Amid the tree decorating, shopping, gift wrapping, writing of Christmas cards, and waiting for the next snow, it’s difficult to relax this time of year. Still, I like to find a little time whenever possible to do a little Christmas reading.

It’s difficult for me to choose just one book this time of year, and so I will share just a few that I often enjoy pulling from my bookshelf and rereading. And, don’t forget, if you don’t have time to read before Christmas Day, these books also make wonderful ways to spend a little time when the snow is flying in January.

“A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote

What a delightful little book. Short, sweet and full of touching memories of a childhood in the truly hard times of the 1930s. I think of this book every year in the fall when a slight nip in the air prompts me to say, “It’s fruitcake weather.”

Now, I am not one for fruitcake, but the story of a little boy and his aunt — a woman whose heart is infinitely larger than her mind — gathering nuts and scrounging their money to buy a little bootleg whiskey to make fruitcakes, mostly for people they have never met, warms my heart more than a whole bottle of bootleg whiskey.

It’s a tale about giving, and loving, in spite of great hardship. And it’s really a window into the formative years of Truman Capote, as it is largely based on his boyhood.

There is also a wonderful version of this book that can occasionally be found on TV. Be sure to search for the 1966 version narrated by Capote himself and starring Patty Duke as Sook.

“The Christmas Tree” by Julie Salamon

Can you really become friends with a tree? And what if the tree you love is loved by others and is chosen to become The Tree at Rockefeller Center? Will it break your heart to lose your friend, or will you discover a deeper love by sharing something you treasure with the rest of the world?

Another short story, and quite different. Anna is an orphan who is sent to be raised by a very caring group of nuns. She lives in a beautiful place and befriends Tree, who becomes her life-long companion. OK, I must admit, this is sounding a little strange as I describe the plot, but trust me on this one. It was an unexpected hit on the New York Times Bestseller list, so I’m not the only one delighted by a story about a tree, a group of kindly nuns, and a little girl.

Let me not reveal too much of this story, but I really do believe it’s worth a brief afternoon of your time if you can find the book.

“The Christmas Pearl” by Dorothea Benton Frank

Dot Frank, as I love to call this wonderful author, is not just a great beach read. “The Christmas Pearl” is the perfect way to get away with Dorothea in the midst of winter. Dot Frank is all about women and friendship — she gets us girls. And she understands that Christmas doesn’t always work out the way we think it should, or the way we remember from our childhood.

But, hey, there is always food. As in many of her books, Frank shares some of her recipes. I can get really hungry reading many of her books, and I am always amazed at how her characters manage to whip up elaborate dinners in under 60 minutes. It’s amazing, and mouth-watering.

Frank also likes to add a little Gullah magic to her stories, and this is a wonderful one. I think at Christmastime we all tend to miss some special people who are no longer with us, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if they could come back and spend the holiday with family again. Frank’s Pearl reminds me of my great aunt Teresa, a woman who spoiled us with the most delicious homemade caramels this side of Heaven.

Sometimes in life we all need to be whipped back in shape, and “The Christmas Pearl” is a glimpse into how we can do that again — with a little help from the great beyond.

“A Redbird Christmas” and “Something to Look Forward To” by Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg just may be the author I admire most. She was not just great on Match Game, this woman’s mind works faster than Rudolph flying through the skies on Christmas Eve.

“A Redbird Christmas” begins in dreary Chicago in early winter. You can almost feel your own socks sloshing through the frozen muck in the slushy streets of the Windy City. But, fear not, there is hope in the warmth of the south.

Miracles happen and happy endings are indeed possible. At this time of year, we all need to believe in miracles, and Flagg never fails to see the good in people.

That is something we all need to do more of — look for the good in people, especially people who see things differently than you. I know one thing, we cannot take hate with us into Heaven, so we best get rid of it here.

“Something to Look Forward To” is Flagg’s latest work and I just returned my copy to Kendall Young Library. If you read much of Flagg’s work you will discover that she genuinely likes people — she is amused by all of us. (Some more than others.)

And I think she is a bit worried about many of us, grouping ourselves together into only like-minded groups. Christmas is a wonderful time of year to start taking people one at a time, again, to not judge a person by his or her ethnic, religious, gender, political group, or what have you.

Take each person you meet one at a time and give yourself something to look forward to in the year ahead. We could all use it. People are about the best thing going, and there’s no better time than Christmas to be good to one another.