December 2021

 Absolutely forgot my tradition, one-month old, of summing up the previous month. Maybe I didn't want to see how much I'd spent? or how little I've read? No, simple forgetfulness. I learned a long time ago, when complaining to my wife how much she and my then 10-year old daughter were spending on Kindle books, books are a wonderful thing to spend money on. (And what father in his right mind would tell one of his children: You're reading too much, dear.)

So, here are the December reads:

• BUtterfield 8, by John O'Hara. Great book, great movie. I preferred the ending in the book over the cinematic end, but that's Hollywood for you. 
• The Penguin Book of Modern British Short Stories, edited by Malcolm Bradbury. Some beauts in this one. And this one served as my #ccspin #28 read. And book #3 off my 50 classics list. 
• Leviathan Falls, by James SA Corey. The end of The Expanse. Or was it? 
• Fat City, by Leonard Gardner. The boxing book, capital-T. It was so much more than that. 
• Red Dust, by Yoss. Cuban sci-fi, my first. SIL's pick for the family book club. Upon reflection, better than my initial thoughts. 
• Point Omega, by Don DeLillo. I keep falling for him. And probably will keep falling...
• All Systems Red, by Martha Wells. Murderbot Diaries #1, and thus I was hooked. 
• Artificial Condition, by M. Wells. Murderbot #2. See, told ya so. 
• Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, by Elizabeth Taylor. Fantastic book, theme/setting I love, old English folks and homes and society.

Not so bad on the read-books for December. Those last few were all fewer than 200 pages (except Yoss). But now, how many did I buy?

• Deadeye Dick, by Kurt Vonnegut. Kindle deal for two bucks. And this before I read Slaughterhouse Five, my first Vonnegut and when I realized I'd been missing out on this wonderful author.
• Red Dust for the book club.
• Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson. I can't not buy a book by her, especially when it's only 99 cents.
• The Pickwick Papers by Dickens. I am bound and determined to read a Dickens this year. Got this on Audible. 
• Four Plays of Aeschylus. Love his stuff, and this one was free!
• The Story of Yiddish, by Neal Karlen. Love histories of languages. 
• Love in the Time of Cholera, by Garcia-Marquez. Loved his 100 Years. Sure I'll love this one.
• Slapstick, or Lonesome No More, by Vonnegut. Same deal.
• The First Clash: The Miraculous Greek Victory at Marathon and its Impact on Western Civilization, by James Lacey. Big fan of the Classics and ancient history. 
• The Children of Men, by PD James. Read this decades ago and loved it. Will reread soon. 
• Three Novels, by Nina Berberova. Great book of three novellas by a new (to me) Russian author.

Except for Red Dust, all these books were Kindle deals (99 cents to $2.99) or used ($20 w/shipping). And this list doesn't include the Kindle books my wife bought. Oy!