Books make great gifts for all and here are some perfect for giving

ANGEL TIME, The Songs of the Seraphim

By ANNE RICE

Knopf, $25.95

Anne Rice returns without vampires or the Lord, but with a villain and a good angel.

Toby O’Dare, bereft by the death of his family, abandons his idea of becoming a priest and becomes instead, an assassin, taking orders from the mysterious “Right Man.” He relishes the job and does it quite well until the seraph comes to him and he willingly follows, to save, rather than kill.

In his first case, O’Dare is transported to 13th century England, assigned to protect a Jewish couple charged with killing their own child for the offense of attending Midnight Mass in the Catholic Church. And with that he begins his quest for salvation.

Mesmerizing.

HAVE A LITTLE FAITH

By MITCH ALBOM

Hyperion, $23.99

Fans of Albom’s bestseller “Tuesdays with Morrie” will certainly welcome this new, heartwarming story of love and redemption. This time Albom chronicles the story of two men, Rabbi Albert Lewis, who he’s known since childhood, and Henry Covington, a former drug dealer, thief and ex-con, now pastor of the I Am My Brother’s Keeper church, a decaying building with a huge hole in the roof in an impoverished Detroit neighborhood.

What these two very different men have in common is faith and charisma. What prompts Albom to write these stories is the request by his rabbi to deliver the eulogy at his funeral. He agrees, provided he’s allowed to get to know the man better and through his visits to Rabbi Lewis and Pastor Covington, his faith is restored.

CHRISTMAS IN NEW ORLEANS

By Peggy Scott Laborde and John Magill

Pelican, $39.95

You’ll delight in this wonderful wave of nostalgia through words and pictures. See the holiday lights and decorations throughout the city and nearby locales as well. Glimpse favorite characters like Maison Blanche’s Mr. Bingle and delight again in the photos of the Centanni home on Canal Street that was a precursor to Al Copeland’s extravagant displays.

And food is not forgotten as New Orleans’ top chefs offer delightful recipes for the holiday season.

WINGS OF PARADISE

By Charlie Hohorst Jr. with Marcelle Bienvenu

LSU Press, $39.95

Lafayette native Hohorst beautifully photographs the birds that inhabit or visit our wetlands in the air and on land and water. His trained eye from years hunting the birds is now aimed through the lens of his high-speed camera.

The birds come from all over North America and Central America finding their way every season to South Louisiana. And despite their beauty, Bienvenu’s 24 recipes will have duck lovers’ mouths watering.

GOD WITH US (Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas)

By SCOTT CAIRNS and OTHERS

Paraclete Press, $29.95

This beautiful book with its heavy weight, glossy pages, beautiful color reproductions of famous religious art, meditations and prayers for every day of Advent, makes this an ideal pre-Christmas gift.

The prominent authors in addition to Cairns are Emilie Griffin, Richard John Neuhaus, Kathleen Norris, Eugene Peterson and Luci Shaw. They, along with editors Greg Pennoyer and Gregory Wolfe, offer historical and inspirational readings beginning with the first Sunday of Advent through the Epiphany. It’s a wonderful gift, for you as well.

MADAME POULET & MONSIEUR ROACH

By DIANNE de las with illustrations by Marita Gentry

Paraclete Press, $29.95

Here’s a book even dads will enjoy reading to the young ones.

Seems Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach were such good friends they decided to share a lovely house together and to forage for food together. But that rascally roach pretended to be sick whenever Madame Poulet asked him to come along and help forage.

Finally, Madame became suspicious and discovered Monsieur’s treachery and she dealt with him… oops, sorry, I won’t spoil the ending.