You know the feeling, right? When someone passes you a rectangular gift, one with the perfect heft, and the dip along one side? And then you know there’s going to be good reading for the rest of the holidays.

This year, there were two books waiting for me under the tree, plus a loan on New Year’s Eve.

The first was 419 by Will Ferguson, winner of the 2012 Giller Prize. I’m guessing the book was chosen from the grown-up rack at Kidsbooks by my son, who has an eye for anything with an award sticker on it.

The second books was Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver, one of my favorite writers. It’s possible I may have sent an e-mail to my husband before Christmas that read, “if anyone were to hypothetically be shopping for me, this would be a good choice.” Complete with cover image and link, of course.

And my New Year’s Eve loan was The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which I’ve been wanting to read forever.

Overall, a promising start to my reading year!