During the holidays, just about everyone and everything wants your attention. But — let’s be honest — most of it’s just a distraction. For fruitful ways to use your attention as we roll toward Christmas, consider reading one (or more) of these titles.

 

Accompanied by Angels:
Poems of the Incarnation

By Luci Shaw
(Eerdmans 2006)

This accessible poetry collection begins with Gabriel’s announcement to Mary and moves through Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection. The first 30 (or so) poems center around the themes and events of Advent and Christmas — bringing the depth and emotion of the story to life with memorable, vibrant imagery the way only good poetry can do. These poems are perfect for reading one at a time during the season. But good luck stopping at just one.

 

Bright Evening Star:
Mystery of the Incarnation

By Madeleine L’Engle
(Shaw 2001)

Although L’Engle wrote several Advent or Christmas books, this classic is undoubtedly the richest in its theology. Following in the footsteps of her Genesis trilogy and other theological meditations, here L’Engle explores the mystery of the incarnation with hope and wonder.

 

Rediscovering Christmas:
Surprising Insights into the Story You Thought You Knew

By A.J. Sherrill
(Waterbrook 2024)

In this new book, Sherrill unwraps the Christmas holiday, ripping off the layers of tradition and busyness that inevitably cloak the season each year and uncovering vital practices that lie at the heart of the story of the Christ child.

 

Celtic Advent:
Following an Unfamiliar Path

By Christine Aroney-Sine
(Self Published 2024)

Aroney-Sine introduces the Celtic season of Advent, which is slightly longer than the contemporary church’s Advent season, and journeys through this season toward the birth of Jesus with rich seasonal meditations that introduce Celtic saints like Brendan and Brigid and weaves their stories together into a tapestry that orients our minds and hearts toward Christ.

 

The Book of Belonging:
Bible Stories for Kind and Contemplative Kids

By Mariko Clark and Rachel Eleanor
(Convergent Books 2024)

Although not a Christmas book in the strictest sense, this gorgeous new collection of biblical stories serves to both stir childlike wonder and to immerse readers into the larger narrative that gives Christmas its meaning. The 42 brief stories are just about the perfect number to read one a day through Advent and Christmas.