History learned through body parts?  PJ talks about A history of the world through body parts : the stories behind the organs, appendages, digits, and the like attached to (or detached from) famous bodies by Kathryn Petras.   

Bonnie shares both a festive read and a grim one: The twelve topsy-turvy, very messy days of Christmas by Ted Safran and James Patterson; The investigator; Letty Davenport novel by John Sandford.