Best wishes for the season

For those readers near and far who are celebrating Christmas, I wish you and yours a very happy holiday. 

NUC Christmas Tree @ Gleeson Library, photo by Shawn Calhoun

About the above: Many university libraries own the National Union Catalog (NUC), a 754-volume set which served as a catalog of printed books in American and Canadian library collections beginning in the '50s.  It's mostly a relic now, though places keep it around for historical significance (and because nobody else would want it, really).  Around the holidays, several creatively-minded libraries, including the one at University of San Francisco, find a more decorative purpose for it. 

For the first time in eight years, Mark and I are spending Christmas at home in Illinois, and from the looks of things (snow is coming down outside as I write...) it was a good decision.

On the left, below, is my current read, the only Kate Morton novel I haven't read yet.  I figured it was a perfect choice for a snowy winter day when I wanted to lose myself in a book.  So far so good.  On the right is my latest purchase, which showed up in the mail from Book Depository this afternoon.  When I put the two side by side, the resemblance was unmistakable.  It's not a duplicate, but the fonts and scenic backdrops are very similar.

Hothouse Flower takes place in Britain and Thailand during World War II and the present day, and reviewers have compared it to Kate Morton's novels, so I'm hoping this holds true.

I'll return on Monday, with a review of a novel set in ancient Etruria.