Ah, the joy of the holiday season - baking cookies, long lines, wrapping presents and hand cramps from writing Christmas cards. Some see the holidays as a time of religious contemplation others as a crass commercial venture. Yet most of us may find ourselves caught in between with high levels of stress right now as we scramble to find “perfect” gifts.

Over the last several years this column has noted books of interest as possible gifts. With the dearth of great books (no “Blink!,” “Freakonomics,” “Team of Rivals,” �” or “The World is Flat”) that stand out right now, this year's list falls more into the category of small books to provide stress relief, a smile and that little something for that person who just might not be in the spirit. With one exception these are books of short pieces and compilations. Half are uplifting and the other half, well, readers will see how lucky they might be.

While former president Jimmy Carter is enmeshed in controversy with his new book, his 21st, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid” ($27 Simon & Schuster), his “Christmas in Plains” ($10 S&S) is made up of short personal recollections about small town holidays and growing up in tough times. While stories about his four Christmas' as president might be the ones you turn to, Vice President Dick Cheney might want to read the story about the dangers of quail hunting.

At the opposite end of the spiritual spectrum are two books of short stories. Humorist David Sedaris is in top form with his six seasonal tales in “Holidays on Ice” ($8.95 Back Bay Books). From a first person account of being a Macy's SantaLand elf to the weirdest Christmas letter you'll read- his wicked sense of humor is extremely entertaining.

The other compilation worth picking up is the 18 short stories put together by HarperCollins that give the not so happy side of the holidays in “The Worst Noel” ($14.95) that runs the multi-denominational gambit of the holidays to the weird, including Santa crashing a car.

American Movie Classics has already started to run both a colorized and the original black and white version of one movie and soon TBS will likely have its 24 hour marathon of another #- they are of course “A Miracle on 34th Street” and “A Christmas Story” respectively. As most bibliophiles will tell you, “the book is always better than the movie” and even though there will be great debate regarding these two holiday classics - the original novella and short stories add a new dimension to these tales.

Valentine Davies' 1947 classic “Miracle on 34th Street” (Harcourt $12.95) now in re-print, is a great story about the power of faith and believing, when common sense says not to. Finally, Jean Shepherd's “A Christmas Story” ($14.95 Broadway Books) fleshes out the childhood quest of Ralphie Parker for a Red Ryder BB Gun, the details of the grand prize leg lamp controversy and the offensive next door neighbors.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be e-mailed at cozguytho@aol.com