Tis the Season for Giving... What?

As a library, we often promote the idea of giving books as gifts any time of year, but especially in December. Books are a way to bring people together to share a story, or to help a child develop their imagination, or to share cherished traditions. We argue that reading expands minds, helps the armchair traveler explore new cultures, and provides escape and leisure in a hectic world.

If you are thinking about giving someone a book as a gift, here's a thought: is it the right gift for that person? Maybe a book isn't always the best idea. Beth Carswell of AbeBooks posted a thought-provoking article a couple of years ago that is still relevant, "The Best Book Gifts, And When Not To Give A Book." She lists ten situations where giving a book as a gift may not be the best idea, like for college students who already are overwhelmed with course reading and may not have time to enjoy "fun" stuff.

If you still really want to give someone a book as a gift, what format is the best? So many people have switched to ebooks, and you need to know what kind of device they use to read their ebooks. Do they use a tablet with an app from each major ebook retailer? Do they have a Kindle, Nook, or Kobo ereader and buy only from that company? Are they anti-Amazon, or anti-DRM? (This is really, really important to know when you want to give an ebook to someone.) How does one even give someone else an ebook as a gift? Juli Monroe over at TeleRead has a good description of how you can do this: "Giving eBooks as Gifts."

Don't forget that a great opportunity to support local authors is coming this Saturday, November 30. The Local Author Showcase at the Pottsville Library is part of the national Small Business Saturday event going on in downtown Pottsville. More than 25 authors from Schuylkill County will be at the library from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., selling print copies of their books (and some might have other media formats as well, like musical CDs). You can read the Republican Herald's story about the events for more about other businesses taking part in the event. Saturday is also the day of the Santa parade in town, the lighting of the city's Christmas tree, and the children's Christmas party at the Humane Fire Company.

Let the holiday season begin!

Holiday Favorites

How do you spend the month of December? Does your family celebrate Christmas? Hanukkah? Kwanzaa? Winter Solstice? Do you bake special cookies or cakes that have been passed down from one generation to the next?

Here at the Pottsville Free Public Library, we have resources to help you enjoy and make the most of this most festive of months. Whether it's movies on DVD to relax with the family, cookbooks for the celebratory meals, or novels to help you escape from the rush, visit us for some holiday helpers. The titles listed below are just to give you a start!

Great books:
Christmas with Paula Deen (641.5686 D36)

Mrs. Fields Cookie Book: 100 recipes from the kitchen of Mrs. Debbie Fields (641.8654 F46m)

It's a Gingerbread House: bake it, build it, eat it! (j 641.86 W)

Celebrating Holidays Scrapbook-Style (745.593 C392)

Christmas Crafts from Around the World (j 745.59 S)

How to Spell Chanukah: 18 writers celebrate 8 nights of lights (296.435 H83)

The Stone Lamp: 8 stories of Hanukkah through history (j 811.54 H)

Seven Spools of Thread: a Kwanzaa story (jE M)

The Complete Kwanzaa: celebrating our cultural harvest (394.261 R451)


CDs:
Songs of Joy and Peace (CD R MA SJP S42) -- Christmas songs plus music for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa

Wintertime: the United States Air Force Band (CD H United W U01) -- Seasonal samplings include English carols, Hanukkah songs, and Gregorian chants

DVDs:
The Night Before Christmas... and more Christmas stories (j DVD-118)

White Christmas (DVD-550)

The Little Drummer Boy... and 4 more holiday stories (j DVD-245)