Is Amor Towles a children’s writer? The second novel of his I’m trying to read is killing me with the cloying, saccharine tone, pompously delivered platitudes, the one-sided, completely flat characters with the emotional complexity of an amoeba, and the didactic employment of “everyday magic.” But I thought about it, and both books of his that I find indigestible today would have worked for me when I was 8.

I don’t understand how these novels can be bestsellers. They read very easily and require zero thinking, but the author hasn’t met a truism that he doesn’t like, and it soon gets tiresome. I’m currently trying to get through The Lincoln Highway and realizing that I’m several decades too old for this stuff.

I’m very proud of how my French-inspired Christmas dinner came out:

I made 3 different kinds of broccoli – plained roasted, marinated in soy sauce, and extra spicy cilantro sauce – for each member of the family. We are huge fans of broccoli.

For Christmas, my daughter gave me a ladle and 3 gigantic cooking books. Elegant cooking, Southern living, and desserts. That Christmas store at their school has really great stuff.

We were at the evening Christmas service, and it went late, so I’m all swollen and exhausted today, even though we didn’t stay for the dinner. But I’m ready to enjoy the festivities!

Merry Christmas, everybody! May your hearts feel great joy today.