The Christmas Plains by Joseph Bottum

The former editor of First Things magazine shares his reflections of the mad joys and wild emotions of the season while growing up on the South Dakota plains.

 

What a refreshing and delightful collection of reminiscences from Joseph Bottum. The stories take us through a series of his memories accompanying the celebration of Christmas. Bottum also takes us to a beautiful part of the United States, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and to perhaps a simpler way of celebrating the holidays, but not without frenzy and chaos much like our own time.

Yet through Bottums reflections, the reader will also likely find, as I did, a flood of memories of his or her own Christmases past. And in the beauty of reading a book such as this I found myself momentarily putting the book aside and paging through my own memories - both happy and sad. And in there is plenty to consider for Christmas or any time of the year.

Bottum admits that: "These topics have proved a strangely joyful activity, whether the thoughts were bright or dark. But then as Charles Dickens himself once observed, contemplation of Christmas is 'never out of season'."

It is not a long book which will make it a nice read during the Advent Season or Christmas Season. 

Published by Image Books (2012)

JOSEPH BOTTUM is one of the nation’s most widely published essayists and poets, with work appearing in magazines and newspapers from the Atlantic to the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and National Review. A bestselling eBook author, Bottum is the former editor in chief of the journal First Things and former literary editor of the Weekly Standard, where he remains a contributing editor and regular writer. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy, lectures widely on literary and religious topics, and lives with his family far off in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
ISBN: 9780770437657

Format: Hardcover and e-book

Price: $14.99

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the above book for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”