So who knows what day of the week it is? With Christmas falling on a Tuesday, my internal day-of-the-week calendar is way off. It's a good thing that the only “must-do” on my calendar this week is writing this newsletter!
Last week, I was in the office for three days and worked home the other two. However, this week was a real vacation week. Before we all headed out last week, the staff and I did our annual holiday lunch. For the past couple of years, Trattoria Dell'Arte has been our restaurant choice. It’s a few blocks from the office, which means on a blustery day we do not have to walk far! You can see a photo of us all above, before we indulged in pizza, pasta and antipasto. I am incredibly lucky to work with Tom, Nicole, Rebecca and Greg. People are amazed at what we accomplish with a staff of just five. Their work ethic and commitment is how we get so much done. It was so nice to kick back and celebrate with them.
In this newsletter, we are sharing a number of our favorite year-end features and contests, so please read all the way through. We know the last few weeks have been hectic, and we wanted to be sure you got another moment to savor these.
In our last newsletter, I was headed to be an elf at Mrs. Claus’ 26th annual event the following morning. Twenty-nine families and 55 children (including five unexpected guests who prompted a quick shopping trip/speed wrap) were treated to a special day. Each family was greeted individually before moving through a series of rooms, where they first were read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by me (they love the Robert Sabuda pop-up version), then colored and wrote letters to soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center, and raced elves to do a puzzle. Next up was meeting Mrs. Claus, who had presents individually selected for each child, including a wardrobe --- from jackets and shoes to pants, tops, undies and PJs --- books (selected by me and our Kidsreads.com editor, Rebecca, thanks to the bookshelves at our office and help from publisher friends --- the ONLY outside donation Mrs. Claus allows), as well as toys, blankets and toiletries. Cookies, cupcakes and other treats baked by volunteers were then served, followed by the final step of writing thank-you notes to Mrs. Claus.
It was a heartwarming day that will stay with me for a long time. One girl told me that she would be at her aunt's on Christmas morning, as she lives in a shelter and her mom said that is not where they should spend Christmas. I saw a lot in her face as she said this, which really tugged at me. I was grateful to have been asked to participate in this very special event.
This week has been a nice combo of seeing family and entertaining, reading and watching movies. After really fun but non-stop celebrations right through Christmas night, we decided to tone it down a lot for the rest of the week and kick things into slow gear, which has included lots of couch time and even some naps. I read THE ADULTS by Caroline Hulse, which is a crazy holiday-themed novel about what happens when two blended families spend a holiday week at a resort together. Let’s just say that no one comes through this adventure unscathed, and I easily could see this being made into a holiday movie!
Now I am reading Lisa See’s THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN, which will be in stores on March 5th. She has turned her focus to the Korean island of Jeju, where women dive for fish to both feed their families and sell, engaging in challenging physical work while men stay home with the children. I love the way Lisa can bring a world that I know little about into brilliant focus for me as she takes readers through seven decades beginning in 1938. Thinking of how much happened in Korea during that time period, I am looking forward to what I will learn. Her storytelling blends her signature of writing about female friendships against this dramatic historical backdrop. I am reading slower than usual as much of this territory is uncharted for me.
News & Pop Culture
Reader Mail:
Beth wrote to remind me to watch "The Innocent Man" on Netflix, which is based on the book by John Grisham. I have started it, and it’s very well done!
We watched a lot of movies this week. A Star Is Born is terrific; it made me want to watch the previous versions. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper nailed their performances! I see why people were raving about it when it hit theaters.
Widows is a well-paced heist drama starring Viola Davis and Liam Neeson. The screenplay was written by Gillian Flynn and Steve McQueen, and it’s based on the book by Lynda La Plante. We actually watched this one twice; the second time was with Cory and Sam. I confess to at least one aha moment, which reminded Tom why watching movies with me can be challenging, but there were still a lot of moments that tricked me.
Bohemian Rhapsody reminded me of all the Queen songs that I had forgotten, and I learned a lot about Freddie Mercury. It was wonderfully shot and included great background on the band, which I knew nothing about.
On Christmas Eve, we watched Can You Ever Forgive Me?, which has Melissa McCarthy playing Lee Israel, the biographer who later forged over 400 letters from famous people, offering them for sale, before she was caught. I did not know her story, but in reading up on her, I learned that she died four years ago on Christmas Eve. It was kind of poignant that we watched it that night. There also were fun glimpses into the book publishing scene. Oh, and the movie is based on Lee's memoir of the same name.
Black Panther is very well done, with truly epic settings and costuming, but I confess that superhero films are not my faves.
Beautiful Boy is well done and sadly tells the story of addiction, one that has become way too prevalent these days. I know too many families that have been deeply impacted by addiction. Beautiful Boy is just one film looking at this topic this holiday season. It is based on books by David Sheff (BEAUTIFUL BOY) and his son, Nic Sheff (TWEAK). Here's an interview where you can see where they both are today.
Netflix has just announced the casting selections for "Virgin River," which is based on Robyn Carr’s contemporary romance series of the same name. A large portion of the cast has appeared on popular television shows such as "This Is Us" and "Grey’s Anatomy."
Where’d You Go, Bernadette: Here’s a trailer for you to enjoy. It hits theaters on March 22nd.
Carrie Fisher: Her daughter, Billie Lourd, posted this touching video on the second anniversary of her death.
Paul Simon & Graceland & the First Man to Cross Antarctica Alone: Colin O’Brady is the first man to cross Antarctica alone. On one day of his trek, he listened to the Graceland album on repeat. Paul Simon heard about this and reached out to him via satellite phone during his journey. In a moment of true grace, Colin is hanging at the finish line waiting to meet Captain Louis Rudd, who is doing the same run, to complete his crossing.
Greg is in California off-roading with his Land Rover friends in Death Valley for a week, where they are camping and tooling around the desert. My idea of camping is Best Western, thus I am very glad he has a huge network of pals who share his passion. Cory and Sam have been in and out all week, along with Quentin the Hedgehog. I found Sam a Hedgehog calendar for Christmas, and it was a big hit!
I promised you a look at the outdoor design that I schemed and for which Tom made me planters. I am happy to say that it came out just the way I wanted it; we added lights to the photo that you see above. I also had a great time arranging flowers for holiday entertaining; you can see one of these arrangements above.
Over the past couple of months, I have been doing a lot of “reading ahead” and am so looking forward to sharing with you the books that are releasing in the next few months. It's going to be a great winter/spring for reading.
We'll be back with a full update and my first Bookreporter.com Bets On selection for 2019 next Friday. Also, we’ll have some other news to share, so be sure to look for our first newsletter of the year.
Wishing you a brilliant Happy New Year! Read on, and have a great week.
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, Bookreporter.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
