Whew! I’m done. That’s what I
thought as I drifted off last night. I did the mental list in my head—yep! A
book for everyone. (And you can just guess what I’m giving myself.) Then, this
morning after my walk and before I got to work, I checked out Amazon . Suddenly,
I remembered my (hope my kids aren’t reading this) tradition of giving them The
Best American Short Stories and The Best American Essays of the
year. I’d totally forgotten, and I’d already bought them (they are all grown
after all) ‘way too much. So I compromised and ordered copies of The Best American
Nonrequired Reading of 2012. They both have enough things they have to do,
and this sounds like fun. So I’m lurking around the front door waiting for the
mail carrier—again.
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| You'll never guess what's in every package! |
Now
my big question. Do I dare go to Murder by the Book (one of the best indie
bookstores I’ve ever set foot in) this Saturday for the Christmas Party?
Surely, I can listen to good music, share some holiday goodie and not
buy a book. (Has anyone read Louise Penny? I haven’t but I’ve been thinking. .
.) Nope think I’ll stay home.
I’ve
wrapped all the books I have to give, and they’re under the Christmas
poinsettia (no tree at the Pandos this year—we’re going to my daughter’s.) Time
to bake and maybe make some decadent chocolate truffles. They’re as tempting as
a new mystery.
BUT wait! I’m not through. I was
book shopping again this morning. I got an appeal from one of my favorite local
charities. Yes, I’m a soft-touch. It offers housing to families in transition. Translation—going
from homeless to somewhere permanent. There are lots of these families in the
big city of Houston. Besides offering temporary housing, they do all they can to
make the children’s lives happy like kids’ lives ought to be. One thing they
are developing is a library of children’s books, and yes, they need donations.
Moreover, they want donations to give as Christmas books. What can I do?
When
we did the great book purge I told you about last spring, I gave away most of
my kiddo books. So now, I’m off for books. I picked up three this morning when
I bought gift wrap at the dollar store, but soon as I finish this, I’m off for
Half-Price Books and maybe a couple of the nearby resale shops.
See
if there’s a project like this near you. There’s nothing like Christmas, a
child and a book.
Remember
the wise Sherlock Holmes. “It is a great
thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your
very own.”
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| Soon, someone's going to love each of these! |
(Another version of this entry appears at http://storycirclenetwork.wordpress.com/)
