Christmas List!

Ooooo, here we go! Bonnie's cozy up on the couch, put another log on the fire snuggle up to THIS book Christmas list!

I've said this in interviews before, and it's true; my favorite book is the one I'm reading at the time. And since I've been writing I've met so many "new-to-me" authors I feel as if I'm racing to catch up on years of reading. But, it's Christmas and Christmas is the season of lists.

I will, however, insist this list is in no particular order - it's a list, not a countdown.

Books on my giving list:

Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns - Books don't get better than this one. A memoir like no other, beautiful, funny.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - Asks questions we all need to think about, and does it in rich prose you'll want to read over and over again.

Good Poems for Bad Times - Garrison Keillor (compiled and introduced by) - Poetry for all of us who thought we didn't like poetry. Best when read aloud.

Spunk and Bite: A Writer's Guide to Bold, Contemporary Style by Arthur Plotnik - for all my friends who want to learn to write. Simply the most fun you'll have learning about the English language.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel - I love this book, I love the questions he asks and the conversation we have as we journey with Pi into his heart, and my own, and emerge quivering. And the prose is painfully great.

The Penguin Book of Canadian Short Stories - selected and introduced by Jane Urquhart. I mentioned this book in my last post and I'm knee deep into it now. I'm a little bit in love and in awe at the artistry found here. Perhaps the best collection of its kind. Aching and real. I love it.

The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner - Publishers Weekly called it a book of the year, and I agree because of its central question that lingers after you've finished the book. The question itself is worth reading the book to discover.

Of course you know I'm co-blogging with six other authors on Novel Matters starting January 5, 09. I've read at least one book from each of these ladies (save one, Jennifer Valent who's book, Fireflies in December has not yet hit the shelves, but DID earn a starred review in Publisher's Weekly - congrats!). Each of these ladies is on my giving list as well.

Lying on Sunday by Sharon K. Souza
The Feast of Saint Bertie by Kathleen Popa
The Queen of Sleepy Eye by Patti Hill
Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon by Debbie Fuller Thomas
Latter Day Cipher by Latayne C. Scott

Probably next Christmas I'll just give out one book......heh heh.....a lovely story about a woman who hears the voice of her dead husband....heh heh.

The books I've chosen are ones that haunt me in a sense. Or ones I believe will, in time. As for the many "new-to-me" authors and books I'm discovering, I'll be able to give you a list of favorites next Christmas. I'm taking my time and savoring each bite.

I bid you good writing.