Giving Books as Gifts: My Wishlist
Really, though, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
My wishlist is longer than this post can manage, so here, in no particular order, are eight (okay, fine, eighteen) books I’d be happy to receive this year.
The Mother Artist: Portraits of Ambition, Limitation, and Creativity by Catherine Ricketts - Sometimes, social media is awful. Other times, it means discovering books like this one.
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The Definitive, 4th Edition by Betty Edwards - My Pictionary game is pretty solid, but my skill in drawing ends there. This would be a fun way to stretch my creativity.
Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso by Dante, translated by Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander - I’ve read a canto a day each of the last two summers, and I’d love a new translation to be ready for next year.
Many-Colored Fleece: An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Catholic Fiction by Mariella Gable O.S.B. - As my grad classes come to an end, I’m determined to keep making time for reading on a regular basis.
World's First Love: Mary, Mother of God by Ven. Fulton Sheen - Sheen captivates me—his knowledge, his faith, his understanding, his skill in communicating. It would be lovely to start each day with a few pages of this book.
The Index of Self-Destructive Acts by Christopher Beha - This is next in line on my journey of reading all Beha’s novels. (And then I’ll dive into Katy Carl’s analysis of his work.)
The Kind of Brave You Wanted to Be: Prose Prayers and Cheerful Chants Against the Dark by Brian Doyle - I could always use more Brian Doyle in my life. What a gift that man was.
Port William books by Wendell Berry - I read Hannah Coulter last summer and still cannot figure out why I didn’t find Berry sooner. I think I want to read Nathan Coulter next, but all of them in time.
Thanks for sticking around for these lists today! I’d love to hear what piqued your interest or what you’re giving this year in the comments.