My kingdom for reading mittens.

I'm off tomorrow morning from the greater New York area to the mighty Midwest. There's no place like home for the holidays... especially when it looks like we have a good chance for a white Christmas.

Who cares about being holed up in the house when there are good books to read? Here's what I'll be bringing with me for fun:

Cormac McCarthy, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (library). It's finally here! I may even finish this on the plane because I'm so excited.

Tom Perrotta, THE ABSTINENCE TEACHER (library). Also excited about this one, although slightly less so because the plot didn't sound very original. I'm still interested to see where Perrotta goes next in his suburban explorations.

Amy Goldwasser (ed.), RED: THE NEXT GENERATION OF AMERICAN WRITERS ON WHAT FIRES UP THEIR LIVES TODAY. I've been hearing such good things about this collection of essays by teenage girls that when I found it on a book giveaway pile, I was thrilled to pick it up. Having been a teenage girl relatively recently, I hope I can relate.

For my From the Stacks challenge: SAFFRON SKIES and BEST FRIENDS.

Happy reading, whether you're at home or (alas) at work. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it; I will be back next week.