Merry Christmas to all! After years of attempting to curb my ever-expanding book collection, my family has finally given up and, to my delight, this Christmas the bulk of my presents were books. And not just any books: I was presented with 6 Angela Thirkell novels and 1 Anthony Trollope. Perfection. I’ve had real trouble finding Thirkell in used bookstores but my parents were able to stop at Powell’s in Portland on their way home from California earlier this month and, clearly, they had some in stock. I am absolutely delighted, especially since I’ve been so eager to get my hands on High Rising and August Folly, early books in Thirkell’s Barsetshire series, neither of which are available at the city or university libraries.
It’s been a perfectly lethargic Christmas Day here, filled with much reading (me: Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope; mother: The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht; father: Jerusalem: the Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore), much munching of Christmas cookies and cake, and, drawing on sugar-induced founts of energy, walks along the beach. We’re off to dinner tonight with the family of my brother’s girlfriend and no doubt in for a treat as her mother is an amazing cook. Life is very good indeed.
The Captive Reader 
What wonderful presents! A very happy Christmas, and hopefully lots of reading time.
Thank you, Lisa! The same to you.
We’ve had a slow day here as well…cold, cold rain has fallen all day so inside in our pajamas has been perfect for slow family time and reading as well 🙂 Enjoy the rest of your holiday 🙂
We’ve had lots of rain ourselves – and much, much more in the forecast – and I completely agree that pajamas and books are the only sensible way to deal with such circumstances!
Very envious of the Thirkell’s. I struggle to find them as well, I did find a copy of August Folly in Oxford though and it’s definitely my favourite so far.
I can’t wait to read August Folly and now I’m even more excited, knowing it’s your favourite!
Sounds like a wonderful Christmas. It’s so nice when the family succumbs to the book obsession. 😉 We spent the day in our pjs as we had slow drizzly rain all day. Wonderfully relaxing. Happy reading to you!
When my parents choose to read, they become completely absorbed. It is a truly beautiful sight!
[…] Christmas, my family showered me with Angela Thirkell books. This year, they turned to the always reliable Persephone Books (correctly understanding that, […]