happy haul-idays giveaway with chronicle books

It’s hard to believe that the holidays are upon us – but they’re almost here! As I did my grocery shopping yesterday I saw store aisles wholly devoted to decorations in red and green. Luckily they haven’t put the Christmas trees out for sale yet (the fresh cut ones, anyway), so I don’t feel utterly behind.

To get you (and me) in the holiday spirit, and to help out with your shopping list, Chronicle Books is hosting its second annual Happy Haul-idays giveaway. It’s a pretty sweet deal. They’ll give one blog-posting winner $500 in books, one commenter $500 in books, and one charity $500 in books. That’s a lot of lovely printed matter to go around… so how can you win a piece of the prize?

Option number one: Enter directly by posting about the giveaway on your blog. Option number two: Comment on the post of the winner's entry. Also gain extra chances by tweeting daily with the #happyhaulidays hashtag. It’s that easy. Check out the instructions in more detail here.

One of the best bits about this giveaway is that the winner will pick a charity to receive $500 worth of books. In the unlikely event that I win, I'd like the prize to go to First Book, a DC-based charity that provides new books to underprivileged kids. My roommate Emily introduced me to First Book and its work, and it has been on my mind ever since. First Book connects with a network of educators and organizations to provide new books to low-income children. A worthy cause for any book-lover.

And now for the fun and frivolous part… what would I choose with my winnings?

For Christmas reading:

The Story of Christmas text based on the King James Version, illustrations by Pamela Dalton

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner, illustrations by Christopher Silas Neal

Very Merry Cookie Party by Barbara Grunes and Virginia Van Vynckt, photographs by France Ruffenach

For pastry and sweets recipes:

Miette by Meg Ray with Lesley Jonath, photographs by Frankie Frankeny

Flour by Joanne Chang with Christie Matheson, photographs by Keller + Keller

Tartine by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, foreward by Alice Waters, photographs by France Ruffenach

Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson, photographs by Eric Wolfinger

Milk & Cookies by Tina Casaceli, foreward by Jacques Torres, photographs by Antonis Achilleos

For my savory cooking library:

Rustica by Frank Camorra and Richard Cornish, photographs by Alan Benson

The Country Cooking of Italy by Coleman Andrews, foreward by Mario Batali, photographs by Christopher Hirsheimer

Poulet by Cree LeFavour, photographs by France Ruffenach

For my sister (the writer and educator extraordinnaire):

Ready, Set, Novel! by Chris Baty, Lindsey Grant and Tavia Stewart-Streit

Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl

For fun and just-because:

How to Speak Zombie by Steve Mockus, illustrations by Travis Millard

Lincoln in 3-D by Bob Zeller and John J. Richter, prologue by Harold Holzer

Paper Blossoms by Ray Marshall (times TWO - one for me, and one for a friend!)

See's Famous Old Time Candies by Margaret Moos Pick

Total? $498.72. Just under the bar. Remember, you can enter here, or simply by commenting on my post.

Which of the books on my list would you be most eager to own?