Books for December

"Come to me with your gaping emptiness, knowing that in Me you are complete. As you rest quietly in My presence, My light within you grows brighter and brighter. Facing the emptiness inside you is simply the prelude to being filled with My fullness. Therefore, rejoice on those days when you drag yourself out of bed, feeling sluggish and inadequate. Tell yourself that this is a perfect day to depend on Me in childlike trust. If you persevere in this dependence as you go through the day. You will discover at bedtime that Joy and Peace have become your companions."  -- Sarah Young

 

 

I thought today we'd talk about some of the books I try to read each year at this time. We've spoken about some of my Advent resources, and I try to be open when new ideas and readings come my way, so that I can be abundant with remembering and present with this time. But I'm always reading fiction as well, and there are quite a few seasonal gems that find their way into my December piles each year.

These first two have been part of my December for countless years past, I think since I first read them, although I don't recall our history clearly. I've tucked them into my seasonal reading pile, queued them on my audiobook players, and overall settled down to enjoy them with as much abandon as with my first perusal. At first glance they are quite different ends of the spectrum. One concerns the creative endeavors and spiritual reflections of a nearly seventy-year-old retired priest, and the other is a magical story of an eleven-year-old boy who discovers he has power that must be used to help Light triumph over the Dark.

And the audiobooks read by John McDonough and Alex Jennings, respectively, are brilliant!

Shepherds Abiding begins in October, and carries through into a sleepy Christmas morning, following Father Tim as he experiences Advent in that methodical, down-to-earth, and hectic way that is so lifelike. It's the eighth book in the beloved Mitford series. I find these books incredibly cozy and soothing, and I so appreciate the year-by-year faithfulness of these characters amidst the dull-to-berserk vagaries of life.

The Dark is Rising begins on the Winter Solstice, Will's birthday, and carries on through St Stephen's Day and on into the New Year. It's the second book in a series by the same name; all are excellent, but it is the first two books that I return to almost every year, with their vivid adventure-stories, Arthurian themes, and the patient, constant fight to see Light triumph over Darkness in every day and every generation.

These next two books don't hold the same embedded tradition, but are nonetheless beloved. 

Can it really have been only last year that I read Winter Solstice? I seem to have known this story a long time, and indeed it takes very little time to fall in love with these characters. And so I've added it to my yearly pile (in fact as soon as I made it through last year I wanted to start over!). 

Winter Story is a picture book I grew up with. A Brambly Hedge delight. With anthropomorphic mice, glorious, detailed illustrations, and imaginative, playful settings and stories.

 Following are others that I don't read every year, but love, cherish, and set out on the seasonal bookstack to peruse or glance at to heart's content.

 

 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe I hope is familiar to you, and is written by probably my favorite author ever. This time of year is not complete without some glimpse (even in the mind's eye) of Tumnus in the snow, Father Christmas with the beavers, and Aslan on the Move.

A Christmas Carol is another that needs no introduction. It has seen many a productive remake, and in years past I have greatly enjoyed it as a play (especially if you're served tea, and asked to dance, and the beggars grab your coat-sleeves, and there are thunderous noises during the ghost scenes). But perhaps, as we sit tucked away in our homes, without the ability to gather for such things, it's a good year to dig out a copy and give the original story a read. An accessible and festive foray into Dickens.

Enjoy some of these fantastic old illustrations from my copy

Other books I sometimes read this time of year include A Child's Christmas in Wales, The Dean's Watch, Mistletoe and Murder... I want to find "Letters from Father Christmas" by Tolkien, (a picture book I only recently realized existed), and read "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" (I think I've seen a tv show of this, but want to read it). What am I forgetting? Or what are your favorite seasonal reads?

I'm off to cook some supper. Above you see real life in the form of clean clothes piles, but behold the shelf-twinkle-lights now have batteries! Some of today's productivity was hijacked by a headache, so this evening is likely to only include a little advent reading, and a little vlogmas watching. Sleep tight, lovelies.