One Day in December is the must read Christmas book of the year. | Dress (it’s perfect for all occasions) | Heels (they go with everything | Belt (It’s a great pop of color) | Watch (so dainty!)
Read Yes Length 416 Quick Review One Day in Decemberwas a surprise. It has the happy ending you want in a winter/Christmas novel, but it was complicated the way life and feelings and friendship are. Josie Silver didn’t simplify it.
Happy December!!! It’s officially Christmas month, which means it is the month of all good and happy things. At least for me. If it’s not so good and happy for you, you should pick up this book. It’s the must read winter book of the year. One Day in Decemberwas picked by Book of the Month and by Reese Witherspoon for her book club. All month long, I’m reading winter and Christmas inclined novels because I can.
One Day in Decemberis a great place to start with the Christmas novels. It’s not too cheesy, even though it is truly just a love story. I knew exactly what the ending would be from the very beginning, so it won’t leave you speechless.
I took pictures at Levy Park in Kirby because there are iconic London phone booths! It’s fitting.
Laurie and Sarah are best friends living in London. One December, Laurie is on a bus when a beautiful man catches her eye and she his. They aren’t able to make a connection, but they can’t stop thinking about each other. Laurie and Sarah spend a year looking for bus-dude until Laurie finds him as Sarah’s new boyfriend, Jack.
The story of One Day in December follows Laurie through pivotal moments over the next ten years. The narration is mainly told by Laurie, but Jack tells his side of the story occasionally throughout the novel. The characters are all well developed. None of them come off in a bad light. They’re easy to empathize with because Silver does a good job laying the foundation and explaining the situation and the motivation behind their actions or lack thereof.
The novel is written with British spelling and cultural references. I like that the editors kept this style for American publication. The references were hard to understand sometimes because they aren’t necessarily relevant to the American audience. I love it because it reminds us there are cultures outside of our own.
I really enjoyed that One Day in December is set in London. It’s hard not to enjoy a winter novel when you’re imagining you’re in London. I wouldn’t say it’s a great novel, but it is perfect for this time of year.
Merry Christmas! Or Happy Holidays to all my non-Christmassers.
I have a whole bunch of books I’m going to read this month. I’m being optimistic because eleven books in 22 days is insane. Reading a new book every other day. I’m a Christmas nut, so I’m only reading Christmas related novels this month. Several are new releases this year. Here we go!
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Alaskan Holiday by Debbie Macomber I read this already, and it was awful. Feel free to read my review here.
One Day in December by Josie Silver A winter story about love in London. This month, it is a Book of the Month book and chosen by Reese Witherspoon for her book club.
The Nutcracker by Alexander Dumas The classic Christmas story brought to the stage throughout the world in ballet form.
A Christmas Revelation by Anne Perry I’m branching out to read a mystery, but not too much because it’s still a Christmas book!
An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor Enter the fictional Irish town of Ballybucklebo for a Christmas season full of adventure with familiar characters.
Mutts and Mistletoe by Natalie Cox I don’t know anything about this, but there are puppies on the cover.
Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb I’m looking forward to reading a historical fiction novel about Christmas in Paris.
The Adults by Caroline Hulse A novel about Christmas and family drama… It seems appropriate. The two tend to go together.
Christmas Camp by Karen Schaler I hear this is being turned into a TV movie.
A Christmas Treasury This is an anthology of some of the greatest Christmas stories. If you buy one book this Christmas. I HIGHLY suggest this one!!!
Read No Length 256 Quick Review Alaskan Holiday is a really good example of what I don’t like in a book. Sappy romance, a pretend strong female character, bad grammar, terrible plot, and over all not put together well. Upside: there is a dog.
Happy first day of December!!! I’m starting off my holiday reading with a real low point. It’s not the worst book I’ve read all year, but it’s in the top three! Which means, in all hopefulness, that the reading quality can only go up the rest of the month!
I pretty much began reading Alaskan Holiday by Debbie Macomber feeling that it would be awful. It was. It was not good. It’s like a Hallmark movie in book form so a more painful time commitment.
The two main characters are Josie and Palmer. They’re in the middle of nowhere Alaska. A place so remote almost everyone leaves during the winter months and is only reachable by plane. Josie was the chef during the season, and Palmer lives there permanently. Palmer falls in love and asks her to marry him. The rest of the novel unfolds to the exact ending you know is going to happen.
Alaskan Holidayis incredibly sexist. There is the effort of having a strong, career oriented woman as the lead, but the whole novel falls into the trope of ‘need to calm this wild, career woman down to get her to settle into a small boring life.’ The woman gives up everything for the man. This is bolstered by the fact that there are several other women trying to convince Josie she can be happy in the middle of nowhere because love. Palmer is awful. I really hated his character. He oozes the quiet, toxic masculinity that is a total turn-off to any actual strong, career oriented woman I’ve ever met. His machismo was irritating after page 2. His jealousy is beyond aggravating. I couldn’t take it.
There is a lot of telling and very little showing, so the storytelling is Alaskan Holidayis as bad as the characters. The story spends 130 pages, out of 220, setting up a story that could have been easily summed up in 25 pages. The story reads like a teenager’s diary, but not an insightful, wise teenager. There are also a lot of grammar errors.
I was really unimpressed by Alaskan Holiday. It was pretty much a waist of my time. Luckily it was so bad and easy to read, I was able to read it in a less time than a Hallmark movie takes.
Read Yes Length 256 Quick Review Stephen Hawking isn’t an anti-social genius. He’s brilliant, no doubt. He’s also witty, sarcastic, charming, and completely relatable in his book Brief Answers for the Big Questions, published posthumously.
I had a wonderful time reading Brief Answers for the Big Questionsby Stephen Hawking. This is the first book I’ve read by Hawking. I read it on airplanes on Thanksgiving day, so the only break I took was walking between terminals. It’s a book that pulls you in and keeps you even if science isn’t your thing.
I was under the illusions Stephen Hawking was a one of those scientific geniuses who I’d be unable to have a conversation with because he’s that much smarter than me. Except that’s exactly what feels so wonderful about Brief Answers for the Big Questionsthe intimacy of it. It’s a conversation between Hawking and the reader. He doesn’t shove science and math down your throat; instead he is warm, funny, charming, and absolutely relatable.
His sense of humor is evident from the very beginning. The forward is by Eddie Redmayne, who played Hawking in the movie The Theory of Everything. Hawking is funny, blunt, and very self-deprecating “Eddie Redmayne plays a particularly handsome version of me…” It makes him even more admirable in his humility. The word “surprised” was used far too often when Hawking discusses his successes. Even though he was brilliant and earned everything he had, he seems completely shocked looking back at the things he accomplished.
There are very few things non-sciency people will need to look up because Hawking does not drown the reader in things they probably are unfamiliar with or equations. He wants Brief Answers to the Big Questionsto be accessible to all. He talks about theories and equations with a sense of humor because he’s talking to people not scientists. M-theory – I did look that up- and Einstein and quantum mechanics and The Big Crunch “In Britain, people don’t seem too worried about a possible end twenty billion years in the future. You can do quite a lot of eating, drinking and being merry before that.” are all there but understandable. It’s not just science, though. He constantly references everything from history, science, philosophy, literature, and pop culture ie: Jurassic Park, Star Trek, etc.
Has funny little Q&A’s throughout the chapters. They usually sum up in a sentence or two his personal feelings about the overarching question being asked in the chapter. My favorite being the Q&A on page 141 when he mentions throwing a party in 2009 for legitimate time travelers. It culminated in him sitting alone in the college hall because he sent out invitations after the party was over to ensure there would be no phonies
I learned that Non-Euclidean geometry exists. Had I known this before, I could have been a total smart ass in formal geometry in high school. I found out triangles do not have to add up to 180° in flat three-dimensional space, but space would be curved and therefore non-euclidean. New information!
I highly enjoyed the small little jabs he made throughout including, “If there are beings alive on Alpha Centauri today, they remain blissfully ignorant of the rise of Donald Trump.” I don’t have to wonder too hard how he felt about the election.
Brief Answers to the Big Questions is highly entertaining. Hawking answers the questions, but really he’s just posing more. He is FULL of huge ideas. It’s absolutely amazing all the things he accomplished in spite of the obstacles he overcame. One of my favorite quotes is in the last pages of the book, “Opening up the thrill and wonder of scientific discovery, creating innovative and accessible ways to reach out to the widest young audiences possible, greatly increases the chances of finding and inspiring the new Einstein. Wherever she might be.” I love his inclusivity and call to action while simultaneously empowering the young women and men of today.The last two paragraphs are inspiring and a call to action and empowering.
Lucy Hawking, his daughter, summed up the sentiment of who he seemed to be through his own words in her own afterword, “He was a surprisingly modest man who, while adoring the limelight, seemed baffled by his own fame.” Reading Brief Answers to the Big Questionswas an absolute pleasure. Professor Hawking will be greatly missed for generations to come.
Memorable Quotes “Although, if there were such a God, I would like to ask however did he think of anything as complicated as M-theory in eleven dimensions.” “We don’t expect the universe to end in a brick wall, although there’s no logical reason why it couldn’t.” “This is a pity because, if they had, I would have got a Nobel Prize.” “The producers of Star Trek even persuaded me to take part, not that it was difficult.” Particle Accelerators: “They would have to be larger than the solar system and they are not likely to be approved in the present financial climate.”
I’m a freelance literary translator, editor, and writer. People think it’s a glamorous job. It’s not, but I’m ok with that perception! In reality, it’s not even as pretty as the pictures, but they’re pretty accurate.
Beau is the best assistant and partner I could possibly ask for. When she came into my life, I was in pretty bad shape. My health wasn’t great, so working outside of my home was impossible. Even working from home was impossible some days. It became a blessing when Beau came home. She needed round the clock attention because she was in a rough spot emotionally, physically, and health wise. I was freelancing enough to get by.
After almost a year of being home with Beau, I started looking for more employment because money. I was lucky enough to find a consistent freelance project, which has allowed me to stay home with Beau. I am absolutely floored. I love being at home. I love spending my whole day with her. I love not wearing pants. I love not having to be up early in the morning or go to bed at a responsible time.
Protecting me from the demon camera! We set up the tripod and used a remote, so it was “acting of its own accord” in her eyes.
My office is my home. I work a ton. I mean a shit ton. Beau and I have a schedule, which we stick to it aggressively. We wake up whenever she wakes up. Around 9:30. Then we go outside, take a walk, make coffee, have breakfast, and settle into the couch. We work until dinner time, which is any time between 7:00 and 10:00. Beau goes has a run around fest around 11:30. She’s a night owl like her mom. Then the energy monster gives up, and the snoring ensues. I then work solo until 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning depending on when I pass out.
Usually, we work from the couch. In May, we invested in a king sized bed. I’m living in the lap of luxury, I’m aware. Now with a big enough bed to spread out, we work from there a lot more often. Especially when we’re feeling lazy or under the weather. I’m one of those people who actually makes the bed every day. I may not shower every day, but the bed is made with pillows and throws.
Beau is always by my side. Her face usually nestled into my thigh. When she gets antsy, she’ll paw my hand away from the laptop keys, so I can better pet her. Every few hours, we head out to our little dog park to run around and stretch our legs. She likes to run around and throw toys at me. I’m not kidding. She will literally throw toys at my computer. She’s even closed it once or twice. Most of the time. We just snuggle as I work. She likes to be as close to me as possible. Sometimes in my lap. Even if the whole couch is open, she wants to be squished in next to me. I love it.
I would get lonely at home all alone without her. I’ve always, always, always been a dog person. Honestly, being a stay-at-home dog mom is the best thing ever.
XOXO,
Beau + RaeAnna
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She is the most precious thing in the whole world! Happy Wednesday!!!
If you don’t know what Small Business Saturday is, it is a day in America to celebrate the small and local businesses we love and falls on the last Saturday in November. I like to think of it as the real kick off to the busiest shopping season of the year.
This year, I decided to visit my beautiful and talented friend Natasha at Burd and Burdie, her pop-up store. She is the owner and creator of BurdLife, a jewelry collection. Her work is amazing. Everything is handmade by her. She has big and sparkly, petite and girly, long and dangly, and so much in between. I fell in love with her jewelry last month when a mutual friend introduced us. Natasha is also one of the kindest and most genuine people I have ever met. Her smile and laugh are beyond contagious. You’ll want to go into her store and just hang out with her all day.
Burd and Burdie is open now through the end of December in River Oaks here in Houston. If you’re local, you should stop in before it’s too late. You can see and try on Natasha’s absolutely stunning pieces. She also has amazing clothes, purses, shoes, rugs, candles, and a few other things. Everything is hand-picked by Natasha and locally sourced. Everytime I walk in, I want to take everything home with me. I’m not exaggerating. If I come into a boatload of money, I will hire her to decorate my house and my body. She has an eye for the alluring. Her Instagram handles are @burdlifeofficial and @burdandburdie.
Burd and Burdie is not the only local business I love. So here are six of my favorite local Houston places I frequent!
A 2nd Cup– I love this coffee shop because their profits go toward ending human trafficking! Tout Suite– This is one of those hip Houston hot spots. Kaboom Books – Read about this hidden gem of a used bookstore here. Brazos Bookstore– They have a great selection of new books and host a bunch of events. Tea Sip– I love this Heights tea store!!! Crave Cupcakes– Yumminess.
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