We have seen the first snowfall in New Canaan and felt the chill of the coming winter. We know that the holidays are upon us...Hanukkah begins tonight, and then Christmas will be just around the corner. For our December Beyond the Best Seller List we have chosen holiday titles that will put you in a holiday spirit or perhaps provide you with a welcome time of respite from holiday happenings. The fiction list features new titles set in December or with holiday themes. If you have "had it" with holiday preparations you might want to pick up On Strike for Christmas by Sheila Roberts. It is reminiscent of Grisham's "Skipping Christmas" but with a twist: this time the wives go on strike and the husbands have to step up to the plate if they want to celebrate the holidays. Christmas Stories: edited by Diana Secker Tesdell is a lovely anthology of classic Christmas tales. Dickens, Bowen, Cather, and Conan Doyle are featured in this volume.

On the nonfiction side we recommend Cross Country Skiing: building skills for fun and fitness by Steve Hindman. Think of the fun you can have in Waveny Park or at the Nature Center! Since it is time for donating and year-end tax planning we recommend two books relating to giving: Ron Jordan and Katelynn Quynn's Invest in Charity: a donor's guide to charitable giving will help you evaluate charities, and Who Really Cares by Arthur C. Brooks tells why giving to charity matters.

For December parties we recommend The Art of Mingling by Jeanne Martinet to get you through that dreaded office party. If you are the one throwing the party, check out The Pastry Queen Christmas by Rebecca Rather. It is more than pastry, with recipes, meal plans, and advice for smooth entertaining.



Happy Holiday reading from your Library!