Now that it's December, it's all Christmas all the time, at least when it comes to my reading material. And just like the season's ugly sweaters, the fluffier the books, the better! So far, I've read Leslie Meier's Mistletoe Murder and Christina Lauren's In a Holidaze. And as usual with tales of holiday hijinks, it's the bits about shopping that put me in the spirit.
In Mistletoe Murder, small-town sleuth Lucy Stone is working the graveyard shift at a wannabe L.L.Bean mail order catalog (this is back in 1991, folks) when her boss is murdered. Each chapter begins with a description of an item from the catalog, and the compass or knife or ski hat or whatever ends up tying in with the plot. Cute, no? Here's one of my favorite listings:
"#5532: An intricately patterned vest knitted in 100% Shetland wool. Designs include Christmas trees, reindeer, and ice skates. Dry clean or hand wash. Natural color with green and red. Women's sizes: S(6-8), M(10-12), L(14-16), XL(18-20). $58" (24)
This little snippet, item number and all, reminds me of picking up the ye olde landline to make a catalog order back in the day. You'd write what you wanted on the order form, then wait breathlessly while the customer service rep scrolled through her database to see if your must-haves were in stock. Sometimes, they'd have your size but not your color, and you'd have to make a snap decision whether to go with your second choice or hightail it to the mall. Online shopping is convenient and all, but it lacks that particular brand of excitement.
What was I talking about? Oh, right. The books.
So, In a Holidaze. This one's a rom com about time-traveling, lovelorn Maelyn Jones. Although it offers up mistletoe moments of the toe-curling (spoiler alert: Mae's not lovelorn for long) rather than criminal variety, it's this line about the magic of Christmas presents as opposed to sweet nothings that made me dog-ear the page:
"The pile of gifts under the tree is a hilarious display of adoration, capitalism at work, and our complete inability to moderate ourselves in any way." (258)
People are always going on about how Christmas has gotten too commercial. And although I totally get the need for kids to understand the reason for the season beyond expanding their Barbie and Hot Wheels collections, I think there's something beautiful about buying your loved ones things you know they'll adore.
All this, and I haven't even cracked the book called Window Shopping.
So this Christmas -- or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Winter Solstice -- when it comes to reading and retail, I wish you festive stories and hassle-free shopping.
In other words, happy booking and happy looking. :)
