First book of the year and an enjoyable and quick read, it took me a week because I have been dipping in and out of several others.
This book is interesting to see the authors relationship with books and reading and how it is a part of their life. Each chapter focuses on another aspect of the authors relationship with books, discussing the impact of title chapters title e.g. Reading Aloud vs Silent, Reading Several Books At Once or Reading Widely vs Depth. What I like is the author discusses the matter and provides quotes from other authors or books that made them ponder the question, as such there are lots of references and books. Being Korean it is a shame that not a lot of the Korean references are translated to English yet.
A nice little read and one that can make you think about your own relationship with books and reading.
I dont really have any plan where this is going but seeing as this is New Years Eve I thought I would do a little post about my reading this year, its only really me who reads this anyway.
I did keep my resolution from last year to update this regularly. Mostly it has been book reviews but also some other things too. I think the coming year I may incorporate more things like journalling and pens and ink, and travel updates.
It has been an enjoyable and interesting year for me reading wise. I have discovered new things I have enjoyed in terms of manga (possibly Ecchi haha) and on the whole my reading has been mostly positive. I am looking through my Goodreads and the only book I have sort of disliked is Shifting The Moon From Its Orbit by Andrea Marcolongo. That one I rated 2 Stars and the rest I have read is 3 Stars and above.
Aside from Christmas books and some Yasunari Kawabata novels I haven’t re-read any books. Which I think is great. I did not manage to finish all my Christmas reading that I planned to, the Anthony Trollope book dragged (1800s romances is not my thing and very annoying) so I jettissoned the rest of my festive reads given the year is ending.
According to Goodreads I have read 66 books for the year and 14056 pages which is the most since 2023. Though not quite up there with 2019 and 2020 where I devoured 38000 pages and 31000 pages respectively (discovered the Mairgret series).
For the year ahead I do plan to re-read some old favourites and explore many new books I have yet to come to. Amongst the favoruties I would like to revisit Macondo in One HUndred Years of Solitude and join Edmond in his quest for revenge in The Count of Monte Cristo.
For new books I hope that this year I can read some Rumpole books by John Mortimer and explore more Graham Greene and finally get around to reading Roberto Bolano. I may dip into Ecchi more, I dont find it a sexy but the plots are amusing and fun. Cartoon corny drawings are just that, not in the least bit sexy as I swear the artists have never seen a human before let alone how the body works. Monster Musume is very funny and outlandish.
I have lots of books to get on with and hope this coming year I buy a lot less of them. Stick to the key series I enjoy like Martin Walker’s Bruno series. All in all I will stick to buying books through the Kindle Daily and Monthly Deals.
A Happy New Year to all who read this, may 2026 be healthy and happy for you all.
Having read this one 4 times already and being very familiar with it. I still find it very enjoyable. The other stories are great introductions to Simenon’s non Maigret works. I do have to dip my toes into that, I’ll try to read some next year.
A Maigret Christmas Maigret is asked to investigate a curious incident which happened Christmas night in the apartment block opposite his home. A very fun and enjoyable case, nice to see a more domestic Maigret and the case was very enjoyable and the ending is very bittersweet and heart warming. Festive with the typical Maigret humour.
Seven Small Crosses In A Notebook A police dispatcher/responder has a night shift involving a murder/potential serial killer and lots of smashed police telephone boxes. An enjoyable story set wholely in the communications room where the dispatcher gets involved in the investigation of the crime. Very good story, characters and plot.
The Little Restaurant Near Place des Ternes A suicide in a restaurant and a woman trying to stop a young woman being taken advantage of and used by a group of local toughs on Christmas Eve. A common story of Christmas collections, I have read this several times (also in Penguin Christmas Stories). Its a bit more darker than the others but a typical Simenon with excellent characters.
All in all a superb book and almost brings to a close my Christmas reading for 2025. I just have three books to finish before New Years Day (Anthony Trollope, Louisa May Alcott and Scandinavian novel).
A Christmas classic. What more can be said about it. A book that gives todays Christmas its definition and ideal.
It is great how the adaptations are quite close to the book. My favourite version being The Muppets. It is not Christmas if I haven’t watched that movie.
Valley Reviews 