The holidays are upon us! Our December Beyond the Best Seller List is loaded with holiday treats.

In Fiction, Elizabeth Berg retells the biblical story of Mary and Joseph beginning with their courtship in Nazareth, in The Handmaid and the Carpenter. Country music singer and novelist Kinky Friedman has created a holiday fable about an autistic boy and a very special pig named Valerie in The Christmas Pig .

In Non-fiction, we have you covered mind, body, and soul: for the mind, Winter Blues by Norman E. Rosenthal will help you cure the seasonal blues. For the body, we've got cookbooks! Betty Crocker's Christmas Cookbook has been updated with lots of new recipes, and the Diva of Do-Ahead ( Diane Phillips) has a holiday entertaining book. Now, for the soul: Garry Wills takes a fresh look at the Life of Jesus in What Jesus Meant. And Jeffrey Goldberg's Prisoners: a Muslim and a Jew across the Middle East Divide reminds us that decent men of goodwill can bridge even the widest gulf.

Lastly, we are recommending Emily Posts's Etiquette to help you be your absolute best at all those holiday shindigs.

Happy Holidays from your Library!

Our Fall Beyond the Bestseller lists are brimming with great reading. The October list featured a beautiful work of fiction, "The Syringa Tree" by newcomer Pamela Gien. It is a gripping first novel about apartheid. Also in fiction we recommend "The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel". Fans of short stories: this is a collection of masterful short stories from a gifted writer. In non-fiction, check out "Cross Country" by Robert Sullivan. The author tells of his many experiences driving across the US with his family, along with lots of insight about American history and culture.
Our November list found us focusing on politics and the elections. Books old and new are featured. We were reminded, in the process of selecting books, of classics like Alan Drury's "Advise and Consent" and Joel McGinnis's "The Selling of the President 1968". Powerful reading that still resonates today.
Post your comments, if you wish-and stay tuned for more great reading recommendations!