Such a big, beautiful compilation of so many of Lewis's greatest works! And with a sewn binding! (At least my 2001 printing has one.) If it were still in print, this would be a perfect gift for those you love the most. ( )

Mere Christianity

C. S. Lewis is such a fluent read, despite being a bit dated 50 years on, that it is very easy to pass over things that really need to be thought through more. Even so, I got much to ponder from this my fourth or fifth reading of this classic.

Till We Have Faces
The story of Cupid and Psyche from Apuleius's "The Golden Ass" retold by Lewis from the point of view of Orual, one of Psyche's older sisters.

The first part is Orual's "complaint against the gods", and tells how she lost Psyche and then went on to become a great queen of Glome.

In the second, very moving, part Orual receives a reply from the gods, forcing her to reassess her memories and gain insight into her motives and actions without any of the usual subterfuges and lies we use on ourselves -- and which of us could truthfully bear that?