An Open Book: December 2024

Carolyn Astfalk hosts the Open Book linkup: Share what you're reading and get recommendations from other readers.

Welcome to the December 2024 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler's Heart AND Catholicmom.com.

An Open Book is all about what my family is reading this month, from the adults down to the little kids.

Share what you're reading by linking up your blog post below.

Simply write about what you're reading. You can make it personal or, as I do, extend it to the whole family. Your post can be as simple as a few lines about the book or as in-depth as a 700-word review. That's entirely up to you. You can even forego writing all together and record a video or simply post cover photos.

No blog? No problem. Please share what you're reading in the comments.

Here are the books my family and I have read this month:

Following our Kentucky Bourbon Trail summer vacation, my husband has been listening to Buffalo Barrels, and Bourbon: The Story of How Buffalo Trace Distillery Became the World’s Most Awarded Distillery by F. Paul Pacult. It recounts the distillery’s history from the early exploration of Kentucky to present day. It tells the story through American wars, Prohibition, the Great Depression, and more. Includes a variety of personalities and information about a variety of whiskey brands. This was one of our favorite distillery visits. Very family friendly and a great customer experience.

I’m rolling into Advent reading Courtney Walsh’s Christmas with a Crank. You don’t get more Hallmark than this. Grumpy, reticent video game developer Liam returns to his family’s smalltown Christmas tree farm for one last, best Christmas before they sell it. His childhood friend Olive, fresh from her failed small business, is hired for promotions and marketing. A relationship is being rekindled, and I’m pretty sure the Christmas tree farm will stay in the family instead of going to a developer. Predictable but sweet and fun.

Catholic Mom contributor Lorelei Savaryn’s The Edge of In Between is a darkish middle-grade novel with a beautiful message. Despite it being a mass-market secular book, it’s a strongly Christian story of hope, the value of each life despite suffering, the nature of good and evil, and the folly of playing God. Lottie, a young girl with magical creativity, loses her parents in a tragic accident and, like many other grief-stricken people, loses her color, becoming part of the Living Gray. (This fantasy is a retelling of The Secret Garden, and since I haven’t read that, I’ve probably missed out on some of its magic.)

As part of an American history course, my college son read John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry: A Brief History with Documents by Jonathan Earle. It includes a brief summary of Brown’s life and includes primary source documents. My son said it was useful for analyzing sources as part of his class but not something he would pick up as a casual read.

For personal reading, he’s picked up William Marshal: The Flower of Chivalry by Georges Duby (translated by Richard Howard). It assumes some knowledge on the topic of the chivalric system, so it’s not a starting point on the topic, but of value to those interested in the topic. Marshal (1146/47-1219) was the 1st Earl of Pembroke, a soldier, and a statesman who served five English kings.

My high school daughter has been reading The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge. She picked it up to help fulfill the requirements for application to The Coolidge Scholarship but is thoroughly enjoying learning about the life of President Coolidge. (Did you know he kept a black bear (from Mexico), a pair of lion cubs, and a small hippo from South Africa in addition to more conventional pets?)

My middle-school daughter read Tobias: The Boy Who Faced a Demon, a graphic novel by Rhee Hahn Young. It is an illustrated adaption of the Old Testament Book of Tobit and follows Tobit and his son, Tobias. The contemporary format brings the biblical stories alive for young readers.

Confined to the couch for many days with an illness, my daughter has been reading bits and snatches of various books as she feels up to it. One book she did complete is My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. It is a Newbery Honor Book set during the Revolutionary War. Tim Meeker must decide whether to side with his father, a Loyalist, or his brother, Sam, a Revolutionary.

My middle-school son read from The Oregon Trail series, The Race to Chimney Rock by Jesse Wiley, a choose-your-own-adventure book. Who doesn’t love those? Your character is a young pioneer heading West to Oregon Territory. It’s all a little reminiscent of the classic Oregon Trail video game. I assume there are many deaths by dysentery. He’s already begun the second book in the series.

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Copyright 2024 Carolyn Astfalk
Images: Canva
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