I feel Grinch-like panning this widely beloved story, but for me the sweetness was cloying; the tale slowed to a snail's pace as Allen explored every thought, possibility, and detail; and the twist felt jarring and was revealed too late to carry emotional weight. Theo, an elderly stranger, appears in the small town of Golden, Georgia, recognizing and appreciating locals' gifts and making them feel seen, sometimes for the first time. He admires the various portraits of locals

Bossy Excitement about Upcoming Books I’m looking forward to so many January books, I’m not sure I’ll have time to do anything else with all the greedy reading I have planned. If you were counting on me to do something besides sit and read in my January coziness, thank you in advance for understanding my priorities here. I've recently mismanaged my library holds so I picked up a stack of books yesterday. And I have advance copies of almost all of the titles I list here, so I