Holiday Reading List

With the approach of the holidays, many of us will have a long-awaited chance to delve into some extended reading. Fortunately there are many new books to interest virtually every type of reader.

Heads up, History Fans

Remember your college history course and the required James McPherson reading? You dreaded another textbook, but unexpectedly fell in love with McPherson's captivating narrative style. Well, he's at it again. Pulitzer winner James McPherson has just released Tried by War, a Lincoln biography. Publishers Weekly and New York Time's Book Review claim it's every bit as good as we should expect of McPherson.

Third Time's a Charm

This month Harper released Wally Lamb's third novel The Hour I First Believed. As you might expect from the title, it appears to have a subtle religious undertone--the theme of redemption. Can Lamb's third work stack up as compared to his other two novels, both of which were Oprah picks?

Another Hit from Toni Morrison

Also this month, Knopf releases A Mercy by Toni Morrison. For those of you counting, it's her ninth novel. Involving the story of conflicted slave and slaveowner in 1680s New England, it may have some striking parallels to previous Morrison works. Book reviewers are absolutely enamored with it--for good reason I'm sure.

Big Names in the News

It's been argued that John Updike is the most famous living American writer. While the debate remains, he's got a new novel out that I'm skipping. It's The Widows of Eastwick, which connects back to one of his previous novels. It involves witchcraft and female sexuality, so while it will certainly be a centerpiece of conversation for critics, we may want to think of it through a Christian lens.

HAPPY READING!

Lots of big names to choose from as we head into the holiday season. May you be blessed with a warm day, a quiet corner, and a good book which will inspire your own creative genuis.