FEATURE
BY LEAH BETHEA
Imagine being able to give someone a trip around the world , a chance to travel back in time or even the ability to understand someone else ’ s point of view .
Well , it can be done , quite inexpensively in fact , by giving the gift of a book .
“ It ’ s an amazing tool if you think about it — the written word — that we can read something and it puts us in another place so that we can experience something else without even having to leave the comfort of our chair ,” says Craig Phillips , owner of Walls of Books in Milledgeville .
For those with book lovers on their Christmas lists , the wide array of gift options is endless .
For folks who are wanting to stay in the spirit of the season , Phillips says popular authors like D e b b i e Macomber , Nora Roberts and Susan Mallery will typically release a holiday book .
Mallery ’ s “ Home Sweet Christmas ” is a good pick for the season , he says . Robin Carr of “ Virgin River ” fame has released several books telling stories of the holidays in the famed fictional small town . “ Holidays in Virgin River ” is a special edition that includes two fan-favorite stories as well as a collection of recipes inspired
36 Milledgeville Scene | Holiday 2022 by characters of the beloved series .
Best-selling author James Patterson ’ s recent release , “ The Twelve Topsy-Turvy , Very Messy Days of Christmas ,” has been labeled “ an instant classic ” that readers would undoubtedly love to find underneath their tree .
Phillips says the holidays are a great time
to look for new books f r o m best-selling authors .
“ A lot of the more popular authors try to have books out around this time of the year for the holiday season ,” he says .
He says authors like Colleen Hoover , Patterson , Michael Connelly , David Baldacci and Stuart Woods are all good choices when shopping for fiction lovers .
For readers who tend to steer more toward non-fiction , Phillips says with the New Year approaching , self-improvement books and those that advise on how to begin new habits and lifestyle changes tend to be more popular . Top choices include books like “ Atomic Habits ” by James Clear ,
“ The 4-Hour Work Week ” by Tim Feriss and “ How to Win Friends & Influence People ” by Dale Carnegie . Those books have remained popular through the years , and they ’ re always choices people come back to during the holidays , Phillips says .
In addition to business and leadership reads , history books are also great selections .
“ We sell a lot of Civil War and a lot of world history lately ,” Phillips says . “ People have been very interested in that , especially Eastern Europe and European [ books ] because of all the stuff going on over there .”
Author Ryan Holiday ’ s collection of stoicism books including “ Courage Under Fire ,” “ Stillness is the Key ” and “ The Ego is the Enemy ” are top picks for philosophical readers .
“ He takes a lot of stoic philosophy and then writes books around that ,” he says . “ Those are popular .”
Of course , there are those books that never go out of style . As the New Year approaches , Phillips says readers often set their sights upon tackling more of the classics in the upcoming year . Charles Dickens ’ “ A Christmas Carol ” is a perfect choice for the season , and Phillips says authors like Jane Austen , William Faulkner and Flannery O ’ Connor remain timeless .
“ We carry almost all of the classics ,” Phillips says . “ We try to keep a really , really good stock because they still sell … That ’ s why they ’ re classics . They ’ re all good for any time during the year really .”
For children on the list , Dr . Seuss remains ever-popular . Phillips says other books that children always seem to love include the 1963-classic “ Where the Wild Things Are ,” books featuring the beloved children ’ s char-