On Monday morning, I decided I had to get a hold of Auggie Wren's Christmas Story by Paul Auster. Could I have it in my hands by Christmas Eve? I figured it was worth a try, so I ordered it from the library. It came through yesterday, all the way from Cambridge, so I stopped by Westwood Library on my way home from purchasing all the goodies for Christmas Day.

The Auggie Wren story appeared the first time in the op-ed pages of the New York Times in 1990. It's also included in Auster's novel Smoke. But this year, Holt packaged the Christmas fable in a beautiful slim volume for the holiday market. I will report more about it later today. Until then, you may wish to visit NPR to hear Auster reading the beginning of the tale.