One snotty European's guide to holiday reading. Then there are scores of greeting cards to write and, if you're French like me, a lot of Champagne to drink.
Some people are just busy catching up on sleep.
I get 12 hours of sack time a night during the holidays. Champagne does have its medicinal qualities. Though I acknowledge being French gives me an advantage over you people, I often need to slow down at some point, absent myself from friends and relatives and curl up with a good book. Instead, I've developed a list of books you can read piece-meal, as time allows. Conroy's book is the most in-depth psychological account, and the only one to include an extensive section on torture in America, particularly its use in a Chicago police interrogation room.