Advent reading

This is not my room, though it would be nice!

At an oblate conference I was giving in Bloomington, Indiana, this week, I was asked if I had any suggestions for Advent reading (the conference was on the topic of prayer and the psalms). Following are a few ideas from my own bookshelf. If you have further suggestions, please feel free to comment. (Advent, by the way, begins November 30.)

ADVENT/CHRISTMAS THEME
-- A Coming Christ in Advent by Raymond E. Brown (One of the best--can't go wrong with Brown).
-- The Reed of God, by Caryll Houselander
-- Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas, various authors
-- Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives, by Pope Benedict XVI
-- Eternal Seasons: A Liturgical Season with Henri J.M. Nouwen, edited by Michael Ford

FROM ABBEY PRESS'
PATH OF LIFE PUBLICATIONS (www.pathoflifebooks.com)

-- She Laid Him in a Manger: The Birth of Jesus from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, by Harry Hagan, O.S.B.

-- Waiting for God: The Grace of Advent, by Alice Camille (Catholic Perspectives CareNote)

ON PRAYER:

-- Toward God: The Ancient Wisdom of Western Prayer, by Michael Casey

-- The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life, by Henri J.M. Nouwen

ON THE PSALMS:

-- Pleading, Cursing, Praising: Conversing with God Through the Psalms, by Irene Nowell
-- Bread in the Wilderness, by Thomas Merton

ON BENEDICTINE LIFE:

-- The Path of Life, by Cyprian Smith, O.S.B.

GENERAL:

-- Jesus: A Pilgrimage, by James Martin, S.J.