggis.

 

 

Not a book – but Love Actually

Four Days Until Christmas

For my countdown to Christmas I’m going to add my favorite holiday film.  OK you precise people, I admit it’s not a book, but every year, I bring out my cherished DVD to watch it yet again.  (My husband just groans, rolls his eyes and goes to the den.)

In case you’ve been living in Kazakhstan, and are unaware of this film, let me explain.  Love Actually follows the lives of eight very different couples all immersed with love in various forms.  These loosely interrelated tales are set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.

Love Actually has a superb cast, including Bill Nighy as an aging rock star, Emma Thompson as a heartbroken wife, Hugh Grant is the Prime Minister (I know!), Laura Linney, a lonely woman with a secret crush, and Liam Neeson as a sad widower raising his young step-son (oh Liam, I could so cheer you up) .

The romantic entanglements range from comic — to charming  — to heartbreaking;  a couple fall in love while working in the porn film industry as stand-ins, another couple are unable to communicate given language barriers, and a married couple face an extramarital enticement.  And with Hugh Grant as Prime Minister there’s plenty of giggles.  Oh, and as a an added bonus, the soundtrack is delightful.

Try and see the film in its original uncut for TV form (cable or Netflix) but if not, Love Actually will undoubtedly come around as a holiday TV movie, so don’t miss it.  I dare you not to choke up during the final montage of airport scenes set to the Beach Boys music.

Trailer HERE

What is your favorite holiday film?

 

Christmas Books

My mother and I share a delight in Christmas books.  We get them out every year and display them, covers up please; on the coffee table, in the reading nook, by a convenient chair near the kitchen. Their familiar bright covers seem to add to the house decorations and our Christmas spirits.

Then, while those cookies are baking, or in between wrapping presents, we can slow down for a moment to dip into a favorite Christmas tale.

I’ve whittled my Christmas books down to a cherished few (OK a dozen or so) and re-read them, or at least browse through them, every year.

So tune in tomorrow, each day I’ll be showcasing one of my favorite holiday books while counting the days until Christmas.

Instructions for being with a bookworm.

11 Things To Know Before You Date A Bookworm*

by Kim Quindlen  

1. Sometimes we just need to be alone for a little while. Nothing’s wrong. We’re not upset with you. We still love spending time with you. But we are accustomed to a certain amount of quiet time in our daily lives, and sometimes we just need to sit down with a good book for a few hours in order to feel refreshed and energized.

2. When you’re upset, sometimes our first instinct will be to suggest a certain a book. We’re not trying to be cold or unhelpful or pushy. We’re just trying to share a special piece of literature that has gotten us through some of our most difficult moments. Bookworms often have deep, emotional connections to many different books, so if we suggest a book to you, it means we really want to help you as much as we can. 

3. Discussing e-Readers is not a thing we’re interesting in doing. Please don’t tell us about how they’re so much more practical and convenient. Because we’ve been given this spiele a hundred times already. No matter what anyone says, nothing compares to the smell of a new book or the feel of turning the pages in your hands. 

4. If we mention a certain book that we love and then you read it of your own accord, it means more to us than you’ll ever know. It means a lot to know you listen to us and hold our opinion highly. But what we love more is that you have a thirst for knowledge and a desire to learn about the things that make us excited and passionate. 

5. We prefer gifts that have a lot of meaning behind them. It’s not always necessary to buy expensive earrings or fancy watches. There can still be a lot of thoughtfulness behind store-bought gifts like that, but we are just as happy with presents that are metaphorical and significant. We don’t care if you made it yourself and the total cost was under $10. If you put a lot of work into it and it has a special meaning in our relationship, we will absolutely love it. 

6. When we see your apartment for the first time, the first thing we will look for is your bookshelf or bookcase. It will be the first thing we gravitate towards and we will spend several minutes looking through your collection, trying to get to know you better. If you don’t have a single book in your apartment, we might be a little concerned. 

7. Letting you borrow a book is a huge step for us, and we will resent you if you don’t give it back. Books are amongst our most prized possessions. It doesn’t matter if we’ve already read it. You still have to give it back. Because we might want to read it a second time. Or a 17th time. 

8. “No but I’ve seen the movie” is the most depressing thing you could ever say to us. Just play it safe and say “No, I haven’t read that.”

9. Don’t feel pressure to talk about books that you think we’d find “impressive.” We don’t give a shit if you read Nietzsche or Thoreau. We just want to know about the books that make you feel something. If that’s Thoreau, then sure, tell us about it. But if it’s not, don’t feel the need to make something up. All we want is to hear your honest opinion about books that you really love. 

10. Reading quotes from our favorite book to you can be just as meaningful as the first time we tell you we love you. We cherish these passages and we cling to them like oxygen. The moment we’re willing to share these quotes with you can make us feel very vulnerable and uneasy, because they’re extremely personal to us. So be gentle, and don’t underestimate the importance of this moment to us. 

11. Being a bookworm doesn’t mean we only sit around reading Victorian novels. Sure, plenty of people like to do that. But a person’s love of reading is just as legitimate if they only stick to graphic novels or celebrity memoirs. So don’t ever discount our love of reading just because the genres aren’t taught in high school English classes.

*Original post courtesy of http://www.shelf-awareness.com/

 

A brief intermission

It’s raining here, perfect reading with a cup of tea weather. But, despite bookshelf full of books and a Kindle 3/4 full of books I haven’t read, I can’t seem to land on a book to read right now.  I pick one up, read a few chapters, put it down uninterested…try another and so on. I know from experience this will pass but it is quite unsettling not to be reading anything right now.  So during this lull  – HERE  is the New York Times Book Review’s 100 Notable Books of 2014 for inspiration…hmmmm, maybe a trip to my favorite independent  bookstore later …don’t judge.

P. D. James 1920-2014

“When I first heard that Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall, I immediately wondered: Did he fall–or was he pushed?”

P. D. James,  the beloved mystery author and creator of Commander Adam Dalgliesh and Cordelia Gray, died Thursday at age 94.  I was fortunate to hear her speak in person (at City Arts and Lectures here in San Francisco) and she spoke with quiet intelligence and was remarkably down to earth and unassuming — and I imagined that she would happily welcome you to sit down in her kitchen to share a cup of tea.