AAUSTIN, Texas -- Fellow procrastinators of the world, unite! Now
is the time to begin thinking about Christmas shopping. We still have a few
days left, so there's no rush for those who have been known to do it all on
Christmas morning at the Jiffy Mart (everyone appreciates a nice can of
WD-40).
For those who consider it wussy to begin shopping before the
24th, here's the annual Christmas book list -- the best one-stop shopping in
town, items to suit all ages and personalities.
We prefer, of course, to shop at independent bookstores, but if
a chain store is all that's available, it will do. Though there are no
guarantees on the quality of the Christmas help: I once heard a woman ask
for "The Odyssey" by Homer, to which the high-school honey hired for the
holidays replied, "Uh, Homer Who?"
A fun book for almost anyone on you list is "Seabiscuit, An
American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House, $24.95). Unless you're
a horse person, you probably think you don't want to read the biography of a
racehorse, but you do want to read this one. It's a love of a book about a
love of a horse.