Many of you love to read -- that's why you actually waste the time to read this blog. And, if that's you, I've got a couple of perfect books for you as you get ready for the holidays and Christmas specifically.
Is it too early to think about Christmas? Well, that's debateable, but that's an argument for a different day. I'll confess that Matthew West's new Christmas album, "The Heart of Christmas," has already got me thinking about the holiday -- but a non-commercialized Christmas, of course.
Anyway, back to the book recommendations -- both selections are Christmas books, set during Christmas and revolving around the holiday, to some degree. They are short, pithy, and full of wonderful morals and spiritual insights.
First off, if you haven't had a chance to read Skipping Christmas, by John Grisham, I recommend it whole-heartedly. The movie, Christmas with the Kranks, certainly did not do the book justice. It's a sweet, endearing read, the kind of book that pulls you in, gets you chuckling, and then blesses you with an emotional blend of poignancy and passion at the end.
It's a simple story of an empty-nest married couple who decide to skip Christmas when their only daughter heads to Peru for the year with a charitable organization. Christmas no longer seems to be worth the time, energy and money, and you'll find it easy to relate to their plight. But the cast of characters in their neighborhood, well, that's classic Grisham.
You'll laugh and laugh . . . right up until the great plot twist in the last act. It's a short, riveting book, and you'll enjoy every minute of it.
Secondly, I have to recommend The Christmas List by Richard Evans. Evans writes in a similar style to Grisham -- quick, pithy, and perfunctory on the descriptions. He gets right to the plot and lets the dialogue develop the characters, for the most part. It almost becomes like watching a sitcom, which is great writing for shorter novels, in my humble opinion.
Anyway, Evans takes the It's a Wonderful Life plot and turns it upside down. The book's primary character gets to read his own obituary in the paper due to a crazy mix-up . . . and then he gets to read the online reactions to his death, as well. He's less than enthused by what he reads -- come to find out, he's been a heartless, back-stabbing, money-grubbing cutthroat, and his friends and enemies, alike, are somewhat grateful to hear he's gone.
Except he's not.
And that's when the book really takes off. Slowly, he develops a heart and decides to right a few of his wrongs . . . and none of his efforts really pay off. Nothing takes place predictably, and you'll be strung right along, hoping he can put his life back together again and become a changed man.
It's a great, great read, but I do have to offer one disclaimer to most of my blog readers. Evans is a professed Mormon, but the theology of his book is simple Christianity. You won't find anything confusing in it, and you'll never know about his religious persuasion . . . but I just didn't want you to find out after the fact.
Anyway, if you're like me and you sincerely try to keep Christmas in perspective every year despite all of the shopping commericals and the hustle and bustle, these books are guaranteed to help. They'll even get you ready for Thanksgiving, in a good way.
So happy holidays and happy reading!
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