Hidden Star by Nora Roberts

Subtitle: Starts of Mithra --  A woman walks into a private detectives office with no memory, a bag full of cash and an amazing gemstone.  The detective takes on the case and helps her through trying to figure out who she is and what the story is behind her belongings.  Of course he falls in love with her and there is not much left to the imagination, but the build up of the story is done very well and not much was given away throughout.  There are two more books in this series and I am curious as to how Roberts will continue with the energy and creativeness she has started with in this book.

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum

Such a wonderful story about Santa and how it all began.  An amazing woods with tenders of the trees, flowers and animals all help Santa develop into who he became and who he is today.  It talks of the wonder of the children and obstacles that Santa had to overcome.  I loved this so much I am seriously thinking of recording it for my grandchildren to listen to next year.  A wonderful historical account of this amazing figure in our lives.

Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

What a wonderful collection of pictures and letters that were sent to his children for Christmas.  I read this on my NOOK so I did not have full color, but could imagine how wonderful the pictures looked.  Such an imagination and wonderful gift to his children.  He introduces Father Christmas' friends the Polar Bear, some elves and gnomes and of course there are the reindeer.  I am looking forward to seeing a hard copy of this and I highly recommend this to everyone, young and old.

Some Christmas books

Every December I try to read a few Christmas themed books.  So far this season I have read four, and currently reading one more and have another one in the queue. Kentucky Christmas by Sarah Title was really just a bad romance story that took place around Christmas, really not very good.  A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber was very good.  She really knows how to tell a story and make you feel good.  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was good.  I don't think that I have ever read the whole thing, so I am glad that I have done so now.  But my favorite by far has been The Christmas Letters by Bret Nicholaus.  It is about a Christmas when the grandfather knew it was going to be his last one and he did something special for everyone in the family to let them know how they have made Christmas special for him.  He does have one special letter for everyone that they share and it is all very touching.  It is a short book, less than twenty pages, but bursting at the binding with heartwarming feeling and soul.

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

What a beautiful story that in a way comes full circle from beginning to end.  At first it was a bit hard for me to follow, I could not see how things were connected.  What he did do was paint pictures for you that were so vivid and amazing you just had to keep on reading.  He has a way of almost quietly telling you something without you really sensing it until it has passed you by.  The emotion and tenuous relationships we have with others and ourselves comes out through the whole book.  What we can hang onto and let go of, how it affects our own lives and the lives of others can be staggering and so often we do not realize until it is too late.  A beautiful story written in a very difficult part of the world yet filled with emotion and depth can be translated to anywhere.

Hooke on Murder by Betty Hechtman

A fun murder mystery around crocheting.  Molly is a recent widow and is working as an event coordinator for a local bookstore.  A group gathers there once a week to crochet.  She becomes intrigued and learns how to crochet.  What she does not expect is to be returning some crochet materials to a members home and find her dead.  On top of that, she never expected to be the prime suspect.  There are some interesting escapades and funny happenings through out the book.  This is the first in a new series and Hechtman has done a very good job setting up characters and leaving you looking forward to learning more.