I've told you already, I'm a Christmas sap. Even more so, as New Year's and my birthday come up each year (both in January), I like stories that inspire and get me ready for a new year, both on the calendar and in my life. This year for December, join me as I read a book that is gaining ground on the New York Times bestseller list. This small book that was published this Fall is bound to be talked about this Christmas season. Though it is based around Christmas, it is ultimately a story about the legacy we leave and the love that we find (and give) along the way... or at least I hope it is, I will be reading it along with you for the first time. From what I can tell it will be a bit of a version of A Christmas Carol, and who doesn't love happy endings and feel-good-about-life stories? Maybe it will give each of us a reminder of how important it is to measure how we talk to and treat the people we come across, be it family, friends, co-workers, or strangers.
Join me in reading Coconut Library's December Book Club Selection, The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans...
Dear Reader,
When I was in seventh grade, my English teacher, Mrs. Johnson, gave our class the intriguing (if somewhat macabre) assignment of writing our own obituaries. Oddly, I don't remember much of what I wrote about my life, but I do remember how I died: in first place on the final lap of the Daytona 500. At the time, I hadn't considered writing as an occupation, a field with a remarkably low on-the-job casualty rate.
What intrigues me most about Mrs. Johnson's assignment is the opportunity she gave us to confront our own legacy. How do we want to be remembered? That question has motivated our species since the beginning of time: from building pyramids to putting our names on skyscrapers.
As I began to write this book, I had two objectives: First, I wanted to explore what could happen if someone read their obituary before they died and saw, firsthand, what the world really thought of them. Their legacy.
Second, I wanted to write a Christmas story of true redemption. One of my family's holiday traditions is to see a local production of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. I don't know how many times I've seen it (perhaps a dozen), but it still thrills me to see the change that comes over Ebenezer Scrooge as he transforms from a dull, tight-fisted miser into a penitent, "giddy-as-aschoolboy" man with love in his heart. I always leave the show with a smile on my face and a resolve to be a better person. That's what I wanted to share with you, my dear readers, this Christmas -- a holiday tale to warm your season, your homes, and your hearts.
Merry Christmas,
Richard Paul Evans
(taken from jacket cover)
xo,
The Coconut Librarian
Recent Comments