You’re Excited for “Knives Out 2”

Will be feasting on seven fishes this week or are off to a tropical climate

Hi friends,

Greetings from Upstate New York! This weekend, I celebrated my brother’s 30th birthday. (He recommends A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic by Doogie Horner and JJ Harrison.) I’m now with my parents preparing for Christmas (yes, there is a lot of baking).

I’m planning on taking the next few weeks off from this newsletter — I’ll be back in your inboxes on January 9th — so I can focus on good food, good people and good books.

What book(s) are you closing the year out with?

I hope that however you’re spending the last days of 2022, it’s a joyful, cozy time.

And, now, what to read if …

You’re Psyched to Watch ‘Knives Out 2”

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

I missed the brief window when Glass Onion, the follow up to “Knives Out,” was in theaters, so I’m excited to watch it when it hits Netflix on December 23. I loved the first installment — creator Rian Johnson is an Agatha Christie super fan and it shows. If you too are counting down to watching the return of detective Benoit Blanc, or just want a holiday themed murder mystery, consider grabbing Alexandra Benedict’s The Christmas Murder Game.

Our hero, Lily Armitage, swore she’d never return to her family’s luxurious estate, named Endgame, after her mother died there two decades earlier. Even the chance to win the manor as an inheritance by competing in the family’s annual Christmas puzzle game can’t get her to change her mind. But when Lily receives a letter promising that the game’s clues will reveal the identity of her mother’s murderer, she decides to join the festivities. The competition begins as cutthroat, but quickly turns deadly when one of the participants is found dead. To survive and find her mother’s murderer, Lily has to play to win.

Author Alexandra Benedict clearly loves puzzles. In addition to the rhyming scavenger hunt clues — that readers can attempt to solve along with the characters — she hid anagrammed Christmas carols throughout the book. The novel’s acknowledgments are even a word search. A perfect holiday read for anyone who wants to channel their inner Benoit Blanc.

Bonus and Reminder Recs: I rounded up 50 (!) Christmas books, including this one, for Parade. And, I previously suggested The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes for “Knives Out” fans.

You’re Prepping the Feast of the Seven Fishes

Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller

I have friends and family this week eagerly anticipating the Feast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian-America tradition of eating, well, seven fishes on Christmas Eve. (My uncle Jim and his family put a fun spin on it, eating seven fishes over seven days instead of having one giant dinner.) If you’re making mussels or branzino this week, add Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller to your TBR.

Why Fish Don’t Exist is a genre-blending book, combining memoir, biography and true crime into one volume. On one level, it’s a chronicle of the life of David Starr Jordan, a taxonomist credited with discovering roughly one-fifth of the fish known during his day. He was obsessed with putting order on the natural world, not even letting the San Francisco earthquake’s destruction of his collection stop him. Lulu Miller, a science reporter, became as obsessed with Jordan as he was with fish. In her book, she folds in the murder of Jane Stanford — and Jordan’s role in the coverup — as well as a meditation on the very nature of existence and truth.

Why Fish Don’t Exist is a weird, wonderful book that I’ve been thinking about since I finished listening to it. It reminds me a bit of my beloved Sounds Like Titanic, asking and posing answers to big questions without ever feeling overwrought. A brilliant, yet accessible read.

You’re Spending the Holidays Somewhere Tropical  

Sweet on You by Carla de Guzman

A friend and subscriber is spending Christmas in a warm, tropical climate and asked if I had a book for her to read that captured this vibe. I immediately thought of Carla de Guzman’s Sweet on You, a holiday romance set in the Philippines, where Christmas celebrations last four months.

As I wrote in SheReads, “Sweet on You features rival store owners whose loathing for each other might mask deeper feelings. Sari Tomas’s coffee shop is a bustling, beloved neighborhood spot until Gabriel Capras, owner of the new bakery next door, starts to steal her customers by offering cheaper coffee and delicious treats.

A full-on prank war — complete with a marching band playing at 6 AM — ensues as each entrepreneur attempts to drive the other away. Eventually, though, Sari and Gabriel begin to wonder if working together would be more fun.”

In keeping with the title, it’s a sweet book, perfect for reading while sipping on a hot — or refreshing — beverage.

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Thanks again for letting me into your inbox each week. See you in the New Year!

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