tabula rasa: As many Ricochetti know, I read a lot (you can tell because I post a lot on literature/history and the like).  Before Christmas, I demanded (actually recommended) that everyone buy and read Charles Kesler's I Am the Change: Barack Obama and the Crisis of Liberalism.  I still recommend it; every conservative who wants a well-written exposition of the four waves of liberalism in America will come away from this book with a deeper understanding of how we got in our current parlous condition).

I also maintain a reading list that will outlast me.

But here's the problem.  Early January tends to be a bit depressing, and anything that can counteract that would be good.  So I need a book, preferably fiction, that will edify me.  I'm talking about something likeGileadorDeath Comes for the Archbishop. I care little whether it's old fiction or new fiction:  I just want to be able to lose myself in a book whose characters are l likable, that addresses big issues, and that gives the pessimistic reader reason to have hope.  Even an obscure, long forgotten book would be welcome.   It can be overtly religious or more symbolic in nature. 

While I would prefer fiction, a non-fiction book that will lift me up would be appreciated.  

[Please don't suggest the Bible (I'm a regular reader, though a specific book recommendation will be happily accepted); no self-help books (I hate them, and I don't need any "to-do" lists).

My mental health is in your hands. · _{· January 3, 2013 at 11:22am}

tabula rasa: As many Ricochetti know, I read a lot (you can tell because I post a lot on literature/history and the like).  Before Christmas, I demanded (actually recommended) that everyone buy and read Charles Kesler's I Am the Change: Barack Obama and the Crisis of Liberalism.  I still recommend it; every conservative who wants a well-written exposition of the four waves of liberalism in America will come away from this book with a deeper understanding of how we got in our current parlous condition).

I also maintain a reading list that will outlast me.

But here's the problem.  Early January tends to be a bit depressing, and anything that can counteract that would be good.  So I need a book, preferably fiction, that will edify me.  I'm talking about something likeGileadorDeath Comes for the Archbishop. I care little whether it's old fiction or new fiction:  I just want to be able to lose myself in a book whose characters are l likable, that addresses big issues, and that gives the pessimistic reader reason to have hope.  Even an obscure, long forgotten book would be welcome.   It can be overtly religious or more symbolic in nature. 

While I would prefer fiction, a non-fiction book that will lift me up would be appreciated.  

[Please don't suggest the Bible (I'm a regular reader, though a specific book recommendation will be happily accepted); no self-help books (I hate them, and I don't need any "to-do" lists).

My mental health is in your hands. · _{· January 3, 2013 at 11:22am}