When I was eleven I had the best Christmas ever. I got a set of five Nancy Drew books, two Trixie Beldon books, and Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. I was in reading heaven!
I spent most of January curled up by the fireplace with my nose firmly planted in a book. Of course that was probably no different than any other winter. I have always been a voracious reader and my night stand is often piled high with magazines, books, and articles to read. And now that I have a kindle...oh my goodness - what a great invention for readers!
The top of my gift list is always something from the bookstore. I do love reading on my Kindle. It is much easier to pack ten books on my Kindle than ten physical books, but I still love the feel and look of regular print books. And books rich in illustration are still best viewed in print version. At lease in my humble opinion.
So for all of you readers out there - here are some books to add to your gift list. You will enjoy receiving or giving every one of these great stories.
First on my list is
Postcards of St. Charles. For anyone who lives in the St. Charles area, this is a wonderful Christmas gift. Arcadia Publishing is known for their amazing photographic histories of American towns and Valerie Battle Kienzle does a fantastic job bringing historic St. Charles to life. I am of course excited because Valerie is a friend of mine, but friend or not - this is a great book!
I adore mysteries, especially series mysteries. Once I meet a set of characters I want to visit with them again and again. Blame it on Trixie and Nancy. Two series that I have fallen in love with this year are
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen and
The Bibliophile Mysteries by Kate Carlise. Very different settings, but both are great fun to read.
Her Royal Spyness stars Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, daughter to the Duke of Atholt and Rannoch and thirty-fourth in line for the throne of England. Unfortunately the title does not come with money. She is flat broke, along with the rest of London in the 1930's. Lady Georgie has to learn to make her way among the commoners and work for her tea and crumpets. Too bad there is a dead count in the bathtub and her brother is accused of murder! This book is a great combination of mystery and comedy with plenty of fun royal antics.
Besides
Homicide in Hardcover is set in modern San Francisco where book restorer, Brooklyn Wainwright saves rare books from mold, mildew, and greedy thieves. She gets more help than she wants from her hippie new age parents and not enough attention from the cute security agent, but Brooklyn still manages to solve the mysteries and save her beloved books. I not only enjoy the mysteries in these novels but I also like learning about the art of bookbinding and book making. Lots of great details about rare books!
Besides Mysteries I also like fantasy books. Yes, I am a Tolkien fan. And I really enjoy some of the new fantasy books like the
Goblin Wars by Kersten Hamilton. I know - the goblin wars sounds kind of gross, like zombie wars or something. But it's not! Hamilton uses the old myths and legends of Ireland to create a totally different kind of fantasy world of high born goblins and the underworld of Mag Mell. It is one of the most unique fantasy books I have read. And there's not a single vampire to be found!
If you have children on your Christmas list, I must plug my favorite authors who also happen to be members of my writing critique group.
For a great Young Adult novel try Kristin Nitz's,
Suspect. Set in Missouri wine country, this homegrown mystery has enough twists and turns to keep the most avid reader guessing.
Mama's Window, by Lynn Rubright, is a wonderful story of a boy's dream to fulfill his Mother's final wish for a stained glass window in their church. An uplifting story that is perfect for the holiday season.
A delightful non-fiction picture book is
Out on the Prairie by Donna Bateman. Donna writes in perfect rhyme and does impeccable research. She spent her vacation on the Dakota prairie researching the animals for this book. It has starred reviews from Kirkus and is a must have for any child's library.
And for a great picture book mystery - that's right - a great mystery for little kids! Pick up a copy of Jeanie Ransom's
What Really Happened to Humpty? You'll have a great time investigating with Joe Dumpty (Humpty's brother) and laughing at the eggs-ellent puns!
The best place to shop for all your gift book needs? The Main Street Bookstore in St. Charles. Owner Vicki Erwin and her fine staff will help you select great titles for even the toughest critic.
www.mainstreetbooks.net
Merry Christmas and Happy reading to all!
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