Most of these I got for Christmas, and I am going to have a great time reading them in January:

Read for the Heart: Whole Books for Wholehearted Families by Sarah Clarkson. I’ve known of Sally Clarkson and her ministry to families and especially to homeschooling moms for a long time, and now her daughter is all grown-up and writing books of her own.

The Whole Five Feet: What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death and Pretty Much Everything Else by Christopher R. Beha. Christmas gift from my wonderful Engineer Husband. It’s another books about books, which is about as bookily nerdish as a reader can get. New York Times Book Review.

Slouching Toward Bethlehem by Joan Didion. Christmas gift from my lovely Eldest Daughter, the one who has impeccable taste and instincts for great literature. (Although I’m still not a Walker Percy fan.) I’ve been planning to read some essays by Ms. Didion for quite a while, and now is the time.

Sometimes a Light Surprises by Jamie Langston Turner. I asked for this novel, the latest by Christian fiction author Jamie Langston Turner, and my generous Drama Daughter obliged. Ms. Turner writes novels of surprising depth and interest, and I’m looking forward to reading this one. Recommended by Barbara at Stray Thoughts.

Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet. Another pick from my list of requests that Drama Daughter bought for me. This fantasy novel came out from Waterbrook Press in 2007, and it was a finalist in the Christy Awards for Christian Fiction, Visionary Fiction category, losing to Stephen Lawhead’s Scarlett. It already has a sequel, Cyndere’s Midnight, which I will ask for next if this one is as good as I think it will be. Originally recommended to me by Julie, The Happy Catholic.

An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson. Another Christmas gift. I love Josephine Tey’s mysteries, and I’ve been looking forward to reading Ms. Upson’s novel featuring a fictionalized Tey as the detective in her own murder mystery.

At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays by Anne Fadiman. Eldest Daughter again. I think she wants me to read more nonfiction, particularly essays, and I’m happy to go there with Ms. Fadiman, who also wrote Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, a book I enjoyed reading a couple of years ago.

Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L’Engle. I think I’ve already read much of the materila in this book, if not the entire book. However, I’m happy to have my own copy now and to be able to read and re-read Ms. L’Engle’s insights into faith and the creative process.

Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Process by Andy Crouch. Another book about creativity, art, and the Christian life. I bought this one on Carrie’s (Reading to Know) recommendation.

Voices of the Faithful, Book 2: Inspiring Stories of Courage from Christians Serving Around the World. Compiled by
Kim P. Davis. This series was created and Book 1 was compiled by Beth Moore. It’s really an almanac/devotional book of modern-day missionary stories. I’m not planning to read straight through the book, but I do want to start reading the stories, maybe aloud to the family. And I am supposed to review the book for Thomas Nelson Publishers, so you’ll be hearing waht I think of it here on the blog.

Greenmantle by John Buchan. I bought this book at the used bookstore a couple of months ago. The blurb says, “Richard Hannay, hero of The Thirty-Nine Steps, travels across war-torn Europe in search of a German plot and an Islamic Messiah. . . . Classic espionage adventure.”

Lewis Agonistes: How C.S. Lewis Can Train Us to Wrestle with the Modern and Postmodern World. by Louis Markos. Engineer Husband got this title for Christmas, but I’m hoping he’ll let me borrow it and read it, too.

So there you have it: 12 books I already have on deck and ready to read as soon as I finish my work with the Cybils Middle Grade Fiction panel of judges. I have plans to share 12 more lists with you this week and next–sort of my 12 Days of Christmas gift posts. And I’ll be writing a lot about the Cybils as the year and the preliminary judging wind down. The Cybils shortlists will be announced on New Year’s Day.

Stay tuned.