What Santa Brought

For Christmas I received a number of books that have been tops on my list since fall.

One is The Mare by Mary Gaitskill, which I'm now reading and enjoying tremendously. (427 pages)

Another is The Chord by Geraldine Brooks, a historical novel about King David from Biblical times.

And the last is The Lake House by Kate Morton. I've only read two of her books and I look forward to reading more.

With Amazon credits, I treated myself to a hard copy of Lingo: Around the World in Sixty Languages by Gaston Dorren, a Dutch linguist, author, and polyglot. How I wish I were a polyglot! I can read French very well, can speak it a little, can read and speak a bit of German, and recall the smallest smidgin of Russian (only took one-year of college Russian). I would like to know so much more, but the hours this would consume would be impossible to manage.
All the same, I'm very interested in European languages, and I heartily recommend this book with many short, often 3-page long chapters. Perfect for reading on the run! The history of European languages fascinates me and always have. Do try this book if you feel the same. Highly recommended and lots of fun!