My favorite book of late 2008 was THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY.  If you haven't read it yet, do.  It's a sweet and charmingly written story, told entirely through letters, set on the Island of Guernsey after the end of World War II.  The ending was happy and predictible, but that was fine with me.  Had it ended any other way, I would have been sorely disappointed.  If the winter doldrums have you down, read this book.  It'll have you smiling in no time!