He begged their pardon, but he had forgotten his gloves, and instantly crossing the room to the writing table, he drew out a letter from under the scattered paper, placed it before Anne with eyes of glowing entreaty fixed on her for a time, and hastily collecting his gloves, was again out of the room, almost before Mrs. Musgrove was aware of his being in it: the work of an instant!
~ Jane Austen, Persuasion
I’ve made my list, and I’m checking it twice. It’s a list of the qualities that make the ideal holiday book, and after carefully considering the books of Christmas past, I have come up with some guidelines. A gift book should either be no surprise or a big surprise: the one you always wanted or the one you never knew you wanted. It should either be expensive and large, or cheap and small. It should be high-minded or totally frivolous. And no matter what, it should not require sustained attention, which is impossible during the yuletide season. My gift selections, chosen entirely at random but with exquisite taste, satisfy at least two of these requirements.
Williams Grimes writes on the ideal holiday gift book.
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