The Best Gift Books

All through December, we were recommending and selling (and buying) books that people would be receiving as gifts. The gift givers were all pleased with their choices, and we had fun wrapping many gifts while imagining the delight with which they would be opened and read.

Now, the question is: What books were you given that you are excited to read (or have already read and loved)?

Here's my answer: All of them! I was given two Mark Bittman cookbooks--How to Cook Everything and Kitchen Express--which I've dipped into already and look forward to using often, and two wished-for books for the baby's growing library--The Christmas Magic and Waiting for Winter.

However, the best book, simply because it was just the novel I needed to immerse myself in the day after Christmas, was Hunting and Gathering, by Anna Gavalda. This book has been recommended to me several times by a bookseller friend of mine and also by a customer. I'd been thinking of giving to myself for Christmas but before I could do so, a wonderful friend gave me a copy, without even knowing that I'd wanted it! It's absolutely wonderful writing, an engaging story about four outsiders living in Paris who find each other and form a family. I actually haven't finished the book yet, but only because I don't really want to--I want to keep reading about these people and their lives.

I hope you're all enjoying some good books, and would love to hear about them!

Happy Reading, and Happy New Year ~

Sandy

A list to end all lists

(via Powell's)

Wow. You know how, come December, there are all of those lists of "Best of the Year"? Well, blogger Largehearted Boy is compiling a list of links to all of the Best Books of 2010 lists available on line. And it is a looooong list. However, if you have some time to kill and are wondering which books you might have missed over the past 11-12 months, or find out if you agree with the critics, do take a look.

I'm pretty sure these are on that list, but I had to point it out, because it's a pretty fun idea: the literary mix tape. GalleyCat has assembled "mixes" of books that you can read excerpts from--Best YA Books of 2010, Best Novels of 2010, and Best eBooks of 2010.

And, although it is not technically a "best of" list, I would also recommend a browse through our own Staff Gift Picks list! (Scroll past our everyday Staff Favorites for the special Holiday list.)

Happy Reading!

22nd Anniversary Celebration and Sirius Reader Sale

We're celebrating our 22nd anniversary this year, and will be hosting our annual Sirius Reader Party & Sale to celebrate and thank our wonderful customers for supporting this locally owned and independent bookstore. 

Saturday, December 4
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

• 20 - 50% off select books


• 10% off pre-paid special orders


• Planet Shari Sample Sale


• Refreshments and door prizes!


• Cookbook signing and recipe tasting (read more below)

Vermont cookbook authors Andrea Chesman (Recipes from the Root Cellar) and Tracey Madeiros (Dishing Up Vermont) will be at The Galaxy Bookshop during our Sirius Reader Party on Saturday, December 4, from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. to sign copies of their cookbooks. There will also be samples of recipes from each book, cooked up by your very own Galaxy Bookshop staff, to taste.
Recipes from the Root Cellar will be a boon to anyone using up their stores of winter vegetables through the long season--Chesman offers 250 menu-saving recipes that feature everything from kale to rutabagas.
Dishing Up Vermont brings a wealth of recipes--many from the kitchens of chefs and farmers around Vermont--that put a spotlight on our state's produce, meats, and artisanal foods.
Autographed copies of these books will make wonderful gifts for any home cook on your holiday list!