Books read in December

I have to wrap things up from 2006!

Nathan Coulter by Wendell Berry--I already wrote about this.

The Burden by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott--This is the third book I've read this year, of the six that fit into this category. These are Christie's explorations into the human psyche that go beyond the criminal mind. I found this one extremely improbable. ( What is it about authors from that era? Why do their characters always "know" things and make statements about their certain knowledge, when it cannot be more than speculation? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?)

Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley--a quick, fun book that I read on Christmas evening in its entirety. I plan to write more about it soon.

Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh--I already wrote about this one, too. Looking forward to more mysteries from this author.

Northanger Abbey Jane Austen--Well, I didn't think I'd have time to reread the last of Jane Austen's six novels this year, but thanks to Librivox, I listened to it while I worked on Christmas presents. There were different readers for the different chapters, and I was amused at the various interpretations of "D---!" That is what Jane Austen discreetly wrote, and I'm convinced she meant it to be "d*mn," as it is explicitly called swearing. (John Thorpe is the only character character in the book who talks this way, I think.) Some readers read it as "darn" or "devil," but what really made me chuckle was the reader who read it, rather literally, as "Dash!"

The Man Who Knew Too Much by G.K. Chesterton--a collection of short stories about Horn (Horne?) Fisher, the Man Who Knew Too Much. Also an audio "book" from Librivox.

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster--another audio book, and sort of a YA title. E. was so interested, she brought her work into the room to listen with me.

The History of Henry Esmond by William Thackeray--not quite finished.

I didn't even pick up War and Peace in December, but I hope to report it finished by the end of January.