Only five days remain until Christmas. Are you still puzzled about what to get people? Saratogan librarians and bookstore owners Ian Oeschger and Rachel Cart have some book ideas.
Saratoga adult program librarian Vicky Kaleikau is fond of the Peter Mayle books, including his latest book, called Provence. It includes a factual text, along with breathtaking photos by photographer Jason Hawkes.
For teens and their parents, librarian Jodie Wiepking suggests TeenSpeak: A Bewildered Parent's Guide to Teenagers by Linda Meyer; They All Laughed--From Light Bulbs to Lasers by Ira Flatlow; The Cyberspace Lexicon: An Illustrated Dictionary of Terms from Multimedia to Virtual Reality by Bob Cotton and Richard Oliver; Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters by Joan Ryan; and the pictorial work, In My Room: Teenagers in Their Bedrooms by Adrienne Salinger.
Children's librarian Peggy Baker selected the following books for younger children: They Followed a Bright Star by Ulies Wensell; Around the World in 80 Pages by Antony Mason; The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle; and Ruby, the Painting Pachyderm of the Scenic Zoo by Dick George.
Why not give a book certificate from the Book-Go-Round or a Friends of the Saratoga Libraries membership card that can be purchased at the Book-Go-Round or the Saratoga Library?
The Friends of the Libraries membership is down from last year. Their ability to present gifts to the library depends on dues and special contributions. It's this organization that keeps the library open on Sundays. In addition, they have excellent, stimulating program meetings.
New books at the Saratoga Bookstore include: The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans; Beach Music by Pat Conway; High Tide in Tuscany by Barbara Kingsolver; and Politically Correct Holiday Stories by James Finn Garner. For golfers, try A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour by John Feinstein.
Oeschger of the Saratoga Book Store recommended some other popular new books, including Collected Stories of Wallace Stegner; My Old Man and the Sea by David and Daniel Hays (father-and-son sea adventures); First Ladies by Margaret Truman; The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan; and for mystery lovers, Silent Night by Mary Higgins Clark.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, Wednesday, December 20, 1995.
©1995 Metro Publishing Inc. All rights reserved.