Christmas is coming, the fat geese have long flown south, and the old man longs for loonies (the Canadian dollar coin for those not in the know) - not pennies - in his hat these days. The holidays have sneaked up fast as always, and if you're still scrambling to find small last-minute gifts for a family Christmas stocking, for Hannukah or Kwanzaa, or simply as a modest present for a hostess or neighbor, I have some book gems to suggest to you ...
For the nostalgic: The Gift by Pete Hamill A 17-year-old sailor is home for the holidays in snowy 1952 Brooklyn.
For the believer: The Christmas Journey by Donna VanLiere A beautifully illustrated, empathetic retelling of the nativity story.
For your favorite Scrooge: Skipping Christmas by John Grisham No man is an island, even if he'd like to escape to one for Christmas.
For the quote collector: Only the Best/Solo Lo Mejor by Adrienne Avila & Leslie Pockell 100 passionate Latino quotations - in both Spanish and English.
For the mystery reader: Mystery Lover's Puzzle Book by Linda K. Murdock A crossword puzzle book for mystery lovers.
For the zen seeker: Ping: A Frog in Search of a New Pond by Stuart Avery Gold Ping the frog's 'transformative journey' teaches valuable life lessons.
For the budding inventor: Science's Strangest Inventions by Tom Quinn 'Stories from Over 200 Years of Science's Inventive History'.
For the extreme traveler: The Space Tourist's Handbook by Eric Anderson & Joshua Piven 'How to Prepare for the Ride of Your Life'.
For the teacher: A Teacher's 12 Days of Christmas by Sue Carabine Former students let a master teacher know the difference she made.
For the cat lover: Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper 'How I Learned about Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat'.
For the dog lover: A Dog Named Christmas by Greg Kincaid Old fashioned values, good people, warm feelings, and soulful mutts.
For the kid in all of us: The Nutty News by Ron Barrett Get the latest headlines in '80 Pages Of News That's Cracked'.
For a friend across the border: Canada vs United States by Jeff Pearce 'How Canada is So Much Better than America'.
For everyone, everywhere: Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou Stirringly invokes peace and hope against rancor, divisiveness and hate.
Have a joyous holiday and a happy, healthy and successful year to follow!
Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons.
