Christmas vacation is the perfect time to sit in front of the fireplace and snuggle up with a book (almost guilt free.)  I've been catching up with the tower of books I've had stacked up since the summer book sales.

I just finished Love in the Time of Cholera and Writing Down the Bones, two books that have been on my short list for a while.  My daughter gave me I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt as a gift. The topic, the murder of Jimmy Hoffa, didn't make for a cheerful holiday read, but