My thanks to my goodfriend's who read and reviewed this book so beautifully and in doing so brought me back 40 years to Christmas of years ago when neighbours and older people impacted so much on my childhood.

I too as a child growing up in a house of boys had a lovely old lady who lived next door and to whose house I escaped when I wanted to be pampered and spoiled, a lady who impacted so much on my childhood and from who I learnt so many skills from baking to knitting and cooking and this book just brought me right back to Christmas time when gifts composed of homemade produce that was shared and gifted among neighbours and when giving and receiving meant so much more than in today's society.

A short story with so much memories and good in it. Might not be everyone's 5 star read but it sure gave me a lovely warm feeling and put the true spirt of Christmas right back where it belongs.

I can't believe how sweet this series by Max Vos is. After reading his dirty, raunchy anthology, this is a very different kind of crack. But he did it well. I might have liked this a little better than the first one, simply because it was more than an "insta-love at Christmas" story. In addition to homophobic coworkers and ex-girlfriends, there is Thad, the homeless young man from JJ's school, Adam's mum and her future, AND a new member of the family.

 

It had a little more depth, of course with a lot of sugar on top, but it really made me smile. Because mostly, it told a story about how family should always stick together and have each others back, especially when push comes to shove.

 

Melted sugar on top of syrupy sugar, garnished with sugar sprinkles. Well, this was so unbelievably sweet, it still makes my teeth ache. J.J. is absolutely not interested in the holidays or the holiday spirit. Along comes Couch Sutton, who secretly had his eyes on him for years, and his whole Christmas is turned upside down. It was way sweeter than what I'm used to from Max Vos, but as always he also delivered in the steam department. So it was cute, sexy and had the right holdiay spirit. But since I'm half Grinch, I'll give it 3 stars - because too much sugar makes me grumpy - and I have to say, some of the typos and little errors here and there put a damper on my enjoyment.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Truman Capote

 

 

Every time I read a Truman Capote story, I am happily surprised. I too often think of Capote as the character in all interviews and media stories about him and his later life, which is not the right thing to do because he really does write well.
In Breakfast at Tiffany's, the only issue I had was I couldn't see the narrator and Holly Golightly to actually be friends other than living in the same building. What I did enjoy was how Capote described the NYC neighborhoods, and the way he described interactions between his characters. I think that is one thing he does well as an author.

 

This edition also included 3 of his short stories, of which A Christmas Memory was my favorite. I had a harder time getting interested in House of Flowers.

A Christmas Memory, One Christmas, & The Thanksgiving Visitor

Truman Capote