Get in the Holiday Spirit with Your Library Card
This fall feels like it’s moving so fast. I want to take the time to be intentional, and celebrate the upcoming holiday season. How do I do this? With my library card!
The library has a large collection of Christmas music, both CDs and vinyl records, many of which are currently on display. If you don’t have a record player, you can borrow one from the library, or listen to records in our fireplace lounge. You can also listen to music digitally with your library card using the Hoopla app. Last week I checked out “A Joyful Holiday” by Samara Joy. Driving home I could feel my stress levels go down and my body relax as I listened to Joy’s deep jazzy voice. This week I chose “That’s Christmas to Me” by Pentatonix, one of my favorite a capella groups. As Will Ferrell’s character says in the movie “Elf,” “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”
My family enjoys checking out holiday movies for family movie nights. A new favorite with my kids is “Home Alone.” As we watched, my daughter helpfully explained the movie to me, never mind that I used to watch it as a child every year in the lead up to Christmas. The newer animated “The Grinch” (2019) featuring the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch is delightful for both children and adults. Adults can check out holiday classics such as “The Family Stone” featuring Diane Keaton and “The Holiday” with Cameron Diaz.
Next month, the library is celebrating the holidays with our 3rd annual Bookish Celebration. During this event, fellow book lover Sarah Thacker and I will recommend 40 books in 50 minutes. Here is a sneak peek of one of the categories I will feature books in: Winter Romances. You can get more book recommendations by attending A Bookish Celebration on Monday, December 15 from 6:30-7:30pm. Registration is not required.
“The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year” by Ally Carter
Mystery author Maggie is thrilled when she’s offered the chance of a lifetime: to celebrate Christmas at the home of her favorite author, Eleanor Ashley, an icon of the genre. Unfortunately, fellow-author Ethan is there too. Everyone seems to love him, but she’s sure there’s no substance to him; he can’t even remember her name correctly. When it suddenly becomes dangerous at the manor, Maggie and Ethan must navigate Eleanor’s greedy extended family and figure out who is behind the attempted crimes. This is a fun, festive, enemies to lovers romance set in a snowed-in English manor.
“Snowed In” by Catherine Walsh
Megan ran away from her small Irish village four years ago when she left her childhood sweetheart Isaac at the altar. She’s dreading going back, as everyone thinks Isaac was faultless and that she ruined his life. Now living in Dublin, she runs into her former schoolmate Christian at a bar. When he suggests they fake date for the Christmas holiday so they can both visit their families with backup (his family inquires relentlessly about his lack of a partner,) she quickly declares this the stupidest idea ever. This was a fun, steamy Christmas romance that made me laugh out loud. The characters are well-developed and I was rooting for them.
“A Winter in New York” by Josie Silver
As someone who was not in the mood to read a romance, this was the perfect romance for me. Iris flees a controlling ex-boyfriend in London, settling into life as a chef in New York City, her mother’s old stomping grounds. Enter Gio Belotti and his loveable Italian family, desperate to find the lost family recipe for their famous vanilla gelato. This is a heart warming, atmospheric read, with just enough romance, but mostly an endearing cast of characters.
Everyone can get a library card. Join the over 400 people who visit the library each day, and cultivate your holiday spirit. I hope to see you there.
Katelyn Boyer is the Adult Services Librarian at the Fergus Falls Public Library