Christmas Booty

One of the best things about Christmas and birthdays is asking for books I want to read—and not having to spend my own money on them (I can admit to a bit of frugality/cheapness in my nature).

Yesterday, I received four books:

• Assumptions and Misunderstandings: Memoir of an Unwitting Spy: I heard about this book in a promotional email from Yevshan. How could I resist such a title? Plus, it takes place in Ukraine. I had to have it.
• The Ladies’ Lending Library: The more I think about The Green Library, the more I like it. This book is also about Ukrainian-Canadians. Unfortunately for my mother (the gift giver), it was only available from the Canadian Amazon. She spoiled me. This book better be worth her effort.
• Ambassador of the Dead: I rediscovered this book by Askold Melnyczuk on my “to read” list. Clearly, I need also to write down where I heard about a book, but I suspect it may have been from a New York Times book review years ago. The characters in this book are Ukrainian-American—can you sense a theme in my requests? Maybe what I really need is a trip back to Ukraine to get the country out of my system. If only I’d thought to ask for that for Christmas.
• Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories: I am a huge L.M. Montgomery fan and a great lover of all things Anne. I didn’t ask for this book—because I had no idea it even existed—but I can hardly wait to read the Christmas-themed short stories. In the introduction, the editor mentions collecting a list of over 500 short stories published by Montgomery. Now that’s a collection that needs to be published.