Advent Day 13: LOVED this Advent Book

This was my family's first brush with Advent. One of our aunts (LM I think) gave us The Christmas Mystery, by Jostein Gaarder, which is meant to be read one chapter each day of Advent. It's really a cool story, both moving forward towards Christmas Day and backwards in time, with the main character "gathering" essential Nativity characters as she goes. We all loved it, and didn't miss a day of reading it. Combine it with Advent readings, candle-lightings & prayer, and you have the makings of a wonderful daily march towards Christmas, full of meaning.

(I just realized that Gaarder's the same guy who wrote Sophie's World, which I had to read in my high school "Theory of Knowledge" class... looking back now I can see the resemblances; a plot twisting different times and serious themes together drive both)

I love this review of it: "A literary advent calendar its one i try to read every December one chapter a day. Travelling in time and distance from Norway to Bethlehem it is intriguing and fascinating to watch the strands of history unravel and the story tie up neatly."