IT’S BEEN A good year for publishing – at least in the sense of a lot of good books getting published – so here are some for the readers on your Christmas gift list, in addition, of course, to “Lessons in Hope: My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II” (Basic Books), by your scribe:

Take a stand against the electrification of reading and consider the following, in properly bound form, as gifts for those on your Christmas – not “holiday” – list: