A Very Merry Unbirthday, Part II

Sometime ago, I ran a Very Merry Un-birthday post to clear off my bookshelves a bit. I mentioned recently that I was cleaning again and so it's time for another giveaway. Instead of giving away individual titles, I'm going to give them away as a packaged deal.

Both of the books are written by well-known authors and are quick, easy and pleasant reads. They are perfect books for the holiday season when life is, well, crazy, and you only have a few minutes to escape from it! Details of how to win are listed below the mini-reviews.

Also, I'd like to take a moment to congratulate the following individuals for contests that they've won around these parts lately.

Random.org was employed and selected #13 - Tea as the winner of the John Muir book.

The winners of The Silent Gift are: Caryn & Shawntele

Ladies, if you'll pop me an e-mail with your mailing address, we'll take care of getting these books to you!

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I recently read the book Baby written by Patricia MacLachlan. You might recognize her name as she also wrote the book Sarah, Plan and Tall. I had never read anything else by MacLachlan and thought I'd give this book a chance. From the back of the book:

"Twelve-year-old Larkin returns home one day to discover a baby sitting in a basket in the driveway of her family's house. The only clue to the baby's appearance is a note from the child's mother. "This is Sophie," the note reads. "She is almost a year old and she is good . . . I will come back for her one day. I love her."


Eloquently written, I really did enjoy this quick 132 page story. Although it is written at a middle school level, there are themes in this book that would encourage adult interaction. It's nothing horrible and sordid. It just deals with topics of child abandonment and the loss of children. It could be a painfully sad story if not handled as well as MacLachlan handled it. She writes the most beautiful prose and instead of feeling sorrowful over the story, you find yourself engaging with the family who temporarily adopts little Sophie. It's a beautiful story.

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I recently read and reviewed Kate's Choice, by Louisa May Alcott as part of the 5 Minutes for Books Classics Bookclub. (You can click on the title to read my review of it.) This is a great, quick holiday read and I enjoyed it. However, it's one of those books that you read through, enjoy and pass along. It's quaint and wonderful and a great read-aloud for ages 5 and up, I would think.

The other option is, of course, take about 1/2 hour at a Starbucks some afternoon/evening. Get a delicious cup of their holiday eggnog latte and breeze through this book. You'll feel warm from the inside out for a variety of reasons at that point. And you'll be happy. Very, very happy!

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If you would like to win these two classic titles, simply leave a comment below. That's it. So easy I could cry.

If you'd like to leave a second comment for an extra entry, leave a comment telling me what it is that you LOVE about the Christmas season. (How hard is that, really?) Please note: you must leave a second comment to have 2 entries. If your entire remarks are left in one comment, you'll only have one entry into the contest. U.S. Residents only, please.

This contest will be open through Sunday, November 29th.
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!

And, once again, a very merry un-birthday to yoooou!!!! (Yes, you!)



Oh wait! Before I forget! Are you looking for gift ideas and do you like to win prizes? Then track with us over at 5 Minutes for Books STARTING THIS WEEK for our Gift Guide & Giveaway Event. I'm particularly excited about the recommendations and prize packages that I got to put together and organize so...stay tuned! Some of my favorites are coming right up!