WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

1. What are you currently reading? Dachsund Through the Snow by David Rosenfelt. Lawyer Andy Carpenter and his wife, Laurie, celebrate Christmas  by granting the wishes of neighborhood children. One in particular tugs their heartstrings. A little boy named Danny wants a coat for his mother, a sweater for his dachshund, and his long-lost father. Andy's a dog lover, so he's all in. The coat and sweater are easy, but will Andy and Laurie be able to find Danny's dad? Especially if the absent father doesn't want to be found.

So far, this holiday mystery has everything I like about the Andy Carpenter series. Lots of dogs (in addition to Andy's two and Danny's dachshund, there's a police dog named Simon) and Andy's self deprecating humor. And because there's a child involved and it's Christmastime, the mystery is involving.  

2. What did you recently finish reading? 25 Days Till Christmas by Poppy Alexander. Kate is a widow with a little boy. This Christmas is shaping up to be her worst ever: dead end job, escalating bills, mother-in-law in declining health ... Kate can't even afford a tree for her little boy. Thirty-something Daniel has been the sole support of his sister, Zoe, who recently died of a heart condition. This is his first Christmas alone. Fortunately their paths cross, just in time for December 25.

I know this sounds formulaic and I suppose it is. But I appreciated the sensitivity to holiday depression. I admit this year I'm having a blue (blue blue blue) Christmas. I'm sure there are countless people like me who will see themselves in these struggling protagonists. 

3. What will read next? I don't know.