The Diary of a Saint

"The Diary of a Saint" by Arlo Bates is a book written in the form of a year-long diary. The story paints a vivid three-dimensional portrait of a woman, Ruth Privet. She is not a saint in the religious sense but Ruth has dedicated her life to cleaning up after others' mistakes. It's a motivational message that's also a lot of fun to read. Excerpt: "January 1. How beautiful the world is! I might go on to say, and how commonplace this seems written down in a diary; but it is the thing I have been thinking. I have been standing ever so long at the window, and now that the curtains are shut I can see everything still. The moon is shining over the wide white sheets of snow, and the low meadows look far off and enchanted. The outline of the hills is clear against the sky, and the cedars on the lawn are almost green against the whiteness of the ground and the deep, blue-black sky. It is all so lovely that it somehow makes one feel happy and humble both at once. It is a beautiful world, indeed, and yet last night— "