Some suggestions for Christmas giving, in the form of books that amuse, inspire, educate, or all of the above:

Prison Journal, Volume 3—The High Court Frees an Innocent Man, by Cardinal George Pell (Ignatius Press). The vindication of Cardinal George Pell by Australia’s High Court in April 2020 was an unalloyed joy amidst Plague Time. With this third volume, Ignatius Press completes the publication of Cardinal Pell’s remarkable prison diary, which has become something of a modern spiritual classic, even as it has introduced the real George Pell to a world audience bombarded for decades by media caricatures of the man. Cardinal Pell bears no animus against his persecutors, but because one of my oldest friends is a better man than I am, I have a few things to say in the book’s afterword about those who covered themselves in ignominy by persecuting him, or by failing to support him in his time of need. 

Journeys With a Tin Can Pilgrim, by Lynda Rozell (St. John’s Press). Part memoir, part insightful reflection, part how-to manual, and part travel guide along roads both material and spiritual, this distinctive book recounts a return to Catholic faith that transformed a hard-driving and well-compensated corporate lawyer into a peripatetic pilgrim, traveling the country in an Airstream trailer and doing the New Evangelization retail in campgrounds around the country. It’s a story of delight in the love of God, coupled with reflections on maintaining spiritual and mental health in the practice and sharing of the faith. Quite unusual, and often quite moving.

Read more at First Things