All the Treats of the Season

We know the drill.
The holidays hit with the end of the year closely following and our pace changes. It's crazed as we bounce from festivity to festivity.
But for me, oddly, the end of the year brings more slow-down time than at other times of year. Oddly, the most crazed time of year is also the time when my husband and I can have some DEAR time(Drop-Everything-And-Read). The phrase comes from my daughter's school, but apparently it is a concept that is growing throughout the country.
From my perspective, I often select a book that I can read without reviewing. It's a selection that I want to savor, similar to having a favorite holiday dessert or some traditional egg nog. It may be a book that I am looking to find inspiration for my writing. It could be a book my mother sent me last Christmas. Perhaps it is something I picked up during the rare afternoon I was able to browse a bookstore without my children running around me in circles.
My husband and I make it a priority to snuggle up with a good book and take some down time, enjoying a book we've maybe put off too long to read. A restorative time, we enjoy instituting some quiet time and hunkering down. Sometimes it carries over to our kids (the ones who are old enough to read) and we find the quiet time is becoming a special and welcome holiday tradition.
No need for dressing up. No going out or making anything. (Best of all, no work!) Just find a book.
We tend to ignore the "Best of 2010" lists and, instead, find ourselves tucking into books we've been dying to read because each holiday season we know we have the time to actually finish the book.
Best wishes to you and yours!
What kind of books do you put off to savor on a vacation or during the holidays? What must-read books would you recommend to a friend--from 2010 or another year?

Elizabeth King Humphrey is a writer and editor living along the relatively balmy Carolina coast.

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