Nonfiction
By Abigail Shrier
From an exhaustive mix of hundreds of interviews with therapists, teachers, and parents, investigative journalist Shrier concludes that the high anxiety and depression rates among young people today has less to do with them than with our therapeutic culture. While those with severe mental health problems need help, we have applied “feelings” therapy to ordinary kids, potentially treating them as emotionally damaged and in need of counsel and medication. Two thumbs up for this red flag warning.
Christmas Classic
By Jeff Guinn
Who was, or better yet, who is Santa Claus? Jeff Guinn learns the truth from the fat man in the red suit himself. This book has become a 21st-century Christmas classic and is part one of the three-part “The Christmas Chronicles.” The author pulls information from historical facts, as well as the myths and legends that have surrounded Old Saint Nick for the past 1,700 years. This book makes for a fun read with bite-size chapters. Now if someone asks if Santa is real, you can tell them the truth.
Literary Criticism
By Maya Jasanoff
Joseph Conrad remains as relevant and respected today as when he wrote in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This book explores the reason for Conrad’s continued popularity. Part biography, part literary criticism, and part travelogue, it surveys Conrad’s life, writings, and the places he traveled. It captures Conrad’s contradictions: a man who loved sail, but became a prophet of steam; someone who saw how thin civilization’s veneer was, and who predicted a global world that he loathed.
Travel
By Bronson Dorsey
Buildings and towns have lifespans just like people. This book underscores that. A photo-essay, the book captures forgotten and abandoned buildings throughout the state of Texas. Readers take a road trip through Texas exploring forsaken places, buildings and towns. It explores the Texas off the interstate, traveling on state, county, farm-to-market, and ranch-to-market roads. The photography is stunning. Text explains the story of each building visited, as readers view the Texas of yesteryear.
Classics
By Sigrid Undset
Known for her novels about medieval Norway and winner of the Nobel Prize, here Undset brings a modern woman to the page in this story of marriage, fidelity, and tender mercy. Ida marries a lovable ne’er-do-well, Frithjof, and soon finds herself working to support their growing family. Eventually, she breaks free of her weak husband and is courted by a better man, only to have Frithjof return desperate for help. This unusual story measures the quality of mercy and the meaning of true love.
Ignatius Press, 2011, 425 pages
For Kids
By Rumer Godden and Barbara Cooney
This tender story about Christmas wishes depicts Ivy, an orphaned young girl who wishes for a family; Holly, a Christmas doll who wishes to be loved; and Mr. and Mrs. Jones, who wish for a child of their own. Cooney’s beautiful illustrations bring this heartwarming tale of hope and belonging to life. Add this to your stack of holiday favorites.
