As the December holidays approach many readers like to read books that reflect the season. For some, that means taking out a copy of Dickens's A Christmas Carol or curling up with your old copy of Moore's A Night Before Christmas. We have those at the Library as well as lots of current fiction with holiday themes. Many authors publish a bit of Christmas fiction every year, often in the form of short novellas or quick-to-read mysteries, perfect for you to fit in some reading time in a busy day. May we suggest: a new mystery by the mother-daughter team of Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, Dashing Through the Snow. Anne Perry checks in with A Christmas Grace, and we have several new works of holiday fiction for young adults , including Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances from popular authors John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle.
A year doesn't go by without new Christmas cookbooks, and this year is no exception. There are several new cookbooks in our collection as well as many old favorites to help you plan your holiday baking.
The "green " theme has extended into the holiday nonfiction collection: we recommend that you check out Green Christmas by Jennifer Sander and A Greener Christmas by Sheherazade Goldsmith. Both will help you enjoy the holiday season while doing your part for the environment.
Pick up a copy of our New Holiday Reading list when you are in the Library, and happy holidays!

The December list is out and there is lots to talk about on it! Sometimes you just can't get into a long novel, which may be the case this month as we prepare for the holidays ahead. This is when we should pick up some short stories. Anne Enright's new book Yesterday's Weather: Stories is a marvelous read. This book is a collection of tales about people in Ireland who are trying to make their way in a rapidly changing society. The Letters is a short novel told in letters by Luane Rice and Joseph Monninger. Two writers combined their talents to create one moving novel about an estranged husband and wife. The format alone will get you thinking about the beauty of real written communication, particularly in this age of email. Several of our patrons recommended this book to us...we love it when you do that !

Mysteries we recommend this month include The Black Tower by Louis Bayard and Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay. The Black Tower is set in Paris in 1818 and features the world's first plainclothes detective. Completely different, Too Close to Home is a page turner about a murder in a small town and a boy who is the number one suspect.

Readers of Non-Fiction also have plenty to choose from, and some authors will be here this month, so you'll definitely want to check these out:

On December 5 we are hosting James Campbell, Charles Slack and Logan Ward together. They will speak about "Living the Adventure" . We have recommended Campbell's Final Frontiersmen, a riveting tale of one family's Alaskan adventure.

Ken Wells has written The Good Pirate of the Forgotten Bayous, and he will be here to talk to us all on December 16. His book is the story of the residents of Saint Bernard Parish during and after Katrina. Wells is an accomplished journalist who knows the territory, being a native of the Louisiana bayou country himself.

Leonard Bernstein: American Original by Burton Bernstein and Barbara Haws is a truly fabulous collection of essays and photos that explore the impact the man had on America and the world. If you are tired of gossipy biographies you'll enjoy this one.

Some of you may recall that in years past the December issue of Beyond the Best Seller List had a holiday theme. Stay tuned....there will be a separate list of holiday recommendations next week.