merry christmas!

Fact.

 

 

 

Merry Christmas to you and yours, from me and mine.

 

 



another hit.

There is never a great time for a girl to go missing, but a Jewish girl going missing in 1940 was especially stressful. Alizée Benoit, a Jewish-American painter living in New York City randomly vanishes, and no one has any idea where she went. Not her parents, not her friends, and some seventy-years later, not her great-niece, Danielle who is dying to solve the mystery.

In The Muralist by B. A. Shapiro readers are able to meet TWO brilliant female artists, generations apart and watch as their stories intertwine, the past becomes the present, shedding new light on the future. I am pleased to say that The Muralist is just as good as The Art Forger which I reviewed exactly three years ago today, here. Both blend fact with fiction which make her stories extra interesting.

Now I am off to prepare my home for family and lots of wine this Christmas Eve. Happy holidays and happy reading!

beauty and enlightenment.

We ALL want our beauty to be as timeless as the middle-aged (and older) supermodels we worship. I mean, get a load of Cindy Crawford and Christie Brinkley. WOW. Really wow. And speaking of Christie Brinkley, in her new book, Timeless Beauty: Over 100 Tips, Secrets, and Shortcuts to Looking Great, she divulges it all along with personal stories and photos fans have never seen. If you want to look as beautiful as Brinkley does at 61, you are going to have to do a few things. Like change your eating habits and your attitude. I am not a huge believer in genetics. I truly think that the skinny adults in the world watch what they eat and just pretend they don't. Brinkley works for what she has. She exercises regularly, eats the rainbow, and has found her inner peace. Knowing how to de-stress can be half the battle. I was pleasantly surprised by the healthy recipes and how likable Brinkley is.

rooting for the underdog.

Lucky for us, Jerry Gladstone hangs out with some pretty cool people. Rappers, actors, sharks. Through his interaction with said people (Snoop Dogg, Quentin Tarantino, Mark Cuban, etc.), he has created some guidelines on how to be successful when facing extreme adversity. In The Common Thread of Overcoming Adversity and Living Your Dreams, Gladstone dedicates each chapter to a different celebrity who has made something of themselves when they had (next to) nothing to begin with. Each chapter also includes advice from the celeb him/herself, which I found to be super encouraging. It's all about being resilient, persistent, and hard work. You have to want it, like REALLY want it. Honestly, I didn't care for some of the celebs who were featured, but each one had something useful to contribute.

merry christmas gamers.

I review video game guides solely to impress my students. I read it, let them look through it, talk to them about it. I am the coolest, they know it. Everyone's a winner. They cannot say enough good things about the Assassin's Creed Syndicate Official Collector's Guide by Tim Bogenn, and they would know. Christmas is coming and this is a must have collectible. But the book won't only look good on their night stands (like boys even care about that kind of thing), it will prepare them for the latest series in the game, Syndicate. Which only came out a few months ago. This Assassin’s Creed takes place in 1868 London and follows the adventures of two siblings. As a teacher, I love the historical context and the real life monuments represented. AND THERE'S A FEMALE PROTAGONIST. WHAT?

a gift for your bestie.

Day four of my foolproof book-lovers Christmas gift guide is all about your best girl(s). Your people. Your clique. You're the Best: A Celebration of Friendship by the Satellite Sisters is the PERFECT bestie gift and all that gushy stuff. This is a book filled with short essays dedicated to the special friendships only women can have. There is no funny like sisterhood funny, and the Satellite Sisters really capture the essence of those relationships. Pair it with a bottle of wine and you're done. Ya-ya!

for the dog lover.

Everyone has an animal lover in their life. If you don't you should probably get some new friends. Me? I'm a cat lover. And absolutely believe in rescuing over pet shop buying. Gift idea #3 is My Old Dog: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts by journalist Laura T. Coffey who has finally said what everyone has been thinking. What is so good about puppies? They pee wherever they want and mess with your REM cycle. I honestly feel the same way about babies, but we can talk about that another time.

The point is. Older dogs have A LOT of love to give. And you will completely fall for the rescues you meet in this collection of stories (the photos are fabulous as well). A little warning, My Old Dog gets super emotional, even for a Grinch like me. But the sappy dog lover in your life is going to LOVE it.