Books for the holidays! It's all Good News!

 I love sharing good news and this morning we received some really good news.  Writing in the We Alaskans section of the Alaska Dispatch News, David James said nice things about Secondhand Summer, including.

"The big surprise is “Secondhand Summer” (Alaska Northwest Books, $12.99), a debut novel by Dan L Walker.  .  .  This well-plotted and believable story for teens will also appeal to adults and is one of the best novels I’ve read all year, northern-themed or otherwise."

 Here is the link to the full article that talks about Alaska Themed Books for Christmas.  I thought it linked well with my last blog post, so I wanted to share it.  David A. James is a freelance writer and critic who lives in Fairbanks.   Alaska-themed books for children that make superb holiday gifts

The Christmas book theme is pretty strong in the north where we have long winter nights — and days— to read.  In Anchorage there is a book fair in the Sears Mall the Friday and Saturday before Christmas, and lost of writers online are doing giveaways and promotions for their books. In far off Iceland, however, the epitome of Arctic living, books are heart of Christmas giving. A few years ago I heard about the Icelandic tradition of gifting books on Christmas Eve, which in my house would sound like, "Here's a book. Shut up and read."  But in Iceland it even has a name, the jólabókaflóð, or the Christmas Book Flood. It's called the flood because book releases are concentrated in the couple of months before Christmas.  How literary is that?!
Read more here: Iceland Revels in its Annual Christmas Book Flood

Isn't it great that a country, though small and remote, values literacy so much that reading and sharing books becomes a cornerstone of Christmas when most traditions are unhealth, expensive or totally unproductive. This makes me more committed than ever to make books part of my Christmas, Solstice, Hanukkah, Quanza, New Years, celebration.

This year my gift books came from a variety of locations. One book actually came from a bookstore, but others were purchased direct from the author, at second stores, or fundraiser silent auctions.  Gift books don't have to be new or even recently published.  One of my gifts is a fifty year old non-fiction that is a perfect match for the recipient, and that is the key to any gift. 

So, again to quote my new favorite reviewer, David James, "Head for your nearest independent bookstore and support Alaska writers by giving such volumes to the kids on your list."