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Holiday Reading & Giving

I love this time of year. I love plotting and planning which books I'm giving to which loved ones as gifts. And I love coming up with tailored recommendations for the friends, family, and co-workers who ask me. I even found a Christmas read this year--which can sometimes be hard. But I had a craving to revisit Lady Julia Grey and Mr. Nicholas Brisbane the other night. And so I did. And after finishing my re-read of Silent in the Grave, I couldn't just stop there. So I blithely continued right on to Silent in the Sanctuary and it occurred to me that that one is, in fact, a  perfectly lovely Christmas read. Set in a quaint English village in Sussex at Christmastime, it's a festive Victorian confection, complete with a murder mystery, gypsies, Christmas puddings, large quantities of snow, and some rather serious swooning. What more could you ask for?

As far as the books I'm giving away this year, at present count the stack includes a little Juliet Marillier, a little Sharon Shinn, a little Megan Whalen Turner (shocking, I know). Also Sarah Rees Brennan's Demon's Lexicon books, Jane by April Lindner, Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti, Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair, and the Austin Family books by Madeleine L'Engle.

What books are you giving this year?
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  1. Diana Peterfreund9:39 PM

    Baby books.
    A lot of folks are getting IS YOUR BUFFALO READY FOR KINDERGARTEN, and the baby is getting a bunch of sensory baby books. Gotta start 'em young!

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  2. Read the Book10:11 PM

    I just finished reading the Lady Julia Gray series, and I am in love (and not just with Nicholas Brisbane!). I'm not usually a mystery fan, but I adored these books. Know of any books that are similar that I might enjoy?

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  3. Lizzy11:12 PM

    I've recently converted a friend into a Jane Austen fan. Muahahaha! So I bought her Persuasion. I haven't read it, but word on the street says it's one of her best, if not the best (Personally, I'm an Emma fan).

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  4. Vanessa5:42 AM

    By the way, I just recently finished reading the first three Julia Grey books. Loved them! Thanks for the recommmendation.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Diana Peterfreund5:56 AM

    Lizzy, Persuasion is my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Angiegirl12:00 PM

    Diana, you certainly do! I'm glad Daniel's book is making the rounds this year. :)

    Read, I'm so glad you loved them. They're the kind of books I hug to my chest after reading. So, so good. I know Tasha Alexander writes a somewhat similar series. The first book is AND ONLY TO DECEIVE. You might give that a shot and see what you think. Otherwise, I've heard Lauren Willig's SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION series is very good, but I haven't read them yet. Sort of Scarlet Pimpernel-y. Lastly, have you read any of Eva Ibbotson's YA historical novels? They are absolutely heavenly. I'd start with A SONG FOR SUMMER or A COMPANY OF SWANS. :)

    Lizzy, ooh, well done you. And, like Diana says, PERSUASION is something special.

    Vanessa, wonderful! You are most welcome. I re-read the third one as well and reveled in the misty moors and the mysterious family and just Julia and Brisbane being themselves. *happy*

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  7. Mollie3:50 PM

    I love seeing what books everyone is giving as gifts! This inspired me to do a smillar post but the books I'm giving include:

    Spider's Bite, Black Dust Mambo, Unholy Ghosts, Beautiful Creatures, The Maze Runner, and Crave!

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  8. Alix 7:36 PM

    The Demon's Lexicon, Linger, and three copies of Anna because it's just so good!

    And the new translation of Madame Bovary (which I'm hoping to borrow for the giftee).

    The baby has lots too my favourite being The Barefooted Bad Tempered Baby Brigade - the last page makes me well up :)

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  9. Holly1:00 AM

    I remember thinking that SANCTUARY would be the perfect holiday read when I read it in the summer. Glad you were able to reread it now. :)

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  10. Anonymous9:26 PM

    I'm the only one in my family who likes getting books as presents. Isn't that a shame? I swear I'm adopted. I am asking for The Hunger Games Trilogy and The Blue Fairy Book.

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  11. Liviania3:30 AM

    I gave a copy of THE CHANGEOVER by Margaret Mahy to my Yuletide Book Swap partner.

    And Persuasion is Jane Austen's best, although not my favorite. I love Northanger Abbey, which is probably her worst. Even at her worst she's a brilliant satirist who still manages to evoke real emotions.

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  12. heather8:13 PM

    hmm...i bought a TON of books for my kids, but the two books that i found handiest to hand out to friends are "anna and the french kiss" by stephanie perkins (oh, how i loveloveloved that book) and "how to survive a garden gnome attack: defend yourself when the lawn warriors strike (and they will)" by chuck smabuchino. that last one had me giggling every time i opened it.

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  13. Read the Book12:36 PM

    Angie, thanks for the suggestion of Tasha Alexander's series. I am speeding my way through And Only to Deceive as we speak! It will definitely hold me over until the next Lady Julia Grey comes out (which is next fall? do you know?). And thanks also for the reminder of Beauty. I had been told to read it several times before, but your list prompted me to actually read it, and I loved it! I am eagerly looking forward to reading Rose Daughter in the near future. Merry Christmas!

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  14. CLM8:15 PM

    I gave my sister Anna and the French Kiss and Terrier by Tamora Pierce (alas, no time to read either before I had to send them); StarCrossed to one niece; The Grimm Legacy to another; The Winter Sea and an Elizabeth Chadwick to my mother; Grisham to my father; Emily of Deep Valley to a close friend from law school who never has time to read but it was autographed by Mitali Perkins so had to go to someone special!

    ReplyDelete

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