Irresistible Christmas Books

Christmas Pearl by Dorothea Benton Frank ($14.95)
Have you ever had one of those family get togethers where no one really wanted to get together in the first place?  Theodora is the matriarch of a family that has grown into a bunch of truculent knuckleheads. While she's finally gotten them all together in South Carolina to celebrate, this Christmas looks nothing like the extravagant, homey holidays of her childhood. What happened to the days when Christmas meant tables groaning with home-cooked goodies, over-the-top decorations, and long chats in front of the fire with Pearl, her grandmother's beloved housekeeper and closest confidante? Luckily for Theodora, a special someone who heard her plea for help arrives, with pockets full of enough Gullah magic and common sense to make Theodora's Christmas the love-filled miracle it's meant to be.

There is a great interview with Dottie Frank about writing this book in the latest issue of Lady Banks' Commonplace Book.

A Family's Christmas by Caroline Kennedy ($26.95)
Every holiday sees a new treasury of Christmas stories and essays, and Caroline Kennedy's is one of the nicest. She includes stories that have all been important traditions in her own celebrated family-pieces from a wide range of writers including EB White, Dave Barry, Eleanor Roosevelt and even Mariah Carey. Her own recollections of past holidays gives a very personal feel to this collection. It will be a book you will want to include in your own holiday traditions.

Russell's Christmas Magic by Rob Scotton ($16.99)

Oh no! Santa's sleigh has broken down in Firefly Wood-will Christmas have to be cancelled?  Enter everyone's favorite sheep-It's Russell to the rescue with a little bit of imagination  that get's Santa baaaack on track.

Winter Reading

The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam ($35)
One of our favorite history books of the year! Around Thanksgiving, 1950, while the rest of the country paid as little attention as possible, units of the Second Infantry Division were virtually annihilated by forces of the People's Republic Army. David Halberstam explodes this moment in time, using it as a jumping off point to delve into the Korean War's particular horrors and triumphs. This is not your average M*A*S*H story!  Using first-person interviews and detailed historical research, Halberstam exposes the truth about this underreported war, showing it from the vantage of the men whose poor fortune it was to be on history's cutting edge.

Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon ($26.95)
Follow Father Tim as he returns to his home town of Holly Springs, Mississippi in response to a mysterious unsigned note that says, simply "come home." The absolute must-have book for anyone who has fallen under the spell of Karon's "Mitford" series,  but even people who have yet to get hooked will find Father Tim's story a charming holiday fable.

Good Gifts for Great People

Golf My Own Damn Way by John Daly ($15.95)
A funny and yet encouraging book from one of the bad boys of golf. Are there bad boys in golf? Well, if there are, John Daly is the leader of the pack. He's the guy who thinks the PGA Tour ought to allow Bermuda shorts, the guy who can tell you what golf and sex have in common, and oh yeah, the guy who can help you cut ten strokes off your score.

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman ($35) is the ultimate "eat your vegetables!" cookbook by the man whose last book-How to Cook Everything-was called "a more hip Joy of Cooking."  The recpies in this book are as much for the omnivore who likes a bit of broccoli as they are for a passionate and strict vegetarian.  You will not believe all the things you can do with a potato and a carrot!

(and don't forget Jean Anderson's fabulous A Love Affair with Southern Cooking, which Rosa Bianca recommended so enthusiastically last month!)

Down River by John Hart (signed copies available!) ($24.95)

We have signed copies available of the new thriller by North Carolina author John Hart. Hart was one of the featured speakers at this year's Cape Fear Crime Festival, where he was clever and charming and funny and basically made everyone fall in love with him.  Down River is a little unusual in the genre of suspense novels because despite it's fast pace and breathless, page-turning action, it is really an exploration of the power of forgiveness.  Great for fans of early Grisham novels, John Hart is the new-crowned king of Southern noir fiction.

See more great books from our holiday catalog on our website