Is there a book you hope to unwrap this holiday season? A book you’d like someone to give you? Would you like to give some books as gifts but aren’t sure what the best titles are?

Here are some recommendations from the Library Staff. Most titles are available in ebook as well as traditional book form.

For Adults

Fiction:

Outstanding books by two of our leading writers:

Canada, by Richard Ford
The Round House, by Louise Erdrich, which just won the National Book Award. 

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers, a first novel written by an Iraq war veteran

Alice Bliss, by Laura Harrington, about a teenage girl coming of age on the home-front, is now in paperback

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? a quirky book, written in emails, faxes, and memos, by Maria Semple,  creator of the TV show, Arrested Development.

For those who enjoy mystery and suspense:

The Beautiful Mystery, book 8 in the Chief Inspector Gamache series, set in Quebec, by Louise Penney

The Fallen Angel, by Daniel Silva, espionage in a Vatican setting

Live by Night by Dennis Lehane, the second book in his Boston-based
historical novel series 

Non-Fiction:

Chronicles of Downton Abbey: a new era by Jessica Fellowes, for those anxiously awaiting Season Four of the series

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, by John Meacham, a biography of our third President

Life in Color by Susan Hitchcock, a book of photographs from National Geographic
The 20^th Century in Poetry, Edited by Michael Hulse and Simon Rae

The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs a delightful compendium of essays, stories, drawings, and cartoons, about man’s best friend

Two books about books;

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe: mother and son read and discuss the same books, while she is undergoing chemotherapy.

My Ideal Bookshelf by Thessaly La Force and Jane Mount:one hundred leading cultural figures talk about which books matter most to them; includes lovely illustrations

Books about Food -- always welcome gifts:

Epicurious Cookbook by Tanya Steel

Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

And two memoirs about growing up in families that own restaurants: 
Charlotte au Chocolat, by Charlotte Silver
Memoir of the Sunday Brunch by Julia Pandl


For Children and Teens, our Youth Services Librarian, Emma Weiler,
recommends:

Picture Books  So many to choose from every year– where to start? Here’s an assortment that will appeal to many children
Black Dog by Levi Pinfold

Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

Olivia and the Fairy Princess by Ian Falconer

Children’s fiction

Ten Rules for Living with My Sister by Ann M. Martin featuring Pearl and her older sister, Lexie

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson – about Maya, a new girl, no one wants to play with

Who Could it Be at This Hour? By Lemony Snicket, author of the Unfortunate Incident series

Children’s Graphic Novels –a format that keeps growing in popularity

Chi’s Sweet Home by Kanata Konami

Legends of Zita the Space Girl by Ben Hatke

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Teens:

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman- a debut novel that’s getting a lot of attention

Kill Order by James Dashner-a prequel to his Maze Runner series

Reached by Allie Condie-the final book in a trilogy

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan-a graphic novel by a well-known artist

Would you like ideas? Visit the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2012

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