The Adults by Caroline Hulse

Christmas is just loaded with emotional landmines, and it's always delightful to read about somebody else's disastrous holidays to put your own in perspective. Nobody got shot through with an arrow at mine this year - you?

A divorcing couple, their new partners, and the couple's young daughter all go away together to a fun park resort for a Christmas "weekend" that lasts five days. Somehow, everybody can see it's a bad idea and yet no one can put on the brakes to make it stop.

There are a lot of lies and half-truths floating around, but you're not going to put four adults plus one child and an imaginary bunny friend in a small chalet this long and believe they're not all coming out eventually, explosively, once the wine starts flowing.

This was a very funny book, dark and laughable with a lot of British stiff-upper-lip, polite until it hurts. You know early on somebody gets shot, but that whole story and its implications come out through police interviews that alternate between the main chapters. If you've ever endured a forced-joviality vacation at a family fun resort with children, you'll totally relate.

An Irish Doctor in Love and At Sea by Patrick Taylor

I'm ten books into this series, but this one is my favorite in a while. 

While we revisit some of the same old haunts, in this book we get our first real look at the wartime love story of young Dr. Fingal O'Reilly and his nurse Diedre. We learn a lot about why the old doctor sometimes acts the way he does, and also that it may still be possible for personal growth.

There's a lot of the war in this book, and I didn't mind it at all. I always think it's interesting to get a non-American view of the European action, and the HMS Warspite sees some action that keeps the doctor hopping.

In the modern story arc, brother Lars gets a job that seems to be leaning into a fresh angle for future books, and there's a new Donald Donnelly dog scheme (and as they would say, it's a real corker!). Barry spends most of the book lurking darkly about the periphery, stewing about his absent fiance.

Fields Where They Lay by Timothy Hallinan

Both a Russian mobster's deadline and Christmas are looming large for burglar-turned-detective Junior Bender, and it's likely either or both will be the death of him.

In this installment of the Junior Bender series (#6 if you're counting), our ethically questionable hero is stuck in a decaying suburban mall trying to figure out why store loss numbers are so out of whack. Also, what to buy for holiday gifts.

The book's funny, and this series has a wry wit that's unlike anything else. A dying mall is hardly anyone's dream, and the fact that Junior is stuck circling, circling, circling this pit of despair is a great setup for his equally dark introspection about the state of his life and love.

There's a great cast of characters in the store owners and mall regulars, with a few of Junior's friends mixed in too. It might not put you in the holiday season, but it's a great read.

The lodge on Holly Road

by Shelia Roberts

If you are looking for a chaste, sweet story of new love, this is it.  You'll find several new couples who have a happier holiday because they chose to stay at Icicle Creek Lodge. 

From the single mom whose children just want a dog and grandparent for Christmas to the man planning to propose, the lodge is filled with hope in this holiday story.  Of course, there is the mall Santa who is feeling curmudgeonly facing his first Christmas after losing the love of his life.  Can his grown children help him find his spunk, or will he need the magnetic pull of someone new?

Oliva Wallace and her son, Eric have their hands full making Christmas magical for their guests.  Luckily, there's enough holiday spirit to make the week special for each of them as well. 

Sheila Roberts has knocked out another heart-warming tale for the holidays.

The gift of the Magi

by O. Henry

With the holiday season upon us, I pulled an old favorite from the library shelves.  Later in the Thanksgiving weekend, I had the opportunity to engage two very young children in the reading of this story.  You might think a four-year-old is too little to sit through this, but Mr. Henry's lyrical text entrances.

Mr. Henry captivated his readers with this 1903 story of a young couple facing dire times.  While we often remind ourselves holidays are meant to be about more than gifts, we always want to show our love somehow.  You probably already know the sacrifices made by Della and Jim, but cherish the feeling you have when they discover the depths to which they each are loved. 

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Is love enough, or does it take more to make a marriage work?

When a chance at her dream job interferes with Christmas, sitcom-writer Georgie's husband and kids go on to Omaha without her. That leaves her free to work - or does it mean that Neal just left her? Everybody's got their own theory.

Which all leaves Georgie a bit out-of-sorts. Neal's not answering his phone, her battery's gone kaput, and her Mom wants her to come over for a sympathy dinner. Georgie finally reaches Neal's mother's house in Omaha from her old bedroom at her mom's house, but something seems ... off.

This adult novel by YA wundkind Rowell is a fluffy bit of fiction with the kind of real-world, flawed and relatable characters she does so well. Georgie's certainly not perfect - but do you have to be perfect to deserve love?

Rainbow Rowell's books make me want to curl up in a quilted cloud and get lost, uninterrupted until I've turned the final page. 2013 was certainly the year her star exploded, but I think so far we've only seen the tip of her talent's enormous iceburg.

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

This is an author who understands he's only doing half the work, writing the book - you're an equal partner, as you bring the narrative to life in your imagination. And in this case, it's especially horrific because the bad guy's grabbing kids.

True conversation:

Me: This book is ripping my guts out. Yesterday I couldn't put it down, but I almost don't even want to pick it up again. It's awful and it's dark and it's making me sick. 

Husband: So you won't be giving it a good review, then.

 Me: Are you KIDDING ME?!? I'm giving it a STELLAR review! But with a cautionary warning: pansies need not apply.

This book is the epitome of modern horror in my book: twisted and dark, but not unnecessarily gory or explicit. He's sketching it out for you, but you get to add the color yourself. I've read Hill's other books (and loved them) and he's just getting better.

I haven't told you anything about the book. Do I have to? You're either in already, or you're not. :)

Christmas wombat

by Jackie French

French has found a way to take a very simple concept and make it very funny.  All of her wombat stories are best for audiences of at least preschool age.  Toddlers might not get it if there are no wombats in the neighborhood. 
This time, little wombat is ready to do battle for carrots.  The strange creatures who also want them turn up repeatedly on his voyage to find even more tasty nibbles around the world.  Eventually, wombat discovers that reindeer are rather helpful. 

Christmas parade

by Sandra Boynton

Chickens with bassoons!
Piccolo mice!

Boynton returns with a holiday story filled with her signature rhythmic style.  The onomatopoeia will draw the audience in on the very first page.  For storytime, it would be lots of fun to have band students visit with the actual instruments in the parade.   If not, any rhythm instruments make a preschool crowd into one of the liveliest marching bands possible.

Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb

Fifth grader Felix Funicello will never forget the winter of 1964, and this is the story why. During the fall and winter, Felix's mom competes in the national bake-off, his class gets a lay teacher after his nun teacher cracks up one day, and a new student shakes things up in the class.

The book is a nostalgic look at childhood: a time when you pretended to understand all the jokes (but really didn't), when somebody puking was news, and a time when the Christmas pageant was epic. I was surprised by this book because I always think of Wally Lamb's books as serious, with issues. This book, on the other hand, is a lighthearted comedy.

It's not completely unpredictable - if there's a Christmas program at school, something bad's going to happen - but there's a lot more going on that will keep readers guessing. Felix's cringe-worthy antics are well drawn, and incidentally, Lamb did a nice job reading the audiobook version himself.

A Wish for Elves by Mark Gonyea

This clever, simple picture book was one of my favorites this holiday season. It's got a hip, retro-contemporary look, with a pallette limited to lime, yellow, green, red and black and super simple shapes that look almost like paper clippings. And yet with the pared down art style, it's still got quite a storyline.

A boy, frustrated with the stresses of Christmas, wishes he had elves. Overnight, the elves appear in his bedroom - but suddenly, Santa has no helpers. And through a series of great illustrations, the elves show how helpful - or unhelpful - they can really be.

I think this would be a great book for sharing. Since there aren't very many words, you get to look and look at the pictures to see what's happening. The little pyramid shaped elves can make lots of trouble, and in a simple picture there can be more than a dozen of them ... each up to no good.

The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore

It's just your typical, heartwarming holiday tale ... as only Moore can do. Because you've got to know that his kind of Christmas story is going to be filled with scream queens, pot-smokin' lawmen, murder, zombies, fruit bats, and other unexplained phenomena.

If you've got a dark sense of humor and a love of macabre, you'll enjoy this one.

In the end, it's the classic story of crisis bringing the whole community together - and it's all the fault of an angel who's just too literal, with no sense for human emotional nuance.

An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor

Third in the series, this quaint lighthearted set of books is a real winner. And if you're an audiobook listener, you'll be doubly delighted by the various brogue and accents that top-notch reader John Keating presents.

Young general practice Dr. Barry Laverty has spent 5 months now in Ballybucklebo getting to know the patients and the personalities in the small 1950s Irish town. And love is in the air this Christmas: Barry's desperate to see his Patricia on holiday, and even his mentor, the slightly crusty Dr. O'Reilly, is seeing stars now that his old college sweetheart, Kitty, is back in his life.

Add a dash of small town humor and generous portions of housekeeper Kinky's meals and wisdom - and you've got a great, heartwarming Christmas tale for all time. I cannot recommend these books highly enough. Excellent!

When Santa Turned Green

When Santa Turned Green by Victoria Perla

It seems Santa has poor access to news up in the north pole. Until the snow on his roof melted, he was unaware of the concept of global warming. Now that he knows, he's out to reverse the whole process. This is a relatively cute picture book that gives kids an simplified version of the problem and makes the solution seem like it can happen overnight. At the least, it can put a few good ideas into kids' heads.