December Books: A Couple of Classics and a Few Short and Sweet Reads

 There were some short fun books on my reading list in December, including a couple of cartoon books that were fun and made me laugh. I do seem to be reading more books of various kinds that make me laugh these past few months.

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by Harriet Dwyer

This is a good little book, filled with information about the climate emergency and what we can do about it as we go about our everyday lives. The actions we can take will be situational, of course—not every suggestion will work for everyone. We already do most of the things that are possible, but there were one or two things that I can be more mindful of. 

People Who Love to Eat Are Always the Best People and Other Wisdom by Julia Child

I’ve read one or two books about and by Julia Child and loved them. She was such an interesting person and I loved reading about how she developed a passion for cooking and France. I don’t cook like she did and have never been to France. It has never attracted me, to be honest. But even though the particular places have been different, I do know what it’s like to go somewhere and fall in love with it, so I could relate on that level. I am always fascinated by stories of how people found their passions in life. Bill and I once worked at a small local museum and did a life story project with women who were artists. I began every interview with the same question: ‘How did you discover that you are an artist?’ In the books I read about Julia Child, I learned how she discovered she had a passion for cooking and how it evolved. 

So when I spotted this in the new offerings on the e-book page of the library website, I requested it. It’s a fun little book of quotes. There were many good ones, but this one in particular jumped out at me:’Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.’

The Philosophy of Snoopy: Peanuts Guide to Life by Charles Schulz

This appeared in the ‘new to library’ section of the library e-book site and I didn’t hesitate to borrow this fun little book. It made me laugh, which is always welcome.

Simon’s Cat vs The World! by Simon Tofield

I have seen a few animated ‘episodes’ of this on youtube, so when I saw the book in the ‘new to library’ section of the e-book site at the library, I borrowed it. I am all for stuff that makes me laugh at the moment, and this fit the bill!

Very Good, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse (audiobook read by Jonathan Cecil)

I am enjoying these comedic short story collections. I think I am enjoying the audiobooks more than I would enjoy reading them, because the reader is wonderful. I wonder whether I would find the print books as funny, because I think much of my amusement comes from the way Cecil reads the words.

It was a happy accident that I started listening to them instead of reading them. I have some of the works on my e-reader, I think, but one day I was scrolling through the library e-audiobook site and saw that they have a lot of them. I’d read somewhere that one should try to read these books in order, because of the way characters come and go and previous episodes are discussed in later books, so I looked up the order of the books and started. As I was listening to this one, I reserved the next one.

Turn of the Screw by Henry James (Phoebe Reads a Mystery podcast)

This is the book Phoebe began after The Secret Adversary. I’ve not read Hnry James, so I listened as she read a chapter or two per day. It was an OK book. I didn’t dislike it enough to stop listening, but I don’t think I’ll be that eager to read James anytime soon. In this book, a young woman goes to be governess for two children who have been orphaned and are in the care of their uncle, who does not want to be bothered by anything. He does not live in the house and leaves things to the hired help. Strange things start to happen and the governess and the cook, who became close friends, begin to attempt to get to the bottom of it all.

Here's to more great reading in 2021!

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