So this is Christmas

 

I try to buy stuff that was made in America for all my Christmas shopping. I've been doing it for over a decade and I'm so happy to report it has gotten easier.

This year, a badly timed cold delayed my Christmas shopping, making it nearly impossible to be sure everything arrived on time. I only buy for my friends' kids and I ended up spending about an hour on etsy.com, where you can find unique hand crafted gifts made by artisans around the world. You can narrow your search to the US.

For several years now, my family has decided to donate to charity in lieu of gifts to each other. We have given to Unicef, Heifer, CharityWater, and OxFam to name a few. Before selecting a charity, I always check them out at Charitynavigator.org to find out how much of donations go to services and how much they pay the CEO. (I can't stand charity CEOs who make millions.) I recommend checking out your charity here before donating. You can even look at their list of top-rated charities if you need ideas.

This year, I gave to the Arizona Friends of Foster Care Foundation, and was able to specify which program to direct my donation. I chose their Keys to Success program which focuses on kids aging out of the system.
 

Book Review: Vigil Harbor

 

The acknowledgement at the end of this book makes a reference to how difficult it was to write, that it took years and many different versions. It sort of confirmed my experience reading the book. The climax seemed to come too early and the last half of the book was the multiple narrators rehashing their perspective of the ending when there were no longer any stakes.

That said, Julia Glass could not write a bad book if she fell asleep on her keyboard. Vigil Harbor was not my favorite thing she's written,  (for that, check out The Whole World Over) but I still enjoyed it. For character driven stories about people who feel real, there's nobody who does it better.

I was hesitant to pick this up because the description mentions a supernatural element I wasn't sure I could get on board for. Thankfully the author never takes a hard line on this and you're free to dismiss it as a crazy fantasy, as I did.

The not-so-distant future world where this story is set is on the edge of climate apocalypse and, unfortunately, comes  across as thoroughly believable.    

Book Review: Writers and Lovers

 

If you're a writer, you'll get the way this main character thinks. Casey has been working on her first novel for years, scraping by as many of her writing peers desert the dream for more sensible careers. She is struggling with a recent heartbreak that has her questioning her  own judgement and the loss of her mother, which has shaken her to her core.

Writers & Lovers is set in Boston in the nineties, but manages to feel somewhat timeless. Casey's drive to be  published may make more sense in a time period when writers had a better expectation of making a living with their art. The story includes a romantic dilemma, but I appreciated that it was not the main focus. It's simply a normal part of her complicated life.

Lily King creates a flawed character you easily root for and a compelling story that keeps you turning the pages, eagerly. I look forward to reading other novels by this author.