Last night I needed some cheering, so I watched a silly ’80s movie. It was starting to cheer me up, too. There was a cat in one scene, and I thought, “Aw, cute cat!” Then it occurred to me that the cat is dead (unless miraculously long-lived). That pretty much put the kibosh on the cheering.
It’s amazing how easily one’s happy train of thought gets derailed at this time of year. I know other people are able to survive the season by focusing on the things that make them happiest, particularly the things that they love most about Christmas. I’m just not sure what the happiest thing is for me right now.
I had thought a Christmas book would help, so I picked up a Christmas-themed mystery. Alas, I can’t get into the story, so no help there. Old movies are out (obviously), but I still have some faith that certain types of Christmas movie could cheer me up. I ordered a slew of them from the library this week. They’re mostly new or newish, and therefore unlikely to star people or cats who have since passed away. Some are comedies, some are romances, and some are both—exactly (I hope) the right kind of happy, sappy fluff to keep my brain on a positive track.
I’ve got some Christmas teen romances (but in book form) out of the library, too: Jay Asher’s What Light is about an Oregon girl whose family runs a tree lot in California. This year, in between worrying about if this’ll be the last year their family can make a living out of the lot, she’s contemplating finding a casual fling just for the month.
I’ve also got The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily out. It’s the follow-up to a cute NYC-based romance from a few year’s back called Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan. Part of the story takes place at the Strand Bookstore.
Past reading recommendations: My True Love Gave To Me (edited by Stephanie Perkins): short romantic stories about teens around the holidays and Let It Snow (by John Green, Maureen Johnson, & Lauren Myracle): three interconnected teen romances
Having a Christmas tree lot sounds very romantic in and of itself. Thank you for the recommendations!