Ah, Christmas. While it is a wonderful holiday in general, the specifics can really get you down! For example, what do you get your gadget-loving brother-in-law that he hasn’t already bought himself? Or how about your parents, who say they don’t want anything, but still are going to feel bad if you really don’t get them anything? I’ve got the answer for you: get them a Bundle of Joy.
What is a Bundle of Joy? I’m glad you asked. A Bundle of Joy is a classic book that you know someone will love, bundled with an informative commentary on that book (along with suggestions for about three dozen other books that they can read during the year) in Back to the Best Books: How the Classics Can Change Your Life. It’s a gift that keeps on giving, because everybody loves a good book, and everybody loves a good book list!
For example, give your nephew (the recent college grad) The Count of Monte Cristo, by Dumas, and bundle it with Back to the Best Books. There is a great chapter called “Action Heroes” in the book that will give him all the background information to make the book more interesting. Young men love this book because the Count is everything they want to be: smart, brave, and incredibly wealthy! He’ll thank you later. Or, give your sister Mansfield Park, the one Austen book she probably hasn’t read yet, bundled with Back to the Best Books. She’ll learn more about Jane Austen and find two other great reads in the chapter titled “Chick Lit for GrownUps.”
This year, stop giving gifts that just add to the clutter and give a gift that your friends and relatives will love. Give a Bundle of Joy!
Your Group or Mine?
Some time ago I mentioned on my Facebook page that I have been visiting book groups lately – several groups have purchased my book and are using it for a reading guide – and that if I am close enough I’d be glad to schedule more visits. A reader wrote to ask what books are in the reading guide, and of course I asked her why she hadn’t yet coughed up a few bucks and bought the book? Well, even if you haven’t bought the book, I’m going to put the Table of Contents right here so that you’ll know what books are in it!
Back to the Best Books, Table of Contents www.backtothebestbooks.com/2011/08/30/all-the-books-in-the-book/#more-713
If your book group members would like to buy the book to use in 2012, contact me and I’ll bundle you up a package at a discount. (With that nifty flat rate box from the Post Office, I can ship you a dozen of them pretty darn cheap.) Several book clubs use the book to read a classic every other month, and do something more contemporary in between. The chapter topics make a good monthly theme, and some groups just take the topic and let members choose which book to read, then share with each other. There are so many ways to approach the classics, but it helps to have a guide to start with. It saves you time and effort and gets your group on the same page, so to speak!
So email me at [email protected] and I’ll get you all fixed up. And, if you are in Southern California or the Salt Lake City area, I’d be glad to come and speak to your group in person. It’s fun to talk about books, wherever and whenever we can. Whatever the case, give books for Christmas this year, and drop me a line to tell me what you are reading. Join me on my blog at
