Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh

Hi Folks,

As we move towards one of my favorite times of year, Christmas, I am here to give you a review of this book. Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh. This was a nice fast book to read, with a few twists. Rick, who works as a big executive winds up running his Mother and Step-Father's book store while Art hovers between life and death. His mother has to be with her husband, so it is up to Rick and a single mom that he is oh-so attracted to, to run the store and keep the business from going under.

As Rick is more and more taken by Andrea and her daughter, he is also coping with this past, and with all the different customers of The Book Nook. Soon he is faced with the choice to heal and seek the truth in this past, or to run and have a hardened heart.

It is a nice story, with a good ending, but it was not my most favorite book in some aspects. I can't quite pin-point why, because the plot was fine. The one big twist was good. Lives were changed and healed, and I felt like I met lots of people in this little town the book was set in. The romance was just fine as well, yet at the same time I feel like I came away with an empty feeling that I don't normally get from books I read.

Carol

Can A Successful Executive See More Than A Single Mom Struggling To Provide Christmas For Her Daughter?

Dan Walsh Returns With Another Christmas Story Full of Nostalgia, Wonder, And Hope.

Award-winning author Dan Walsh creates a nostalgic, Christmas story that takes readers back in time in Remembering Christmas (ISBN: 978-0-8007-1979-1, 272 pages, September 2011.) A time not so long ago in 1980 when IBM had not yet launched the personal computer; the Boombox was hot; Reality TV was unheard of; MTV was just launching; Ronald Reagan was president; the Winter Olympics witnessed the USA team defeat the favored Soviet team and win the gold; and Rick Denton was in pursuit of his career goals and climbing the corporate ladder.

During this time, the holiday season only slowed Rick from his frenetic normal pace. For Rick, holiday downtime for everyone else meant extra time to get ahead on goals and returning calls. His goal in life was to work hard, play hard, live life on his terms, and answer to no one.

Then the phone call came from his mother during Thanksgiving weekend informing him about his stepfather’s stroke. His mom needed Rick’s help at the little run-down bookstore they owned. He has never liked Art, his stepfather and resents the man's presence in his life, despite the fact that his own father abandoned the family when Rick was just twelve. Reluctantly Rick agrees to help and when he arrives at the store, he soon discovers that a few days of managing the store turn into a few weeks.

While there Rick meets the patrons of the Book Nook – some quirky, some homeless, some chatty, some hip and cool - and one a lovely young woman who trains him on the job. He tends to judge them all-- until a moment of truth and discovery: the true meaning of Christmas. With skillful storytelling, Dan Walsh creates a Christmas story that will have readers remembering every good and perfect gift of Christmas.

Dan Walsh is the award-winning author of The Unfinished Gift, The Homecoming, and The Deepest Waters. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Dan served as a pastor for 25 years. He lives with his family in the Daytona Beach area, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel. His web site is here:
http://www.danwalshbooks.com/index.html

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life. They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

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Endorsements

"I love a story with some unexpected twists--not to mention a quirky cast of characters who surprise and delight me. I think that's the perfect recipe for a true Christmas classic. Dan has penned such a tale, and I heartily recommend it to readers who want a reminder of why Christmastime is so special."--Melody Carlson, author, Christmas at Harrington's and The Christmas Shoppe

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.