My husband, Bob, always said that if he were down to his last “dime,” he’d spend it on a shoe shine.
I am down to my last “dime,” and I buy books.
Books-A-Million is a far cry from the once-upon-a-time bookshops along Charing Cross Road in London, or the small neighborhood shops I’ve loved wherever I have lived.
There is no cat curled up in a chair. No table draped to the floor with a fringed cloth featuring local authors. No friendly customer nearby who overhears that you want a mystery set in Scotland and chimes in with suggestions.
Still, a bookstore is a bookstore, and they are happy to take your money. After a recent purchase of three books, I was reminded again why my Kindle is such a blessing with no shelf space required.
When I was first offered a Kindle for Christmas, I turned up my nose. A book in hand was essential! But eventually I accepted the idea and never looked back. The first book I downloaded was one by Condoleezza Rice, a book I had been wanting to read.
Yet even with my Kindle, which I now consider a pearl of great price loaded with wonderful titles, my home still runneth over with print books from visits I can’t resist.
Here are three Christmas book suggestions I believe are worth giving, and you’d be happy to receive.
Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford by Clint Hill
Clint Hill, Special Agent in the U.S. Secret Service, is the agent in the iconic photograph of Jacqueline Kennedy in Dallas, reaching across the back of the convertible as Hill reaches for her. I first met Hill through his book Mrs. Kennedy and Me.
Hill takes us behind the scenes with five presidents, their personalities, leadership styles, and the high-pressure work of the Secret Service before modern technology enhanced protection.
The stress and anxiety of security preparations the old-fashioned way, without the tools today’s agents have, is a fascinating context in which to write about the strengths and foibles of five Presidents.
The insights, personal stories, and the times in which these presidents were in office, added to my understanding of what I know about them. The focus on each President gives you a good snap shot that will leave you wanting to know more.
How to Test Negative for Stupid by Senator John Kennedy
This quotable Senator, with that Louisiana drawl, delivers laughter and truth in equal measure. Lines like: “I have the right to remain silent, but not the ability” makes you chuckle even as he delivers serious commentary on our political scene today.
My ‘top ten best reads’ cannot be contained. I can never take a book off that list, while adding to it. Senator Kennedy’s new book has been added. How I enjoyed it.
You know me well enough by now to know that in my enthusiasm for things, if I’m taken with something, like this book, it means I can’t simply say, “it was good,” and leave it at that.
What a read this turns out to be. I love, love, loved it. You do laugh out loud, and with Senator Kennedy’s disarming personality, he draws you in like a conversation with those you love around the Christmas dining room table.
Maybe it is Kennedy’s Southern, ‘aw sucks’ way of speaking, but when you read about his splendid education, first in his class here, Law Review Board there, Oxford… quotes from the classics, a line from a country song, stories about fellow Senators…… the word brilliant comes to mind.
Brilliant, well-educated, culturally fluent, his humor carries the weight of experience. His political front row seat allows him to cover a lot of ground is this slim volume. Though $29.99, gift yourself first this Christmas. You won’t regret it.
To Rescue the American Spirit: Teddy Roosevelt and the Birth of a Superpower by Bret Baier
Main Street Rocky Mount 