ADVENT
16 Days to Christmas!
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Monday, December 8, 2025
If We Still Lived Where I was Born by Maria Giura -- BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
If We Still Lived Where I was Born by Maria Giura
I try to read poetry every morning, but I am no student of the genre. I don’t know what makes a poem a “good” poem or what I should look for in poetry to judge its merit. I feel a little intimidated by poetry. This all makes it difficult for me to review books of poems and I usually avoid doing so. But I thought Maria Giura’s memoir, Celibate, was fascinating and well-written, so I was willing to read and review her new poetry collection, If We till Lived Where I was Born.
I’m glad I did. Giura’s poems are accessible, evocative, and interesting. They read like little stories, mostly about her life with her extended Italian-American family. They are thoughtful in tone but never maudlin. The way they focus on everyday matters stirs up similar memories that make them easy to relate to. One called “December 8” I particularly liked and, since today is December 8, it is the perfect one to share:
Our mother always waited untilIf We Still Lived Where I was Born is a collection of poems that can be appreciated and enjoyed by poetry connoisseurs and readers like me who shy away from poetry. I highly recommend Giura’s new book.
the Immaculate Conception,
before she decorated.
She pulled out
garland and lights
and the gold, antique fruit,
danced the Christmas tree
into its red-bowl stand.
She sprayed the windows
with snow
and belted
Christmas Card to You
with my sisters and me.
She tied the mistletoe
and spread the tablecloths,
hand made ornaments she hung with satin string.
Outside she wrapped lights
around both sides of our house,
fixed colored bulbs into the Holy Family
except for Jesus dim in His hay.
She baked and shopped, wrapped and cooked,
poured herself out.
In other homes, Christmas started
the day after Thanksgiving,
but we waited.
How could the Savior of the world be born
without his mother,
how could I have learned
to cherish my faith
without mine?
NOTE
FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION
In Maria Giura's If We Still Lived Where I Was Born, the narrator unlocks the meaning she's made of her childhood and heritage, spirituality and lost loves and draws the reader in to retrieve their own. The collection begins in the apartment above her parents' Brooklyn pastry shoppe where she imagines them still fighting, still making us, still together, then shifts to adulthood where she learns to stay still long enough to listen for the story, and then returns to childhood where her mother and aunts teach their kids to spread out their blankets and live. Moving between New York and Italy, between family and "stranger," these poems show longing and vulnerability, but also the thrill of being young and part of something larger than oneself, of making peace, and pursuing the path you were meant to. They brim with the people and places that have taught her the most and ring with pathos and celebration, from her immigrant father waiting for her on the corner . . . bread in his hand to the sister who pulled the music out of her, helped her make her own song. Beginning with a journey to a literal birth place and extending outward to many figurative places of self-discovery, this collection explores what lasts when all else passes away.
Sunday, December 7, 2025
Saturday, December 6, 2025
November 2025 Monthly Wrap Up -- BOOK THOUGHTS
BOOK THOUGHTS
November 2025 Monthly Wrap Up
My Life as a Man (1974) by Philip Roth. This was a mobius strip of a book. It starts with two short stories featuring a Nate Zuckerman prototype. The second part is a novel about Peter Tarnopol, the author of the two stories, which turn out to be based on his (also fictional) life. Both the Tarnopol and Zuckerman are alter egos of Roth, so it really spirals around itself. Only Roth could pull of a stunt like this.
Highland Fling (1931) by Nancy Mitford, her first novel. Although not as polished as her later novels, The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, this was a fun country house romp reminiscent of Evelyn Waugh or Anthony Powell.
The Devil’s Advocate (1959) by Morris West was an undercover gem. I loved it! It is the story of a terminally ill priest assigned to investigate the possible sainthood (ie: play the Devil's advocate) of a man who died in the war in an Italian village. It won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1959.
Persuasion (1817) by Jane Austen, my final reread in celebration of her semiquincentennial.
Brazil (1994) by John Updike. This was an odd one about star crossed lovers in Brazil. There's a cross country adventure, gold mining, cannibals, and a fantastical twist that turns the story on its head. Add a lot, lot, lot of graphic sex to confirm that this one was not for me even though Updike is one of my favorite authors. Apparently, when you are as successful as him, you get to experiment.
Shake Hands Forever and A Sleeping Life, both in The Third Wexford Omnibus by Ruth Rendell. These are books nine and ten in her Inspector Wexford series, which I like more and more as I work my way through it.
Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau. This short book was the last in a boxed set of Thoreau’s major works. I finally finished the others, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Walden, and The Maine Woods, so, being a completist, I reread this one.
L’Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home by David Lebovitz. I always enjoy a good expat memoir and this one adds cooking (with recipes) and a disastrous home remodel, so it was extra fun.
Girls in Their Wedded Bliss (1964) with Epilogue (1986) by Edna O’Brien. This is the sad, final book in her Country Girls Trilogy.
Falstaff (1976) by Robert Nye. This 1975 book of historical fiction has been on my TBR shelf for years. It is the fictional autobiography of Shakespeare’s beloved comedic character. His picaresque adventures were highly entertaining. Not only did he participate in the historical highlights of the 1400s, he met other Shakespeare characters along the way. But the sex talk was over the top. It went from bawdy to downright raunchy to sometimes pornographic. A little went a long way and a lot went too far. I’m glad I read it but it’s not for the faint of heart. The book is on Anthony Burgess's list of 99 Novels: The Best in English Since 1939, a Personal Choice.
The Complete Stories (1999) by Evelyn Waugh. I was in a readalong group on Instagram that read all Waugh's fiction over the last two or so years, one every other month. We finished with the short stories. I loved the entire experience.
The Green Knight (1993) by Iris Murdoch, a typically delightful shaggy tale by one of my favorite authors.
The British Baking Book: The History of British Baking, Savory and Sweet (2020, US Ed.) by Regula Ysewijn. This was interesting and there are several recipes I'd like to try, but is Britain really so obsessed with dried fruit and candied peel?
Ivanov (1887) and The Seagull (1896) by Anton Chekhov are not in the picture above because I forgot. I’m trying to read more classic drama and I'm glad I read these, but I can't say they are favorites.
Friday, December 5, 2025
Thursday, December 4, 2025
Afterward by Bristol Vaudrin -- BOOK BEGINNINGS
Afterward by Bristol Vaudrin
Thank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment.
MY BOOK BEGINNING
Afterward, I broke open. I cried.
-- from Afterward by Bristol Vaudrin.
Afterward is a new novel that explores the aftermath of tragedy. The exact tragedy is not revealed until the end, so we watch the protagonist deal with what happened and her boyfriend's subsequent hospitalization without really knowing just what happened.
I admit, the cover gives offputting Charlie Kirk vibes. But Afterward gets nothing but 5-star reviews on amazon and is generating a lot of buzz. I was happy to accept a review copy and look forward to reading it.
Read more about Afterward in the publisher's description, below, and on Bristol Vaudrin's website.
YOUR BOOK BEGINNING
Please add the link to your book beginning post in the linky box below. If you participate or share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings so other people can find your post.
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THE FRIDAY 56
The Friday 56 asks participants to share a two-sentence teaser from their book of the week. If your book is an ebook or audiobook, pick a teaser from the 56% point.
Anna at My Head is Full of Books hosts The Friday 56, a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please visit My Head is Full of Books to leave the link to your post.
MY FRIDAY 56
-- from Afterward:
She was shocked at my news about Kyle."Oh, honey, that's just awful! When did it happen?
FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION
Torn from her normal routines-coffee, sex, barhopping, and disc golf--she finds herself in an unfamiliar world of hospital visits and doctor's appointments, all while navigating an unexpected move to a new apartment and enduring the disapproval of her boyfriend's mother, as well as the gossip of her friends and coworkers. (Plus the suspicious looks of strangers, and the unbearable strain on her credit card...and did we mention the gossip of her friends and coworkers?) Along the way, she meets every obstacle with...well, not grace, exactly. In fact, pretty much the opposite of grace. Maybe more like bitchiness, truth be told. And all the while, the aftereffects of the tragedy cast a pall over everything she does--and threaten to destroy everything she has.
Bristol Vaudrin's fascinating debut novel is an engrossing and darkly comedic read with an unforgettable narrator/protagonist. Watching her struggles--real, imagined, and in-between--we too must choose between kindness and judgment, between condescension towards someone who simply doesn't have a clue, and empathy with a person struggling to deal with something we all must face: the desire to hold on to the things we enjoy when the world around us changes in ways we didn't expect.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Monday, December 1, 2025
ADVENT 2025: COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS
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ADVENT: COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS
To see more vintage cards, click on the "Advent" or "vintage postcard" tags at the bottom of these posts (or bottom of the page) to find hundreds of images from past years. You will find nativity scenes, Santas, wreaths, Christmas trees, elves, cats, birds, dogs, deer, ornaments, gifts, candles, bells, and lots more!
THIS YEAR'S THEME
Some years I have a theme, some years it's catch as catch can. Last year I went for a wreath theme. This year it's going to be a mishmash. My real life Christmas has no theme either. It's a crazy month as I try to wrap up a few law cases before the end of the year and there's just a lot going on. I usually have my tree up by now, but not this year. I hope to go buy one tomorrow and get it decorated.
DECEMBER BLOGGING
I always plan to do holiday-themed blog posts every year, but never seem to get around to it. There's a lot going on in December! But I hope to get a few Christmas-temed posts up. I have a stack of Christmas and winter book on my nightstand that I hope to read this month. And I treated myself to a stack of the British Library's Christmas "Crime Classics" that I want to post about and start reading.
It is also the time of year to plan next year's reading challenges. I am hosting the European Reading Challenge again in 2026 and a TBR 26 in '26 challenge. I will get those posts before the end of the year, I promise!
What are your blogging plans for December? Do they include planning or posting any 20265 reading challenges?
Please join me tomorrow when the Rose City Reader advent calendar continues!
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