December Cheer: Books, & Movies
In light of the recent spending frenzy known as Black Friday, I thought I’d do the opposite this week and collect some good things that are simple, cheap, or totally free..
Let’s dive in.
📚 The Top Five Books I Read in 2025
God of the Woods — Liz Moore
The Winternight Trilogy — Katherine Arden
Broken Country — Clare Leslie Hall
The Women — Kristin Hannah
The Housemaid Trilogy by Freida McFadden (Cheap thrills, my friends! PS. The movie version comes out on December 19th!)
Our teacher Taylor's top picks for 2025 (Taylor reads more than anyone I know so we can trust her, gang):
Atmosphere — Taylor Jenkins Reid
All the Colors of the Dark — Chris Whitaker
The Three Lives of Cate Kay — Kate Fagan
The Fort Bragg Cartel — Seth Harp (This is the single nonfiction book Taylor read this entire year. She says it’s addictive and recommends the audiobook)
Pro tip: Use the public library! Put all the books you’re curious about on hold, then pause the holds as you need to keep books coming when you're ready for them.
If you need something right now, look up “best books of the 70s.” They’re almost always available.
The Thorn Birds is pretty damn good and definitely on the shelf. Also The Exorcist and The Shining are worth your time if you enjoy being scared, which I personally do. And just this very moment, I checked out The Day of the Jackal on audio at the library. (No wait.) And did you catch that? They have a really good audio app!
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🎄 Favorite Christmas Movies of All Time That Are NOT “White Christmas” or Something Lame
The Family Man (BEST BEST BEST)
Home for the Holidays (If you haven’t seen this… run, don’t walk.)
Meet Me in St. Louis (cannot recommend highly enough—Judy Garland!)
The Bishop’s Wife (1947 starring Cary Grant)
The Shop Around the Corner (1940; the original You’ve Got Mail)
Little Women (Sarandon/Ryder or Greta Gerwig—your call. I personally lean toward the former.)
Scrooged (because Bill Murray)
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📌 Other Recommendations that are completely random, but still worth your time.
I've been reading books instead of listening to podcasts lately, so I asked Taylor. She recommends the Beth’s Dead podcast.
A wild watch: an interview with the Bloomberg investigative journalist who spent six years researching Nicole Daedone and her sex cult OneTaste.
And if you want to feel much better about turning 40, this IG account showing celebrities without Photoshop is a balm for the soul—especially the posts on skin texture. Bless the woman who made this account.
That’s the list. Nothing fancy. Just good stuff worth your time. Hope something in here made you smile, sparked a memory, or gave you a reason to request that library hold.
Love,
