Books offer a level of personalization that few other gifts can match. When selecting a book, you’re making a thoughtful choice based on the recipient’s interests, passions, and current life journey. Whether it’s a gripping novel for a fiction enthusiast, a cookbook for a culinary explorer, or a motivational guide for someone seeking inspiration, a well-chosen book shows that you care.
Personalization can be taken a step further with a handwritten note inside the cover, sharing why you selected the book or what you hope the recipient will gain from it. This touch transforms a simple gift into a cherished keepsake.
Books are gateways to knowledge. Giving a book means giving access to new worlds, ideas, and perspectives. Non-fiction books provide practical skills, historical insights, and scientific understanding, while literary works enhance cultural awareness and empathy.
Consider gifting a history buff a detailed biography of a historical figure they admire or a tech-savvy friend the latest book on emerging digital trends. The knowledge gained from books has the potential to enrich lives long after the holiday season has passed.
In a world of constant digital stimulation, books offer a refreshing escape. Fictional worlds crafted by talented authors allow readers to travel to distant lands, experience thrilling adventures, or solve complex mysteries—all from the comfort of home.
During the often-hectic holiday season, receiving a captivating novel or an engrossing memoir can be a welcome respite. Books offer a chance to unplug, relax, and immerse oneself in a compelling story.
Reading has been shown to have numerous mental health benefits. Studies suggest that reading can reduce stress, improve mood, and even combat symptoms of depression. Engaging with well-written stories fosters empathy, helping readers understand and relate to different emotions and perspectives.
Self-help books, mindfulness guides, and poetry collections can be particularly beneficial for mental wellness. Gifting a book that supports well-being sends a powerful message of care and compassion.
Books can also strengthen personal connections. Choosing a book based on a shared interest can create an opportunity for bonding and deeper conversations. Consider selecting a title that you and the recipient can read together or discuss later.
Book clubs have long been a popular way to connect with others through shared reading experiences. Gifting a book with the suggestion of reading it together can create a shared adventure and spark meaningful discussions.
Books fuel creativity and spark the imagination, particularly for children and young adults. Storybooks, fantasy novels, and even artistic how-to guides can inspire new ideas and creative expression.
For children, books play a crucial role in cognitive development, language skills, and imaginative play. A beautifully illustrated picture book or an engaging young-adult novel can leave a lasting impact and foster a lifelong love of reading.
In a time when sustainability is more important than ever, books are a relatively eco-friendly gift option. Many books are printed on recycled paper, and second-hand bookstores provide an opportunity to gift pre-loved books with history and character.
E-books and audiobooks are also excellent alternatives for environmentally conscious gift-givers. These digital formats reduce the need for physical materials while still providing the same enriching experience.
Buying books from independent bookstores or directly from authors supports local economies and the literary community. Many small bookstores offer personalized recommendations, gift-wrapping services, and community events that add to the joy of book-giving.
Additionally, gifting books by emerging authors or from diverse perspectives helps promote underrepresented voices in literature, making your gift both meaningful and socially impactful.
Unlike many holiday gifts that may lose their appeal over time, books have lasting value. A treasured novel, a beloved memoir, or an informative guide can be revisited and enjoyed for years.
Books often become personal treasures passed down through generations, creating a legacy of shared stories and knowledge. Their enduring nature makes them a gift that keeps on giving.
Books come in a wide range of prices, making them an accessible gift for virtually any budget. From affordable paperbacks and used books to special editions and collector’s items, there’s an option for every giver.
Many libraries also offer book sales, where high-quality books can be purchased at a fraction of their retail price, making thoughtful gift-giving both affordable and rewarding.
This holiday season, consider giving a book—a gift that transcends time, trends, and material limitations. Books inspire, educate, entertain, and connect us to new worlds and each other. They’re a deeply personal, thoughtful, and enduring way to show love and appreciation.
Whether it’s a classic novel, a gripping thriller, a heartwarming memoir, or an inspiring guide, the right book can change lives. In a season defined by giving, few gifts are as meaningful or impactful as a carefully chosen book.
This article was generated by ChatGPT and edited to fit the format of the site.
Book publishing trends are constantly evolving as technology, consumer preferences, and market forces influence the industry. Based on the web search results from Bing, some of the latest book publishing trends for 2024 are:
Source: Conversation with Bing, 1/11/2024
(1) The Top 10 Publishing Trends for 2024 – Written Word Media.
(2) Book Trends 2024: The 5 Top Genres, Trends, and Changes – BOOK RIOT.
(3) The New Era Of Brand Building: Why Published Books Are The Tool Of ….
(4) Book Trends to Look for in Publishing in 2024 | Blurb Blog.
Also available on Amazon in Kindle and print versions
We interviewed Paul Gonnella, fondly referred to as Coach G, regarding his new book, PAID, about the scheme that has ripped off thousands of college football and men’s basketball players for years.
PAID is available on Amazon and the Kindle and in fine bookstores everywhere.
1. What inspired you to write PAID?
After abruptly resigning and retiring from college football in 2020, after almost 2 decades of service, I felt it was my duty, to be honest, to watch out for those who have no power or voice.
2. What are the most important, relevant issue(s)?
The most important relevant issues are:
3. What and how do you think will change with the publication of PAID?
I am hoping it starts a conversation that eventually will lead to change at the foundational level of revenue-making sports.
4. How will sports change as we know it if there are changes?
The sports of FBS college football/men’s basketball will be a better product for public consumption. Not much else will change in terms of the game. The changes I suggest in the book will dissolve the system of the mess it is in right now.
5. Are you thinking about writing a sequel to PAID or a second book?
I have not determined if I will write another book as of yet.
6. Is there anything you would like to add to this interview?
The only way change will occur is if the past players, current players, future players, all their family and friends, and the fans join together to create change. This movement will take a village to create change due to the amount of money and power the schemers have.
Outer Banks Publishing Group author Annette Creswell was recently awarded the Literary Titan Book Award for her novel, The Lodgers. Here is the email from the organization.
Author Annette Creswell We are proud to present you with our Literary Titan Book Award. Your book was recently reviewed through our Book Review Service, with that service your book is entered into our Literary Book Award competition. Your book deserves extraordinary praise and we are proud to acknowledge your hard work, dedication, and writing talent. Start telling the world that you’re an award winning author, because we will be!
The Literary Titan Book Awards are awarded to books that have astounded and amazed us with unique writing styles, vivid worlds, complex characters, and original ideas. These books deserve extraordinary praise and we are proud to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and imagination of these talented authors.
The Literary Titan is an organization of professional editors, writers, and professors that have a passion for the written word. We review fiction and non-fiction books in many different genres, as well as conduct author interviews, and recognize talented authors with our Literary Book Award. We are privileged to work with so many creative authors around the globe.
Annette Creswell is also the author of The Dark Before the Dawn.
“It is about the origin of everything – rituals, habits, sagas, stories; where does it all come from, how did it start? I live on the old ground here in The Netherlands, the Germanic tribes were here, the Celts, the Romans.”
Read the fascinating and inspiring interview with Koos and how his urban fantasy books relate to modern times.
Koos Verkaik may be one of the most prolific writers you’ve never heard of. A citizen of the Netherlands, he has been published in one format or another, starting with his comic strip, Scotty Clay at the age of sixteen. His latest work explores a topic that has crossed many a mind, especially recently, what if corporations truly took over the world. I was given the opportunity to conduct an interview via email with Mr. Verkaik, and because it is all written word, this interview captures his unique style.
Looking at the novels that are available on Amazon you have written, I have noticed a couple of ongoing themes. And I am curious why the jester is such an important symbol for you?
As a kid, I was confronted with the stories of a mythic figure in The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany; Tijl Uilenspiegel. A fantastic medieval jester. The figure intrigued me, scared me, and inspired me.
A (court) jester can say and do as he pleases without getting punished.
When I write novels, I feel like a jester myself – I can tell what I want. You can read my books as pure entertainment – magic, mystery, and adventure – but when you are able to read between the lines, you will also understand my opinion about life, about the Big Questions.
In a recent essay about me, historian Max Moragie wrote:
“Anyone who has read or reread a novel by Koos Verkaik (I am now re-reading it for the second time) has enjoyed a story that continues to fascinate and surprise, even if you know the outcome, but is also encouraged to muse about the essence of existence. A pulp writer doesn’t make you think like that, sometimes a literary author, but apparently a Verkaik always does.”
What fascinates you so much about Teutonic mythology that you incorporated it into several of your urban fantasy novels?
It is about the origin of everything – rituals, habits, sagas, stories; where does it all come from, how did it start? I live on the old ground here in The Netherlands, the Germanic tribes were here, the Celts, the Romans.
In my novel All-Father, I write about Wodan (Odin) riding the skies with his Army of the Dead. Men covered their faces with soot and got themselves into a trance; that way they joined the Army of the Dead and followed Wodan.
These men also roamed the villages and had ‘the right to steal’; they went into the houses and took things away, like a piece of bread, some fruit, or some beer – this was the origin of the jester! The man with the fool’s cap and the bells who can go as he pleases.
It is our entire history that fascinates me.
In my novels, I write a lot about our past, but also about our future. Like in my novel Nicolaes Nimbus:
“Scientists and wealthy owners of high-tech companies have pumped millions of dollars into the search for immortality. But does the future look bright or is there disaster waiting behind the horizon of time? The world is getting more complicated by the day, but who’s actually in charge?
A group of scientists in Germany has unmasked a cheating visionary. An intriguing phenomenon from the past turns up. Who is Nicolaes Nimbus? Is he an immortal man of flesh and blood from our ancient past? The hunt is on! The secret is priceless! Who is in control, the scientists or the mystic? The novel embraces modern developments… and warns against ancient magic that never dies, waiting for the right time to manifest itself.”
When Mabel, a former Vaudeville performer, lands a job managing a boarding house on the ocean, she appears to attract a disparate cast of lodgers, all with unfortunate and dark lives.
When Therese moves to the Outback to get married, Judy follows and one day Judy spots a Kookaburra in a nearby tree. When the bird laughs, an unexpected, wondrous miracle happens.
The lodgers include:
With over 60 books published in both Dutch and English ranging from children’s books to paranormal mysteries to sci fi dramas, Koos is literally a non-stop writer.
Take a few moments to listen to Koos talk and read parts of his best seller, Nicolaes Nimbus with an introduction by Ursula Williams, a blogger, author and podcast creator.
“I decided to become an author when I was in still high school and more or less filled the school magazine with my stories. But I started to write stories much early at the age of seven. I was the youngest published comic writer at the age of 16 when I published three pages every week in a comic magazine. Two years later, when I was only 18, I wrote my first novel (a sci-fi), and it got published immediately. I still remember the day I saw my book in a bookshop window and realized that I actually had become a novelist.” – Koos Verkaik
See more Koos Verkaik’s books in our bookstore.
I finished Justifiable last night. It is a remarkably good book.
I started it when it arrived day-before-yesterday. Opened it after dinner to see what it was all about. Read a few chapters to get the drift of the story, then, because I had other things to do—calls to make and return, a meeting to attend, try to get in a little work on a novel of my own that I have underway—put it down to return to tonight.And couldn’t put it down again.
I had no intention of reading the whole thing, but as I got into it the urge to know what happens next was so great I had to keep going.
The police-procedural structure of the book is masterful.
It puts you in the action and makes you feel almost a part of the team.The “story” part is even better.
A villain of utter contempt found naked and dead floating in a river with a bullet in his head and every one of the 200 or so people who live in the town he’s destroyed the likely killer sets up a tantalizing mystery. And the plot twists you throw in as the story unravels keeps the reader, or at least kept me, constantly guessing which of the three most likely suspects does the admirable deed.
The characters are deftly drawn, especially Ella Mae, and the bits of humor dropped in help move the story along delightfully.
It is a really fine read, Bob—a very welcome diversion from the miasma of political, and viral, and social, and environmental pollution we’re wading through now.
Way to go.
If you vote for Trump and his MAGA GOP members you may indirectly start World War III.
If Trump and his MAGA GOP take control of our Congress, they will cut off support for Ukraine. They already cut support on the advice of Trump when the Congress was ready to approve the spending bill with support for Ukraine.
What will happen next?
said Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. “This is supposed to be the party of conservative principles, of tradition, of respect for customs and rules that make society governable.
“The idea that the law does not apply to Republicans is something that has now become part of the mainstream of the Republican party. We see it in terms of the approach to elections. We see it in terms of the treatment of immigrants. Some of the actions with regard to abortion may approach that level. The Republican party appears to consider the law and the constitution to be optional and to have lost legitimacy.”
From The Guardian
Republicans’ lawless leaders at odds with midterm law and order message | Republicans | The Guardian
If you vote Republican you are supporting:
– 19 GOP red states have pending laws suppressing voter’s ability to vote. Historically, dictators and Fascists have suppressed votes to stay in power.
– The GOP has come out in support of QAnon, The Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys
– You may lose a loved one, a relative or a friend in a train crash, a bridge collapse or a plane crash as Republicans strip funds from President Biden’s infrastructure bill.
– The Texas abortion ban if left to stand will be passed in several other GOP states. Idaho will pass an anti-abortion law based on the Texas law. 16 states have “trigger” abortion ban laws.
by the US Supreme Court.
https://cnn.it/3RaW1zm
https://nyti.ms/3IcANNo
With the recent Supreme Court banning EPA authority from polluters
https://bit.ly/3IfQ1Bf
on Gun Purchases – will never get passed.
Watch Jimmy Kimmel’s emotional plea to improve gun purchase background checks
https://cnn.it/3AnRweO
– will never go up leaving 18 states still paying $7.25 an hour.
– the last thing America needs are conservative leaders, especially some Republicans who want to keep America from progressing. The last thing America needs is backward-thinking leaders in the 21st Century.
– Republicans have turned to cheating to stay in power or to get back into power…and nothing is getting done by them for the American people.
The enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom.
and everything America stands for: Truth, Justice and Liberty for all? Look what is happening in Ukraine.
*Of course, not all Republicans are like those described above. Here is a list of those who should stay in office.
House of Representatives – those who voted to impeach the former president
Senate – The Republicans who voted to convict the former president after impeachment:
YOUR VOTE COUNTS. It’s a lie to think otherwise.
Paid for by Jake Stone for American Democracy
VOTE like your freedom depended on it…because it does.
Books of the NY Times
