Hey ho, squiders, how are you doing? Wait, hold on.
December books: Still 2/4 (in the middle of two, read a volume of manga)
We’ve talked the past few weeks how December is traditionally a hard time for me to get any writing done. We may get there yet–I’m making good progress on Christmas (almost all the cards have gone out, most of the presents are bought) so I may get some brain power back there soon. But otherwise I’m just kind of chilling and watching scary videos on YouTube.
(A crutch of mine, alas.)
It’s also Christmas Mystery time! Every year I try to read a few Christmas mysteries. I like mysteries in general–they’re almost always in my top three genres read for the year (with fantasy and science fiction). A well-crafted mystery? A joy, every time. A mystery with an interesting premise? Sign me up.
(The 7 1/2 Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle is wonderful, if you’ve not read it.)
Of course, not all mysteries are the same, and Christmas mysteries do tend to run to mediocrity. Or maybe that’s mystery series in general. So some years I just stick to my tried and true series without trying to branch out. (Also I think I may have read most of the Christmas mysteries the library has.)
My very favorite mystery series is the Meg Langslow series by Donna Andrews. I’ve read all 30+ books in the series (except for the new one, which I am currently #16 on the hold list, out of 8 copies), and she generally puts out one or two new books a year, with more of the more recent ones being Christmas themed. The first book is Murder with Peacocks and past the first two books, all the titles are bird puns (this latest book is Five Golden Wings).
I appreciate the series because the main characters do go through some change over time. Since the beginning of the series, Meg has gotten married, had twins, bought a house, gotten new jobs, etc. And Meg’s got a large family that has, at this point in the series, mostly stabilized, but they go through their own life changes as well, so the world feels a little more dynamic than in some mystery series. At this point it’s kind of like reading about old friends and what they’re up to.
Anyway, I definitely recommend the series if you’re into such things.
The other Christmas mystery series that’s one of my mainstays is by Jacqueline Frost (which, if not a nom de plume, is the perfect name for someone who writes Christmas books) and starts with The Twelve Slays of Christmas. These books follow Holly White, who lives on a Christmas tree farm in Maine and only include Christmas mysteries.
(I think I missed a book or two, though–I got the most recent one and started reading it, but Holly had gotten married and I definitely missed that, and the Internet says there’s six books in the series but I’ve only read 3 or 4, so now I’m having to go back through and figure out which ones I missed, and whether it’s worth it to go back and catch up.)
(Okay, good news, I’ve only missed one, and now I’ve checked it out on my Kindle to catch up. It looks like she’s moved to a new book a year time frame, when before she was doing a book every few years, so that might be why I missed the last one.)
Sometimes I do Christmas romances as well, but it depends on my mood. I do like a good romance, but at least with the Christmas romances, sometimes it feels like they’re just getting put out to capitalize on the concept. Romance in general tends to be a little hit or miss for me, because I have picked up a fair amount that just feel…lazy. Nothing against the genre, it is the most read one and so I understand why some people put them out just to make money, but in general I’ve got to do some vetting.
Not feeling Christmas romance-y this year, at least not bookwise. Might watch a couple. Let me know if you have favorites (Not Love Actually, I’ve never been able to get through it).
I don’t know if I’ll branch out past my normal series this year. I’ve had to do catch up on the Meg Langslow books (I missed last year’s Christmas one, and one earlier this year, so I’ve already read those this month) and now it turns out I’ve got to do catch up on the Holly White series as well, so I may just not have time.
Do you have genres you read around the holidays, squiders? What are they, and why? Any recommendations on Christmas mysteries? (I don’t mind if they’re in the middle of a series or not.) Any recommendations on Christmas romance movies?
