Last Minute Gift Ideas from Local Booksellers
How did it get to be Dec. 20th?
That means only a few more shopping days until Christmas. If you’re like me, that means a trip to the local bookstore is in order. Here are a few suggestions from our local booksellers.
Lori Fazio, chief operating officer at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison, says that at this time of year, anything goes as shoppers look for the ideal gift for others and themselves. But she says sales of non-fiction books tends to increase as the holidays get closer, “because those are the gifts that people are giving to those they don’t typically buy for during the rest of the year.”
She says biographies, history, and cookbooks also do quite well this time of year.
She is recommending the following books: The Library Book by Susan Orlean,
These Truths by Jill Lepore, 1000 Books To Read Before You Die by James Mustich, Everything Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg by Jane Sherron de Hart.
“These are also all choices that I would hunker down with between the 25th and the 1st,” she says.
Suffering from Holiday Stress?
For someone who might be suffering from holiday stress, or who is interested in problem solving, mindfulness, or meditation, Linda Williams, the owner of Burgundy Books, 1551 Boston Post Road, Water’s Edge Shops, Westbrook, is recommending Visionary Mind Power by Bruce James Franciso.
“The author has taken his years of experience as a hypnotist to coach and teach mindfulness and meditation. This book addresses challenges that have solutions we can solve. The power of visionary thinking can provide ways to handle stress, and habits like smoking and weight loss,” she says. “He uses humor and wisdom in his writing and motivational seminars. This is a tool for the mind that we never received when we were born. A good approach to holiday stress, too.”
Other recommendations from Williams include Hudson River Chronicles by Richard J. Friswell, which is a “tribute to one of our most famous rivers in the east written by a Wesleyan scholar.” She says there are more than a hundred illustrations and the book is a good mix of history and stories.
Ladybird Adrift, by Alison Downs, “reveals the ups and downs of throwing oneself into the fray,” Williams says. “Turning 30 is a time for spreading your wings. What better way to do that than to move to New York City. What could go wrong?...A good read for adventurous souls.”
Juicy Thrillers
Liza Fixx, the owner at Breakwater Books, 81 Whitfield Street, Guilford, says her customers are particularly interested in non-fiction books and biographies around the holidays.
Among her favorites are Sally Field’s In Pieces, Justin Timberlake’s Hindsight and All the Things I Can’t See, anything on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Michelle Obama’s Becoming.
She says all of those sell quickly.
In fiction, her store is seeing a continued interest in “juicy thrillers” like It’s Always the Husband.
“And Louise Penny’s newest mystery Kingdom of the Blind is a hot title for the holidays,” she says.
Her customers also like cookbooks during the holidays, with favorites this year including Ina Garten’s Cook Like a Pro and Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat.
“The latter has a Netflix showed based on it.”
Another favorite is Janna Gaines
“Her newest home book called Homebody is an exquisite gift book,” she says.
Graphic novels also sell well this time of year and, for kids, the following books are flying off of the shelves: Illegal, Crush, To Kill a Mockingbird.
“And we are seeing many customers looking for the standby classics as well such as Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, and The Polar Express.”
Hearth, Home, Entertainment
Christine Schneider at the Griswold Inn Store, 47 Main Street, Essex says she finds as the holidays get closer, people start to make “emotional shopping decisions, with hearth, home, and entertainment at the forefront of those decisions.”
She says there are many books that fit that bill, including The Nora Murphy’s Country House Style, “where she creates an inspirational place where everyone is welcome.”
Kate Bowler’s New England Invite: Fresh Feasts to Savor the Season “is a beautifully photographed cookbook [that] gives recipes and tips for year round entertaining.
And then, Hot Cocoa Comfort, by Michael Turback, “includes 50 recipes for comforting cups of chocolate, a re-introduction to an old favorites, with imaginative and original, yet accessible recipes.”