Author: C. Michele Dorsey

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.

We began traversing Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, the Celtic version of the wild, wild west, in Kinsale after being brushed by Lorenzo, a rare hurricane that felt more like a familiar Nor’easter to two Massachusetts coastal residents. The Wild Atlantic Way felt magnificently large and bold, while also vaguely familiar. Wild waves splashed on enormous rock formations against a canvas of rugged mountains and placid pastures dotted with sheep and cows. With no agenda, my husband drove us into a maze of quiet contentment. We stayed in Dingle and Doolin, sailed to the Aran Islands, drank Guinness and ate fish ‘n chips. We discovered sticky pudding and vowed to test it wherever it appeared on a menu.