Month: December 2019

Today is Boxing Day, the 26th of December, and the day after Christmas. The day when everyone is supposed to rush out and buy more stuff. The same stuff they were supposed to buy as Christmas gifts, only on sale now. The same stuff they were supposed to buy on Black Friday.

There was a time when I would awaken very early when it was still dark and very cold to rush to different stores where I could score huge discounts on Christmas wrappings and decorations to use the following year. I had a penchant for plaid wrapping paper, always too expensive and hard to find. It was part bargain hunting, but mostly sport, done with daughters and friends.

Wishing you a gentle Christmas Day with peace and piles of new books to read,

The Miss Demeanors

We’re all ready for our new Christmas Eve tradition tailored after the Icelandic Happy Jolabokafod, the Yule celebration that centers on a generous exchange of books. Treats accompany the gentle celebration that sends everyone off to a cozy bed to read their new books.

He chose the latest John Grisham and I picked the most recent Susan Isaacs novel. These are books by authors whose writing suits the simple elegance of this book feast.

How does a book lover celebrate Christmas? Writers typically avoid crowds, with the exception of an occasional writers’ conference, which can take months to recover from. Noise and throngs of people with dazed expressions filling malls are akin to fingernails on a blackboard. The earworm, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (and there are far worse), can implant an impossible case of writers’ block excisable only by a merciful turn of the calendar to a new year.

Waiting ends, eventually. Advent becomes Christmas, 2019 becomes 2020. We hope our patience pays off, at the end. We hope that waiting for the Missdemeanors re-vamp pays off with a new, improved, more focused blog.