Swap Books for the Holidays
By M. CLARE HAEFNER | Covers courtesy of the publishers
Book swaps are a great way to share your favorite reads with friends and family.
A book club of mine started this tradition a few years ago. Each member brings a wrapped book to our holiday party and, similar to white elephant exchanges, everyone selects one to unwrap, take home and read. The first year, we each brought our favorite book. Since then, we’ve had a variety of themes — nonfiction, classics, biographies, to name a few — and the exchange has introduced me to many authors whose books I may not have read otherwise.
Even if you’re not in a club, books can make great gifts for the people on your list. Avid readers always enjoy new books, and the right selection could kindle a love of reading in someone who is reluctant. Here are three recent releases I recommend wrapping up this year.
Mr. Texas by Lawrence Wright (Knopf, September 2023): Political satire at its best, Wright delivers a funny and poignant look at one man’s journey from no-name rancher to member of the Texas House of Representatives. Sonny Lamb is Mr. Texas, a struggling West Texas rancher and Army veteran who generally finds himself the punchline of jokes in his hometown. One night he spurs into action saving a girl and a horse from a barn fire on a nearby ranch. The rescue catches the eye of a slick Austin lobbyist who recruits Lamb to run for a vacant seat in the Texas House. Suddenly the reluctant Republican who’s never voted ends up elected by a whopping 27 votes. In Mr. Texas, Wright, a Pulitzer Prize winner for a book about 9/11, weaves a laugh-out-loud sometimes cringe-worthy narrative of Lamb’s struggle to find his place and keep his morals — and his marriage — in tact while learning the ropes in the Texas Legislature.
Salt & Broom by Sharon Lynn Fisher (47North, December 2023): I’ve read my share of parodies of the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen, but Fisher’s take on Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre was a new experience. Re-imagining the classic romance with a fantastical flair, Fisher introduces readers to Jane Aire, a Lowood witch sent to Thornfield Hall to free Edward Rochester and a motley crew of supporting characters from a series of unfortunate events that they’ve been unable to explain, much less stop. As threats loom, Jane must test her knowledge of herb healing and protective charms to save the man she’s coming to love. Throughout Salt & Broom, Fisher blends Gothic romance with fantasy and folklore to weave a spell-binding tale that lovers of classic literature and fantasy will enjoy.
Identity by Nora Roberts (St. Martin’s Press, May 2023): There’s a reason Roberts is known as the queen of romantic thrillers, and Identity doesn’t disappoint. Army brat Morgan Albright finds herself uprooted again after a serial killer strikes, leaving her roommate dead. Fleeing to her grandmother and mother’s home in Vermont, Morgan soon learns her nightmare has only begun. Her friend Nina wasn’t the killer’s target, Morgan was, and he hasn’t forgotten the one who got away.
