Feeling infinitely alive
Vol. 2, Issue 48
“I can feel infinitely alive curled up on the sofa reading a book.” --Benedict Cumberbatch
BOOK NEWS & NOTES
What free speech?: Native American author Darcie Little Badger canceled her speaking appearance at the annual Native Symposium at Weber State University in Utah after she received a list of words and concepts she was prohibited from discussing. The banned words and concepts included: “anti-racism,” “bias,” “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” “intersectionality,” “oppression,” and “racial privilege.” “How are we supposed to talk about the reality of being Native without talking about these words?” Little Badger asked. (The Salt Lake Tribune and PEN America)
No inclusion allowed: An entire library board in North Carolina was recently ousted after voting to keep a picture book about a trans boy in the children’s section. The Randolph County (N.C.) Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 last week to dissolve its library board. The controversial book, “Call Me Max” was published in 2019 by Kyle Lukoff, who was a finalist for the National Book Award and the winner of a Newbery Honor. The story features a transgender boy who asks his teacher to call him by his chosen name instead of the name on the attendance sheet. School districts in Florida, Indiana and Minnesota have also banned the book, as have military schools run by the Defense Department. (The Washington Post)
Christie’s copyright ends: “The Murder at the Vicarage,” the first outing of Agatha Christie’s elderly detective Miss Marple, is among the works entering the public domain in the U.S. on Jan. 1, 2026. Other works that will be free to repurpose and reimagine include: the earliest Nancy Drew mysteries and “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque.” (Semafor)
I like big books and I cannot lie: If you do too, then the week after Christmas is the perfect time to dive into one. Here are a few suggestions that were published this year. Note: I’ve already checked out “Alchemised” by SenLinYu (a 3-pounder!) from my library. (The Washington Post)
Rest in peace: Here are some of the writers, journalists, authors, editors and publishers we’ve recently lost.
* Peter Arnett, a New Zealand journalist who reported from Vietnam and the Gulf War, died. He was 91. Arnett won the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for his coverage of Vietnam for The Associated Press. Three decades later, he dodged bullets and bombs while broadcasting live from Baghdad for CNN. (The Associated Press and CNN)
* Award-winning journalist and author Bill Christine died at 87. During his four decades in journalism, Christine spent 23 years covering horse racing for the Los Angeles Times. (Los Angeles Times)
* Writing teacher and poet Charles Coe died at 73. Coe published poetry collections, fiction and essays, and served as a City of Boston artist-in-residence. (The Boston Globe)
* Stephen Downing, 87, an LAPD officer who became a TV writer and producer, died. Downing worked on numerous hit TV shows, including “Emergency,” “Kojak,” “Knight Rider,” “MacGyver,” “Quincy M.E.” and “T.J. Hooker.” (Deadline)
* Roberta Fallon, 76, an artist, writer and co-founder of the popular Artblog, died. For more than two decades, Fallon published commentary, stories, interviews and reviews about the Philadelphia art world. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
* Food historian, archivist and librarian Andrew Huse, who went on a quest to discover the origins of the Cuban sandwich, died at 52. His findings were published in the 2022 book “The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers,” which he co-wrote with Barbara C. Cruz and Jeff Houck. (The New York Times)
* British author Sophie Kinsella, who wrote the bestselling “Shopaholic” series, died. She was 55. Madeleine Wickham used the pen name Sophie Kinsella for her romantic comedy novels about an overspending fashionista. More than 50 million copies of the books were sold. (The Washington Post)
* Richard Lamparski, who wrote books of pop-culture nostalgia and trivia, died at 93. From 1967 to 1989, Lamparski published 11 volumes of his “Whatever Became Of...” series, which featured hundreds of profiles of celebrities as well as “then-and-now photographs.” (The New York Times)
* Bestselling novelist Fern Michaels, 92, has died. Michaels began writing in her 40s and launched a literary empire that included more than 200 novels. (The New York Times)
* Award-winning historian and educator Nick Salvatore died at 82. Salvatore was the author of three books, including “Eugene V. Debs: Citizen and Socialist” (1982), which received both the Bancroft Prize and the John H. Dunning Prize. (Cornell University)
* Hal Sirowitz, 76, author, educator and poet, died. Sirowitz published five books, including “Mother Said,” and served as the poet laureate of Queens from 2001 to 2004. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
* Sir Tom Stoppard, a Hollywood screenwriter and one of Britain’s cleverest playwrights, died at 88. In 1998, he won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his work on the film “Shakespeare in Love.” (Seher Asaf and Patrick Jackson, BBC News)
* British novelist and biographer Gillian Tindall, 87, died. Over the course of her six-decade career, Tindall published more than a dozen novels and short-story collections and won the Somerset Maugham Award in 1972. (The Guardian)
* Bestselling British novelist Joanna Trollope, who wrote more than 30 novels, died. She was 82. Although some critics tried to write her off as a “midlebrow” or “cosy” storyteller, Trollope preferred to describe her novels as realistic and honest reflections of ordinary people’s lives. (The Guardian)
* Poet and educator Ellen Bryant Voigt, who published nine volumes of poetry, died. She was 82. Voigt served as Vermont’s poet laureate, was a 2015 MacArthur Fellow and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. (The New York Times)
* New York Times reporter John Noble Wilford, 92, who covered the historic 1969 moon landing, died. Wilford won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 1984 for his science coverage and shared another in 1987 for his coverage of the space shuttle Challenger explosion. (The New York Times)
* Acclaimed illustrator and author Jeanette Winter died at 86. A pioneer of picture book biographies and nonfiction, Winter published more than 65 books for young readers, including “The Librarian of Basra: A True Story From Iraq.” (Publishers Weekly)
* Disability rights activist and author Alice Wong died. She was 51. The MacArthur “Genius” Award-winner wrote about disability in a column for Teen Vogue and in her 2022 memoir, “Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life.” (NPR)
* Author Daniel Woodrell, whose “country noir” novels and short stories were often set in the Missouri Ozarks, died at 72. Woodrell was best known for his 2006 novel, “Winter’s Bone,” which was adapted into the 2010 movie of the same name, starring Jennifer Lawrence. (The New York Times)
A fascination with stars: According to Goodreads, celebrities and public figures released 290 new memoirs this year. The Los Angeles Times tapped three “podcast sages” to select nine of the best ones. (Los Angeles Times)
Standout stories: Book editors at the New York Times have a whole process for choosing its standout fiction and nonfiction books each year, one that begins in January. Here are their chosen 100. (The New York Times)
Thoughtfully curated lists: For my final shared list, the editors at Smithsonian magazine have picked their “best books of 2025” in the following categories: children’s, food, history, photography, science and travel. (Smithsonian)
Bookmark love: What's between your pages? Take a photo of your bookmark or placeholder and tell me why you love it. Include your name and city/state/country. I may share the image/thoughts in a future issue.
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25-WORD REVIEWS
Rating System:
* * * * * One of the best books I've read in a while
* * * * A wonderful book, recommended
* * * Good book, worth the read
* * This book was fine, but not my favorite
* This book wasn’t for me
Want to be sad(der)? This ghost story about a man struggling with the aftermath of World War I is gloomy and yet utterly compelling. --Nikki Clark
Rating: * * * * stars
When you’re tired of living in The Bad Timeline, this book offers a helpful reminder to pay attention to the small things. They’re what matters. --Jade Walker
Rating: * * * * stars
LITERARY HOLIDAYS
December is National Cat Lovers’ Month and Read a New Book Month
December 24 is Jolabokaflod, also known as the Christmas Book Flood (Iceland)
December 25 is National Pumpkin Pie Day
December 26 is National Thank You Note Day
December 28 is National Chocolate Candy Day
WRITERLY BIRTHDAYS
Dec. 22 - James Burke, Brian Daley, David S. Goyer, Don Kardong, Roberta Leigh, Charles de Lint, Charlotte Lamb, Mike Molloy, Kenneth Rexroth, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Diane Sawyer, Eduard Uspensky and Ken Whitmore
Dec. 23 - Megan Mayhew Bergman, Robert Bly, Carol Ann Duffy, Raymond E. Feist, Henry B. Guppy, Norman Maclean, Donna Tartt and Geoffrey Wheatcroft
Dec. 24 - Matthew Arnold, Mary Higgins Clark, Dana Gioia, Johnny Gruelle, Adam Haslett, Fritz Leiber, Nicholas Meyer, Stephenie Meyer, Émile Nelligan, Stephanie Ruhle, Noel Streatfeild and I.F. Stone
Dec. 25 - Peter Boardman, Carlos Castaneda, Quentin Crisp, William Demby, Charles Finger, Rod Serling, Sydney, Lady Morgan, Hilary Spurling, Alexandre Trudeau and Dorothy Wordsworth
Dec. 26 - Norman Angell, Dion Boucicault, Catherine Coulter, Candy Crowley, Denis Gifford, Thomas Gray, Elizabeth Kostova, Liz Lochhead, Henry Miller, Robert Muchamore, David Sedaris, Matt Zoller Seitz, E.D.E.N. Southworth and Jean Toomer
Dec. 27 - Louis Bromfield, Gerina Dunwich, Savannah Guthrie, Mary Howard, Charles Olson, Cokie Roberts, Wilfrid Sheed, Elizabeth Smart, Polly Toynbee, Sarah Vowell and Carl Zuckmayer
Dec. 28 - Mortimer J. Adler, Carol Ryrie Brink, Stan Lee, Emily Cheney Neville, Charlie Pierce, Manuel Puig, Lawrence Schiller and Catharine Sedgwick
Dec. 29 - Ashleigh Banfield, Molly Bang, Brian A. Hopkins, Jenny Lawson, Ian Livingstone, Leza Lowitz, Katy Munger, Scott Patterson, Paul Rudnick and Earl Gregg Swem
Dec. 30 - Joseph Bologna, Paul Bowles, Douglas Coupland, James Kahn, Rudyard Kipling, Jane Langton, Elyne Mitchell, Lewis Shiner, Patti Smith and Meredith Vieira
Dec. 31 - Joe Abercrombie, Ellen Datlow, Sam Ragan, Nicholas Sparks and Connie Willis
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MOMENT OF GRATITUDE
Thanks to The Salt Lake Tribune, Apple News, PEN America, The Washington Post, Semafor, Topher’s Library, YouTube, The Associated Press, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Deadline, Artblog, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, the Cornell Chronicle, BBC News, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, NPR, the Read-Aloud Revival with Sarah Mackenzie, Smithsonian Magazine, EveryLibrary, Vimeo, The End Files, Writers Write, Keeping Up With the Penguins, Brainy Quote, The Literary Lifestyle, Wikipedia, Big Bearded Bookseller, Canva and Deposit Photos for art and story suggestions.
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