Holiday Favorites, New and Old

As we move into December, temperatures have dropped to a bitter chill. Let’s have a little extra jollity with some holiday recommendations!

Come sample our newest cozy romances, such as Sheila Roberts’ “The Merry Matchmaker” (FIC Roberts), a rom-com of errors in the vein of “Hello, Dolly!” and Jane Austen’s “Emma”. A widow has resolved to find a partner for her reluctant best friend. He’s such a hunk, maybe this time her meddling won’t end in disaster. “Love You a Latke” by Amanda Elliot (FIC Elliot) sees our protagonist tasked with organizing a Hanukkah Festival to bring tourists to her tiny Vermont town. She can’t do it alone, but before the only other Jewish person in town can help, he’s got to bring a fake girlfriend home to the big city to impress his parents. In “The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year: a Novel” by Ally Carter (FIC Carter), two mismatched mystery writers are invited to the mansion of a mysterious fan, only to wind up snowed into a puzzle of their own. Both of them will need to use their genre-savviness to solve this conundrum, but for their sake, I hope the experience is more suited to the cozy mystery author than the crime thriller!

Last year, we acquired “The Complete Rankin/Bass Christmas Collection” (DVD FIC Complete v.1-9) for our library patrons to enjoy. It includes both well-known classics like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, and some more obscure, like “Cricket on the Hearth”, an adaptation of a Charles Dickens story of the same name. Speaking of Dickens, we have the 1951 film adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” starring Alastair Sim, both in color and the original black and white. For more midcentury nostalgia, try “Holiday TV classics” (DVD TV FIC Hol), featuring such programs as “Burns and Allen”, “Annie Oakley”, and “The Colgate Comedy Hour”.

Shake things up with “Jingle Bell Rocks!” (DVD 782.421 Jin), a 2014 documentary about Christmas music far beyond the typical carols, including hip-hop, bebop, calypso, and the titular rock. This is not to be confused with the Rockettes of the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular: Starring the Rockettes” (DVD 782.14 Rad), a completely different yet similarly explosive musical holiday extravaganza. Anything caught your interest? All this and more can be found on our Holiday Favorites display on the second floor.