Wally Lamb's latest masterpiece

It's 1964 and ten-year-old Felix is sure of a few things: the birds and the bees are puzzling, television is magical, and this is one Christmas he'll never forget.

Lamb, Wally. Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story. New York: Harper, 2009.

I just finished reading Wally Lamb's latest book, Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story. It's absolutely hilarious; I laughed aloud at least a dozen times. It's a cross between Judy Blume's male coming of age story, Then Again, Maybe I Won't, and Sempé & Goscinny's funny tales about the mischievous little French boy, Le Petit Nicholas.

Wally Lamb names his books after song lyrics. (Click on the links to hear each title's inspiration.) There's She's Come Undone, I Know This Much is True, Couldn't Keep It to Myself, I'll Fly Away, The Hour I First Believed, and Wishin' and Hopin.' They are all excellent. Along with John Irving, Augusten Burroughs, and David Sedaris, Wally Lamb is one of my very favorite authors.