Festivity, snow days, and end of the year TBR
I cannot believe it's already December...
Welcome to Monthly Wrap, where I share three books I loved last month, three books Iām looking forward to, and three good things.
We are in the throes of the holiday season! As I write this, weāre having our first snowstorm here in Maine. Iāve got a hot cup of Honey Vanilla Chamomile beside me, one of my favorite holiday albums playing, snow falling outside, and two snoozing kitties curled up nearby. One of my ideal days in the office.
We spent last week in Connecticut for Thanksgiving, and it was such a cozy stretch of days with family. We saw Wicked, went on long walks, baked, watched a lot of Jeopardy!, built gingerbread houses, and puzzled our way through an afternoon. Pure holiday comfort.
How have you been feeling about the hubbub of the season so far? Iāll admit Iāve been a little overwhelmed. I barely shopped any Black Friday sales because it all felt likeā¦ a lot. I keep coming back to the idea that the key to enjoying this time of year is meeting yourself where youāre at. If youāre up for festivities and gift-hunting, great! And if youāre feeling burnt out from a tough stretch (hi, me), itās okay to slow down and be more low-key this year. Iām not always great at putting it into practice, but Iām trying.
Now, onto the booksā¦
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More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin is the perfect companion for this time of year. Itās cozy, comforting, funny, and will make you want to get into the kitchen to whip up something easy and delicious (which I did for Thanksgiving!)
How About Now by Kate Baer perfectly captures what it is to be an aging woman who loves deeply. Her poems are tender, ragey, funny, and sad. I think this would make a particularly nice gift for the strong women in your life.
Finding Grace by Lorette Rothschild is a book Iāve been talking a little nonstop about lately. I thought it wasnāt going to be for me, and then it was 100% up my alley. Itās the kind of stylish literary mystery I love.
Want more recs? See more of my thoughts on these books and everything else I read in November here:
I donāt have many new December releases on my radar. But I rounded up a few books Iād love to read before the end of the year here. And Iām working on a list of 2026 releases Iām excited about, which Iāll share next week.
Five Before the End
I had plans to share my own Ten Before the End list earlier this fall, but the season had other plans (shocker! š). So here we are, on the cusp of December, and Iām sharing a handful of titles that are sitting at the very top of my TBR for these last few weeks of the year.
Time with family. We had two chances to spend time with family last month. The first, a few days at my Dadās when we honored my grandfather at his funeral. The second, a few days at my Momās for Thanksgiving. Despite one of those circumstances not being ideal for seeing family, it felt really nice to get out of our routine, which has been so regimented by work and ringworm these last few months, and enjoy some downtime with people we love.
time with family and look at this adorable picture of my grandparents we found when going through my grandpa's photos Decluttering. I spent a lot of time in November cleaning out various closets, drawers, and corners of the house. It felt good to lighten the load in the house and have some breathing room back in our closets and drawers. Isnāt it funny how quickly stuff sneaks up on us? Dean and I arenāt even people who collect a lot of things; we are pretty minimal. But it sneaks up on you! One area that felt particularly good was my unread bookshelf, which is now orderly and only has titles Iām genuinely excited about. Iām striving for quality and depth in my reading next year, and this will hopefully help set me up for success.
cute little date night! A cozy date night. Itās beenĀ monthsĀ since Dean and I have been on any sort of date night (or really done anything for the sake of fun!), so this past month we finally got out one evening to try a new restaurant weāve been eyeing. We grabbed a pre-dinner drink at a new neighborhood bar, then enjoyed heaping bowls of pasta, salad, and cannoli. It was so relaxing and fun, and hereās to more fun and less work taking over our lives in 2026!
Iāll see you on Tuesday with this monthās edition of Footnotes!
Until then,
From Decembers past:
Iād love it if you could help spread the word about Literary Leanings. Consider sharing this post with your favorite bookish friend, and you could get some perks!
The urge to declutter and simplify always strikes me at this time of yearāI want to go into January cleaned out and ready to start new. Thanks for the added inspiration to tackle this!
It sounds like you've had a really nice couple of weeks easing into the holidays. I hope this continues for you as we approach the end of the year!