Gift givers, forget the coffee-table books for a minute and think small. Three little holiday books by best-selling authors have arrived just in time for giving, and they couldn't be more different from each other.

        Christmas in Plains is another magical memoir by former president Jimmy Carter. It centers on Christmas in and near his home in Plains, Ga.

        He covers his early childhood, his 11 years in the U.S. Navy, the Christmases spent in the Georgia governor's mansion, as well as those in the White House.

        Early memories focus on his young playmates (the children of black farm workers), finding and cutting down a Christmas tree, hunting with his father, firecrackers. These years, most of them during the Great Depression of the 1930s, take up half the book.

        After he left Plains to join the Navy, he cherished Plains Christmases more than ever. One year (1948), he was on a submarine while his wife, Rosalynn, and their baby son, Jack, were in Plains.

        While he was president (1976-80), Christmas in Plains was seriously disrupted, as tourists, vendors, demonstrators and TV crews descended on the tiny town.

        The book is a thoughtful account of Mr. Carter's life, lovingly illustrated by his daughter, Amy. It's warm, well-written — surprising even. It is amusing to see his Baptist father's recipe for egg nog, the whiskey or rum acquired from the county bootlegger.
       • • •

        In John Grisham's Skipping Christmas, Luther Krank is a villain in his own neighborhood.

        He will not be stringing lights on his shrubbery, mailing holiday cards, hosting his annual Christmas Eve open house or attending the office party. He refuses to buy a tree from the Boy Scouts, a calendar from the police or a fancy fruitcake from the fire department.

        And no way will he place that 8-foot Frosty the Snowman on his roof, as he and his neighbors in the 41 houses on Hemlock Street have done for years.

        Luther and Nora Krank's only child, Blair, left for a year in the Peace Corps the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas will not be the same without her, so the Kranks will skip it.

        Furthermore, Luther, a tax accountant, had figured out that the family had spent $6,100 on Christmas last year. $6,100!

        This year, he and Nora will spend the money (well, half of it) on themselves. They will take a cruise. Some place warm. They start crash diets and buy a membership at Tans Forever.

        It is a harebrained scheme, Nora says. It won't work.

        No one can change Luther's mind. Not neighbors, not friends. Not even the embarrassment of having a “Free Frosty” sign placed in their yard by someone who knows that Frosty is imprisoned in the Krank basement.

        Mr. Grisham's little Christmas book is overwritten and predictable. It's also hilarious in places. It's easy to identify with the horrors of holiday shopping, nosy neighbors and boozing co-workers.

        Of course, Luther's “skipping Christmas” scheme doesn't work. Blair phones on Christmas Eve to say she is coming home (in seven hours!).

        Just when you're certain cranky Luther is a consummate Scrooge, he pauses to count his blessings and delivers the perfect Christmas gift.
       • • •

        The slender The Mitford Snowmen could be a chapter in any one of Jan Karon's series of Mitford books. The sweet, simple story stars the same cast of characters as those in the novels. And, like any chapter in the books, can be read in about 10 minutes.

        Here, it's snowing “four inches and more comin” while Mitford's visionaries and old timers are having a heated discussion about downtown parking.

        Someone looks outside and sees “a whole caboodle” of snowmen. Folks up and down Main Street are building snowmen. Why? Well, someone saw someone else building one and someone else joined in and ... so it grew.

        Is it a contest? Who is the judge? What is the prize? Does it matter?

        The Mitford townspeople have fun trying to guess who the snowmen are supposed to look like. The mayor declares herself judge, announces that everyone's a winner and invites them all to the Sweet Stuff Bakery for free doughnuts and hot chocolate.

        It's a warm, wisp of a holiday tale.

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