You're Counting Down the Days to a Covid-19 Vaccine

Love the BBC's Sherlock or have kids to to impress this holiday season

Hi friends,

While many holiday traditions look different this year, one of mine is the same: Giving books as gifts. Each year, I chose a book I read over the year as a present for my family members. I love thinking through which book is right for which person.

If you’re going book shopping for yourself or others this month, let me know if I can help your find the perfect book.

And, if you enjoyed last week’s suggestions of books that feel like Hallmark movies, I want to make sure you saw this all-star panel of romance authors — including the author of Mistletoe and Mr. Right — hosting a virtual event of festive fun tomorrow night. It’s free, but be sure to RSVP.

Now, on to this week’s recommendations. What to read if …

You’re Following Covid-19 Vaccine Updates Obsessively

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

In 1951, doctors collected pieces of a fast-growing tumor on the cervix of Henrietta Lacks, a poor Black woman living in Baltimore, without her consent or knowledge. Her cells had a remarkable ability to thrive outside a test tube. For generations, scientists used them to develop the polio vaccine, research cancer and, most recently, develop the Covid-19 vaccine. Lacks’ family had no idea her cells for research and lived in poverty while institutions made millions off her cells. 

In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot masterfully tells the story of Henrietta and her modern-day descendants, demonstrating how it’s part of a broader history of medical experimentation on African Americans and inequity in healthcare. The book is nearly a decade old now — and was even turned into a movie by Oprah — but if you haven’t gotten around to reading it yet, now is a great time.

You Really Wish There Were More Episodes of BBC’s Sherlock

The Lady Sherlock Series by Sherry Thomas

After four years of me nagging, my dad, who used to attend Baker Street Irregular meetings, finally watching the BBC’s Sherlock on Netflix. He loves it. This got us talking about our favorite Holmes adaptations. 

Top of my list is Sherry Thomas’ Lady Sherlock Series. Somehow each installment is better than the previous one. As the name implies, the series reimagines Sherlock Holmes as a female detective. The first book, A Study in Scarlet Women, opens with Lady Charlotte Holmes fleeing her family and London high society after she causes a scandal. To survive, Charlotte relies on her brilliant mind, a keen sense of observation and her new friend Mrs. John Watson, a wealthy widow.

There are hundreds of Holmes reinterpretations but few that combine the densely plotted mysteries and wry social commentary that this series offers. 

You’re Hanging with Kids Over The Holidays

Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

I adore this children’s book about a grumpy bear, Bruce, stuck with a group of baby geese who have imprinted on him. It’s funny and clever, and the illustrations are fantastic. 

I’ve given Mother Bruce to newborns through six-year-olds, and every time it earns rave reviews from parents and kids alike. If your holiday plans include catching up with any little ones, I recommend bringing this book (or putting it in the mail if travel is off the table this year). You’ll instantly become the cool adult.