Thankful for old books and phoning in Thanksgiving

We had two very mellow and very enjoyable Thanksgivings this year. Somehow, as if it were coordinated, both families decided to lay off of the production of Thanksgiving and just focus on getting together. On my side, we catered in food the day after Thanksgiving and got together at a public hall, and on my wife's side we met at a pizza place for lunch.

Traditionally both families have done the more traditionally homemade spread. Given that we've had 80+ people on my mom's side for some gatherings this means that a sizeable portion of aunts and uncles are out of commission for much of the gathering. I never would have imagined an arrangement like we just had, and I also know that several in the family had reservations about it, but it was so nice to just get together and actually chat with everyone, especially my aunt who has always done the bulk of the organizing in the past. It felt like we could all just enjoy each other's company for the entire time this year, and I just loved it.

Separately, I decided several weeks ago to take a break from my more usual genre of books and pick up a classic called The Moonstone that's been on my list for a long time. I've enjoyed other Wilkie Collins books and have heard good things about this one and so far it's been great. One thing that jumped out at me immediately is his style of sometimes talking directly to the reader. There's something about the way that he does it that's so striking and enjoyable. Here are a couple of examples:

I am truly sorry to detain you over me and my beehive chair. A sleepy old man, in a sunny back yard, is not an interesting object, I am well aware. But things must be put down in their places, as things actually happened – and you must please to jog on a little while longer with me, in expectation of Mr Franklin Blake's arrival later in the day.

'Come and sit down, my dear, on the slope of the beach along with me. I'll dry your eyes for you first, and then I'll make so bold as to ask what you have been crying about.'
When you come to my age, you will find sitting down on the slope of a beach a much longer job than you think it now...

After several passages like this I remembered the same type of thing in other books of his, and I think it's one of the reasons I like his writing so much. It's a small thing that makes for a very warm and personal feel.