Christina Hime holds a copy of the book “The Christmas Spirit” by Debbie Macomber.
Submitted photo
Name: Christina Hime
Job title: Circulation manager for the Jackson County Public Library
What’s the name of the book and author you are recommending?
“The Christmas Spirit” by Debbie Macomber
What made you want to pick up this book in the first place?
Christmas is my favorite time of year, so I’m always looking for a new Christmas story to read. One of my grandma’s favorite authors is Debbie Macomber, so I like to read her stories in my grandma’s memory.
Once you got into the book, what made you want to keep reading it?
In the beginning, Debbie wrote a letter to her readers about how she never enjoyed writing a book so much and continued to laugh as she was writing it. A bartender and a pastor switch places at Christmas, that idea alone caught my attention. I had to know how it all wrapped up.
Once you finished the book, what did you like about it?
I loved all of the characters and learning their stories. It’s a retelling of a story of how two people meet, and the grandmother is sharing it with her grandkids. You meet a lot of fun characters in this book and how you think you know a person or have a certain concept of a person, but you really don’t know a person until you want to get to know them.
What is the book about?
Two friends, Peter and Hank, have known each other since they were kids. Over lunch one day, they decide to switch jobs the week before Christmas. Peter is a pastor. Hank is a bartender. Hank has to take on the tasks of pastor and the many things that come along with that — the church, the congregation, the live Nativity scene. Peter, on the other hand, now runs Hank’s bar, serving beer to the outlaw motorcycle club. How this all comes together, well, you will just have to read it.
Why would you recommend this book to others?
In the busyness of the holiday season but you still want to make time to take a break for yourself and read, this is a quick, easy, light read to continue to be in the holiday spirit.