Cozy up, read a book.

Cozy up by the fire & read a book *

I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas

by Anna Getty

An oldie but goodie, Anna Getty’s book provides a wealth of ideas, recipes, and tips for celebrating the winter months in a more sustainable way. Her recipes combine seasonal, organic ingredients into masterpieces, like pumpkin gnocchi with browned sage butter. She weighs in on the greenest tree options, ways to save energy over the holidays, and has a myriad of ideas for upcycled gifts, decorations, and wrapping materials. If you are looking to have a beautiful season with less of a footprint, this is a great place to start. Better yet, many recipes and activities are family-friendly! - Kristy

Homemade Holiday

by Sophie Pester and Catharina Bruns

Homemade Holiday is a perfect guide to creating an on-trend, yet simple winter holiday. With creative ideas for gifts, décor, and gift-wrapping, this book is fun and approachable, even for folks new to the DIY scene. There are directions for creating nail-polish marbled ornament bulbs, a pompom wreath, and simple bath salts for the beginner. Crafters ready to take their DIY game up a notch could tackle the adorable crochet star pillows, knitted slippers, or embroidered snowflake tablecloth. This book has something for everyone who wants to add a little homemade to their holiday season this year!

- Kristy

The New Christmas Tree

by Carrie Brown

If you are looking to create a Christmas tree that doubles as an art piece, then look no further! Brown’s book has 24 uniquely stunning Christmas tree designs and accompany DIY projects that will inspire your next holiday centerpiece. She outlines the steps for planning a tree design, selecting the right type of tree for the design, and then provides pages of instructions for pulling them off! Some designs are more traditional – there are red, blue, and silver trees. Then, some are wildly unique! Consider a folk-art tree, a typography tree, or even an upside-down tree (this reviewer’s favorite). There are even a few ideas that require no tree at all, instead relying on chicken wire, wood, and foam for bases. A beautiful, inspiring holiday book.

- Kristy

Gluten-free and Vegan Holidays

by Jennifer Katzinger

I love many of the recipes in this book by the former owner of the popular Flying Apron Bakery in Seattle, a gluten-free and vegan bakery. It will prove to anyone that being gluten-free and/or vegan does not mean you have to live without deliciousness during the holidays. While this book is largely free of pictures, fairly short, and no-frills in appearance, the recipes are solid, include mostly easy to obtain ingredients, and include every course from appetizers to desserts. Her stuffing recipe is one of my favorites. The book is divided up by holiday and she presents full menus for each. Most recipes are good enough to make an appearance at your table yearlong.

- Bonnie

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Creative genius Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame shares her insights into letting go of fear and anxiety to embrace creativity. With examples of how fear, courage, and faith in the unknown have affected her own creative life, Gilbert’s book is a true inspiration for anyone wanting to overcome hurdles to living their life most fully. It is mystical, magical, and incredible the way she describes how ideas come into being…and almost hard to believe if there wasn’t hard evidence that Gilbert’s intuition is true. Equally good as an audiobook read by the author and as a print book, this might be one to buy to read over and over again, or to gift to a creative friend. Big Magic would make a wonderful companion to The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.

- Kristy

Food Gift Love

by Maggie Battista

Do you love to cook AND give gifts? Combine those two and take your gift treats up a level with the recipes, tips, and how-to in Maggie Battista’s Food Gift Love! Maggie takes traditional specialty food items and gives them a little something extra to make them gift-quality. For instance, how about baking up some madeleines…with brown butter? Or, making some homemade butter…and then using it as a base for whipping up superb compound butters, like salty maple butter, or basil-feta butter? Her recipes range from simple items, such as dried organic mint tea, to decadent, such as roasted banana bread. Sprinkled inbetween the recipes are great tidbits and tips, such as how to make your own gift box, how to temper chocolate, and inspiration for crafting combination gift packs! - Kristy

Girls Burn Brighter

by Shobha Rao

Poornima and Savitha became best friends growing up in India as they bonded together to survive the brutal conditions they face. Eventually, they are forced apart. Savitha is victimized and forced to flee her village, and Poornima is married off. Each situation is full of perils for the young women. Desperate to recover her friendship with Savitha, the only thing she really has left, Poornima leaves her life and seeks to reunite with her best friend. While I found the ending a bit forced, the book in its entirety was a powerful statement about what women endure in many parts of the world. This novel is well written and deeply affecting.

- Mike

* This is a curated collection from your librarians at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.

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Corvallis-Benton County

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