This holiday season gift books that can inspire and enlighten: Here are 7 suggestions from Oprah

This holiday season gift books that can inspire and enlighten. These are seven suggestions from Oprah W

News 12 Staff

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Dec 8, 2020, 10:02 AM

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Updated 1,474 days ago

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Oprah Winfrey is setting aside her usual book club recommendations and instead citing seven personal favorites, ranging from James Baldwin's landmark essays in “The Fire Next Time” to Mary Oliver's poetry collection “Devotions.”

Winfrey is calling her choices “The Books That Help Me Through," works she values for “their ability to comfort, inspire, and enlighten.”

"It’s a mix of fiction, poetry, non-fiction and spirituality books I know and trust and revisit time and again,” she said in a statement.

See the list below:

“The Fire Next Time” By James Baldwin

This book was published during the civil rights movement and includes two essays by American novelist James Baldwin. Though “The Fire Next Time” was written in the 1960s, Baldwin’s comments about racial injustice still hold true today.

“Devotions” By Mary Oliver

“Devotions” is a book of more than 200 poems by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author Mary Oliver, which span from 1963 to 2015. Many of her poems are about nature.

“Song of Solomon” By Toni Morrison

American author Toni Morrison, who died in August 2019, was one of Winfrey’s longtime friends. The 1977 novel “Song of Solomon” tells the story of a fictional man from Michigan named Milkman Dead.

“When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: a Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry”

This anthology of poems, which was published in August 2020, includes work from more than 160 Native American authors. The poems are organized based on the region: Northeast and Midwest; plains and mountains; Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Pacific Islands; Southwest and West; and Southeast.

“Between the World and Me” By Ta-Nehisi Coates

“Between the World and Me” is formatted as a letter to Ta-Nehisi Coates' son and grapples with inequality and race in America.

“The Soul of America” By Jon Meacham

Winfrey recommends this United States history book, written by Pultizer Prize-winner Jon Meacham, “to guide me and help me understand our current era and reassure that our country can bounce back from dark times.”

“The Power of Now” By Eckhart Tolle

"The Power of Now" explores quandaries like: “How do you find peace when everything is in turmoil?” Winfrey said. “How do you listen to the stillness? How do you be present even when things are so chaotic and disruptive.”

Looking for gifts that won't break your budget? Click here to see a list.