Beautiful old broads Christmas shop

Dear Ones,

December is here and like all beautiful old broads, you’re no doubt thinking about gifts and shopping. And checks…that’s what we mostly give,  but a book is an added treat.  So with that in mind, I’ve collected some books that may fit your gift needs.  While writing my column for the paper, I did a book list each December and folks liked it.  Hope you do too.

Usually WW II books aren’t upbeat and happy but here are a couple that are just that.  You’ll never look at a paperback the same after reading “When Books Went to War:  The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II” by Molly Guptill Manning  (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).  The book tells the story of how publishers and government worked together to send reading material to soldiers.  Really!!! They worked together. 

“Countrymen”  by Bo Lidegaaard (Alfred A. Knopf), is another stirring saga of decency and the bravery of the Danes who helped Denmark’s Jews escape the Nazis when Hitler occupied Denmark.  A slice of little known history to cheer your heart.

Look no further than Jan Karon’s newest book if you’re in the mood for light and easy and want something to go with cocoa and cookies before bed. In  “Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good” (Putnam)…isn’t that a zinger title…Father Tim and his wife Cynthia return to the fictional Mitford.   Pass the cookies, please.

Searching for a book for someone who likes page turners and plot churnings. “The Accident” by Chris Pavone (Crown Publishers) is set in the world of book publishing. Zooming from Zurich to New York faster than SST’s, the characters race to find the author of a murderous expose.  Who knew the publishing world was so fraught with peril?  Crisp writing. Clever plot.

Appropriate for the season, “The Zealot” by Reza Aslan is a solidly researched history of Jesus of Nazareth.  The author is pretty even-handed as he explores the Jewishness of Jesus and slots him into the larger historical picture of Roman occupation.

 

Last on my list is an older book still available on Amazon and other sources.  For anyone who has ever planted a tree or tended a garden or marveled at a seed sprouting.  “Defiant Gardens” by Kenneth L. Helphand (Trinity Press) is the riveting saga of soldiers and civilians who defy all opposition to plant gardens.  Meet these astonishing resilient  POW’s and ghetto inhabitants.  I promise once you dig into this book, you’ll be rooted to the story.  This is one beautiful moving piece of literature. 

Yes, I know we have Kindles and Nooks but isn’t there something comforting and reassuring about having a big fat shiny new book under the tree at Christmas?

“Books were my pass to personal freedom.  I learned to read at age three and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer.”  Oprah Winfrey