There is tinsel going up in shopping complexes around New Zealand, which leads some of us to think, “What do I want for Christmas this year?” Meanwhile, the more cynical viewer may be thinking, “Tinsel already? Good to see the consumerism-machine is rolling along nicely still…”

It’s with the former thought I get the pleasure of introducing today’s What should be on your bookshelf: Christmas Wish-list Special. I will leave the latter to another time perhaps.

A book wish-list is the perfect thing to start and conveniently leave lying around for your other-half to find. Good options include:

• The “wish-list as a bookmark” slipped into the book your other-half is reading currently.
• The “wish-list fridge magnet” popped next to the fridge door for that subliminal marketing.
• The “wish-list that I threw out, but oh whoops - you found it” lying next to the bin, but not in it.
• The “wish-list that is hinted to by leaving the BookDepository page of that book open in the web browser” trick.

I’m sure you get the point. But what should you be asking for? That’s where I am here to help. I put together my own top-five for your convenience. In no particular order they are:

• If you are into controversial-then-when-you-read-it-it’s-not-so-bad-after-all, then Love Wins by Rob Bell is probably right up your alley. (Especially good if you are a N.T. Wright Surprised by Hope fan.)
• If you want something leather-bound to match you leather sofa, and your leather wallet, then ESV Study Bible has become one of the best in the business.
• After something classic-feeling, yet something modern at the same time? Brian McLaren’s new A Naked Spirituality is rumoured to be perfect.
• If you like authors who wear sports-coats and do speaking addresses to the staff of Google, then The Reason for God by Tim Keller might be something to add.
• A magazine subscription to Neue for the whole year will make your coffee table well stocked with a fantastic leadership magazine for those “I was killing time, flicking through this magazine, when I read this article that was so good I tore it out” moments.

So, there’s the help with the books - but getting the wish-list safely in the hands of your other-half, I can’t help you there.

By Dan Sheed

Tags: Wright, Bell, ESV, McLaren, Keller, Neue, Christmas