This post is the final, consolidated installment in a series of seven December reading recommendations drawn from biblical studies and twentieth-century fiction. Each selection is something I enjoy, something that relates—sometimes loosely—to Christmas, and something I think others will find helpful or interesting.

The Fifth Read of Christmas

A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene

Murder didn’t mean much to Raven. It was just a new job. You had to be careful. You had to use your brains. It was not a question of hatred. He had only seen the minister once: he had been pointed out to Raven as he walked down the new housing estate between the little lit Christmas trees—an old, rather grubby man without any friends, who was said to love humanity.

A Gun for Sale is the closest thing to a Christmas story by Graham Greene that I’m aware of. The novel involves a young woman from the theater who gets caught up with a hitman whose actions could unwittingly set off a European war. This book was originally published with the title This Gun for Hire.

The Sixth Read of Christmas

The Railway Children by E. Nesbit

E. Nesbit’s The Railway Children isn’t a Christmas story, but our family once read it together at Christmastime, and it has feel like a Christmas story ever since. It’s a warm, enjoyable story about a family bound together by loves.

The Seventh Read of Christmas

“Christmas Eve” by Maeve Brennan

Originally published as a New Yorker fiction piece, Maeve Brennan’s “Christmas Eve” captures a small but meaningful moment in the home of Delia and Martin Bagot.

“Oh, Martin, I was just coming down to get you,” she said.
“I was just coming up,” he said, and he started up the stairs, two steps at a time.

You can read “Christmas Eve” in Brennan’s The Springs of Affection, which is perhaps my favorite book of all time.

*Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash