The Sunday Post is hosted by the wonderful Kimberly, the Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week, take a look ahead, and showcase our new treasures—I mean books!
This week I’m also participating in The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz, and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.
The Past Week
In real life: Last Sunday, Robin played Corelli’s Christmas Concerto with two other string players before the service began. Then Robin, Mom, and I sang together in the choir. We had dinner over at my mom and stepdad’s on Christmas Eve; in the evening, Robin and I sang for the Christmas Eve service. We celebrated Christmas Day with my mom and stepdad.
Boxing Day (Dec. 26) is traditionally our big extended family gathering, which includes my husband, Robin, and me; my mom and stepdad; my sister’s family; and several “chosen family” members as well. We exchanged presents, played games, and had a traditional Christmas turkey dinner; the celebration lasted from around noon until 8:30 or 9:00 pm. Everyone was wiped out by the end of the day, but it was worth it for the laughter, warmth, and joy of being together. We had a slightly smaller, more laid-back get-together on Saturday, just the extended family and Robin’s best friend Owl; we played games and watched K-Pop Demon Hunters.
5 Good Things:
- Listening to Robin and the other members of the string trio play the Corelli so beautifully was both a joy and a bittersweet reminder of J, Robin’s violin teacher, who had passed away only days before. I wish J could have heard them play; she would have been proud and delighted.
- For once, I had almost all of my Christmas wrapping finished before Christmas Eve, which meant I could relax, focus on the spirit of the day, and still get to bed at a (nearly) reasonable time.
- Singing the Christmas Eve service, and the carols and choir anthems before it, never fails to lift my heart.
- Christmas Day was warm (in an emotional sense) and wonderful.
- Boxing Day and Saturday were both a lot of fun.
Recent Posts
- Happy Solstice! Sunday Post – 12/21/2025
- COYER 2026: Out to Lunch Again!
- Books I Hope To Find Under the Tree – Top 10 Tuesday
- Sunday Post – 12/28/2025 – this post
Looking Ahead
- Most Recent Additions To My Bookshelf – Top 10 Tuesday (tentative)
- other reviews & posts TBD
- News & Notes – 1/03/2026 (tentative)
- Sunday Post – 1/04/2026
What I’ve Been Reading/Watching
Reading: I finished Alchemical Reactions, an “extra” (freebie) which Celia Lake offered early to her patrons on Patreon. (If you’re a fan, it will be available to everyone through her website in a month or so.) Then I finished Madeleine L’Engle’s A Circle of Quiet, a memoir (and comfort read) that combines stories from her life, thoughts on writing, and her personal faith. (Reviewed in 2017.) For various reasons, my anxiety has really spiked in the past two weeks, so I turned next to rereading another comfort book: Celia Lake’s Eclipse.
Listening to: Ruby Fever (Ilona Andrews)
Watching: Wake Up Dead Man, Klaus, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, and K-Pop Demon Hunters. All of them were quite good. A Child’s Christmas in Wales is our favorite Christmas movie; we watch it every year on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Playing: Wingspan in person, and on my phone. Hues and Cues, Codenames, and Project L in person. And my usuals: Wordle, Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee, and Sudoku (all from the NYT), an occasional game of Clues by Sam, and Pokémon Go.
Added to the Hoard
(Click title for Goodreads page or my review.)
Christmas Gifts I Received
Print: The River Has Roots; The Once and Future Queen; The Etymologicon; This Beautiful Day; Spell Songs
Kindle: Slayers of Old; The Late Scholar; The Lilac People; The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane
Audible: The Silmarillion; Revenge of the Tipping Point
Bought for myself, or gifts received by other family members (and thus accessible)
Kindle: The Search
Audiobooks (gifts to Mr. Bookwyrm or Robin, since we share an Audible account): Sunward; We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution; Songs of America; American Gospel; The Power Broker; The Golden Road; The Beast in the Clouds; Remarkably Bright Creatures
Ten Years Ago I Was Reading…
I saw this idea on Lisa Loves Literature, who got it from Musings of a Bookish Kitty (who I also follow.) I thought I would give it a try! I published this review 10 years ago on December 26.
Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out
It sounds like you enjoyed a great Christmas celebration among family and friends.
Nice haul too, I think that was almost your entire TTT list 🙂
Wishing you a wonderful reading week, and a very happy New Year
Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out recently posted…It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon
Anne - Books of My Heart
Great you had such a wonderful holiday with family and friends. Happy New Year!
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…Top 10 Book Covers in 2025 #Top10of2025 #Top10 @RobinBridgeFour @sophiarose1816
Bree @ Bibliophilebree
Hope you have a great week!
Bree @ Bibliophilebree recently posted…Sunday #22
Sarah
How lovely to have such a wonderful, celebratory Christmas with family – and what a fabulous book haul!!! A Happy New Year to you, Lark.
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits
The Christmas Concerto sounds lovely! I’m glad you had a relaxing Christmas Eve. It’s always nice to have time to reflect on the holiday instead of being rushed and stressed.
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…2025 Reading Challenges Wrap-up
Katherine
I’m so glad you had a wonderful Christmas! 2025 has been a challenging year and you’ve had a tough time in the last few months. Enjoy your reading and Happy New Year!