Books to Gift | Briana, Christy, Kim, & Stephanie

It's that time of year again! The holidays bring abundant joy and merriment, but they can also bring unnecessary stress when it comes to gift-giving. If you already find yourself dreading the shopping season, fear not, Russell Library has you covered. In today's chat, Briana talks with Kim, Christy, and Stephanie about their favorite books to gift. Not a reader? Not a problem! With a donation to the Library, we'll give back one of our coveted I Love Russell Library mugs, travel tumblers, t-shirts, sweatshirts, or car magnets. These carefully curated items make wonderful gifts, even for the loved one that seems to have everything. And if all else fails, Kim has an excellent suggestion for the snack lovers out there. Finger chopsticks, anyone? This episode will surely inspire an easeful shopping experience this year. Happy Holidays!

Recommendations

The 99% Invisible City : A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

Intro Music by nikitsan

Transcript

Books to Gift 25

Briana: [00:00:00] Cheers. Welcome to Top Shelf with the librarians of Russell Library. I'm Brianna joined by Kim's Bachman. Christie Billings. Hello and Stephanie Rush. Hi. Thank you for joining us today On Top Shelf, you'll hear about Compel on Top Shelf. You'll hear about compelling reads from the people who know books best.

Briana: Our librarians will share titles that connect to a unique theme each episode. This show will also invite you to learn about the many services offered here at the Russell Library. If you're not local, no worries because chances are high that your local library will have similar gifts to offer. We are very excited to turn the page with you.

Briana: The focus of today's show is Books to Gift, along with a few other gift ideas that are bookish themed with Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza. Coming up, you may be shopping [00:01:00] for a book for someone else, which is not always the easiest thing to do. Yeah. What if they've already read it or isn't their vibe or aesthetic?

Briana: Selecting a book is still one of the best ways to give a personal gift coming from librarians, it is probably one of the cooler personal gifts you can give someone. Mm-hmm. So some ideas to consider if you're going to be gifting a book to someone this year, um, it can be something commemorating, something you've done together.

Briana: Like maybe you went on a really cool, like girls trip and you want to get your bestie like a book. Sat in like San Diego, if you guys went to San Diego. I don't know. Something cute like that. I was watching the gears turn into your head. I was like, what town am I gonna pick? Because I can't think of anything.

Kim: Name, city, name. A city or 

Briana: any city? Oregon. Oregon. I was gonna say Oregon. Yes. And then my mind went blank. Um, you can choose a book that will compliment a life event. Consider their aesthetic, check out their bookshelves for what they already enjoy. And the biggest tip we can give is of course, ask a librarian.

Briana: Give your local librarian some of your thoughts on the book recipient, and we will help you pick out a book. Bookish gifts overall have [00:02:00] always been popular, but there's been a huge uptick lately in folks looking for cool bookish gifts to give the reader in their lives keep listening to get the down low on books and bookish items to gift or add to your own wishlist.

Briana: Let's start with Kim. Can you tell us about what book you brought today along with a brief description of the 

Kim: book? So, I brought a personal favorite from my shelves called the 99% Invisible City. Oh, A Field Guide to The Hidden World of Everyday Design. I wanna read that. I know now this, 

Kim: I know this book, but please never, it 

Kim: Christie's looking around.

Kim: I, yeah, I may, I may have one. I may be able to hook you up. So, um. So this book has been written by Roman Mars and Kurt Ste, and it encourages people to look at things they see every day with a new curiosity. And it's basically a series of essays and anecdotes about subjects such as why are man holes round?

Kim: When did buildings stop having metal fire escapes? And how car dealerships became [00:03:00] home to those tall, like in dance, dancing in times. Yes. Who are, who are technically tall boys and flyboy. Those are the, those are the proper terms. Those are tall boys. Oh, I thought they were just called wacky, wavy, inflatable tube.

Kim: Man. I, I like that. I like that we call 'em in my house. So, um, the writing is really accessible and funny and there's sure to be something that will appeal to any reader who picks up the book. 

Briana: Cool. Is that what drew you to select this book as a gift? 

Kim: Well, so this. The writers of this book also do a podcast called 99% Invisible.

Kim: I'm a huge fan. And each episode explores a design topic, um, you know, like the color of street signs. Mm-hmm. Um, the history of the airport moving walkway. Mm-hmm. And also a personal favorite, a library episode called. Weeding is Fundamen fundamental? Yes. Oh yes. That's why the library 

Stephanie: course on weeding is called that.

Stephanie: I, I bet. Yes. Yes, yes, 

Kim: yes. So, you know, when I heard that they had published a book, [00:04:00] I'm like, I'm in. And when I got it, it did not disappoint. So some of the stories are from the podcast, but they've definitely expanded beyond. Mm-hmm. So like the podcast, the book encourages us to look at everyday items and systems differently.

Kim: It's surprising. Thoughtful and surprisingly funny, whether or not a person is interested in design, they will find a topic that will spark their curiosity. Oh, I love this. 

Christy: I mean, and, and to have it paired with a podcast. I mean, yeah. There's so much that you can talk about with the person that you give the gift to.

Kim: Right? Yeah. It's the gift that keeps on giving because 

Stephanie: there's probably essays on everything. 

Kim: Mm-hmm. 

Stephanie: Because the podcast has episodes on everything. 

Kim: Yes. Yeah, yeah. 

Stephanie: Yeah. Cool. And it's a chunky book too. 

Kim: Yeah. It's pretty thick. Yeah, it's pretty big. Yeah. 

Christy: And 

Kim: has 

Christy: photos? 

Kim: Well, yeah, it, it's mostly line drawings.

Kim: So I will say that if you have someone who is interested in like color photography, they, they might not respond away to this book. Blown away. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's good to know. Good. But you [00:05:00] know what it lacks in, you know, color images. It more than makes up for in subjects. And an insight. And surprises for sure.

Briana: Cool. Love this. I love that. I feel like you've just touched on what I'm about to ask you, but. How did this book resonate with you and why do you think this is a good choice for gifting? 

Kim: Yeah, I mean, I just think the book is a lot of fun and I think it'll spark conversation, uh, both on the day and like throughout the year.

Kim: And it's a great way to like start stories about places where people have visited their favorite locations and like bits of knowledge that they may not have realized kind of resonate with some of the places they've been. 

Stephanie: I learned about the history of skate parks. From the podcast. Yes. So I'm like, oh, I wonder if they expound on that.

Stephanie: 'cause I didn't know anything about the history of the structure of skate parks. Mm-hmm. And why they were created. 

Kim: Yeah. And 

Stephanie: I'm like, oh, it's, you don't think you are interested in like the structures around you Right. Until you hear a story and you're like, oh, actually the things [00:06:00] around me are really neat.

Kim: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, for me it was the manholes. I, I. I had No, I, I mean, so there is a structural reason I guess round objects will not fall into the holes that they've been designed to cover. Oh. Whereas rectangles and squares, and even ovals, if you turn them a certain way, they will fall in. Oh, 

Briana: so Kim. What my wild card question for you today is, what bookish item do you recommend for the readers in your life?

Kim: Okay, so, um, as many of you know, I love snacks and eating. So, um, finger chopsticks are, yes, we just talked when I talked about this. I don't know, but we've talked about them 

Stephanie: before. 

Kim: Okay. No, I talked about in the office. Yeah. In, 

Stephanie: um, social media team. 

Kim: Okay. Oh, okay. Yes. I was like, wait, 

Stephanie: I've talked about these.

Stephanie: So you, so you know 

Kim: the glory Yes. Of the finger chops. Yes. So, um, it's a great way to like. You know, indulge in a delicious treat while you're reading, without messing up the pages or smudging your screen. The utensils fit, um, between the [00:07:00] pointer and middle fingers of your hand to make picking up snacks easy.

Kim: So they're easy to use and to take care of, and I highly recommend them. For the book Lover In Your Life, 

Briana: where can you find them? Like on Amazon or from like your local? Bookstores. There's probably bookstores. Probably still have Probably have 'em. Yeah. 

Kim: Yeah. I bookstores. But Amazon definitely. Mm-hmm. And many fashion colors.

Kim: So 

Briana: we love, 

Christy: oh, fashion 

Kim: one with snacks 

Christy: and a book on design. I love them. I had outta 10 gifting experience. I just got 

Stephanie: so excited for Book Child. I don't even have any, I just got really excited the kit was talking about them. 

Kim: Yeah. I'm a popcorn lover, so these have just changed. Changed my my life. Truly.

Kim: You don't wanna get Grace on your book. On your screen. On your screen. Yeah. 

Briana: Really elevates your reading game. Yes, 

Kim: for 

Briana: sure. 

Kim: Absolutely. So yeah, 99% Invisible City and book chopsticks. You're good to go or finger chopsticks. Yeah. 

Briana: Would you recommend the book you brought? 

Kim: Yes, absolutely. I have it on my shelf.

Kim: I've given it to a lot of [00:08:00] different people and it's been great fun. Every time I've done it, so I know 

Briana: I'm definitely adding it to my TBR to read in the new year because my end of year TBR is completely packed with Oh yeah. Various things. Oh yeah. I can only hope I get two the last 10 of the year. I know.

Briana: Like what is your 10 more the end. 

Christy: I was like, I don't know what I'm gonna read tomorrow. I can't give you a list. My son is a big skate park person though, so I think this Oh, that's so perfect. I'm gonna have check this book out. Don't listen to this, Thomas, 'cause he does listen to the podcast. But this might be in your stacking.

Kim: Wink, wink. 

Briana: Christie, can you tell us what book you brought today along with a brief 

Christy: description? So I brought The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Mm-hmm. And for me, this was the five Star Sleeper book of 2025 oh oh. So this is the story of Civil Van Antwerp, and it's written through letters that she writes and receives.

Christy: She's a mother and grandmother. She's divorced. She's retired from the law, and she now lives by herself. She's [00:09:00] equal parts, Pavish good, natured, cautious and bold. She frequently gets her own way, especially in her most treasured relationships. As her story unfolds, she discovers the forgiveness she needs for both herself and for others as she embarks on a profound and unexpected transformation at the age of 73.

Briana: Ooh, so an older, yeah, older 

Stephanie: protagonist. Epistolary. I've been hearing so much good stuff about this book. Yes. Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

Kim: And I wanna take this woman for cocktails. She sounds like a hoot, right? A hundred percent, yes. Yes. 

Christy: What drew you to select this book as a gift? So I feel like it's such a sleeper hit.

Christy: So not a lot of people would know about the book yet. So it hasn't been spoiled. There hasn't been a lot of spoilers out there. Mm-hmm. Which happens sometimes to our more popular books. Yeah. Mm-hmm. But I think people will just get really drawn in to sybil's life. There's just that stubbornness in her that just makes you wanna keep reading to find out more [00:10:00] about her.

Christy: And we all know people, like the people that Sybil's writing her letters to and receiving her letters from. And there's a little bit of mystery too, 'cause she's writing a set of letters that she isn't sending. 

Kim: Mm-hmm. 

Briana: Because I know when you raved about how great this book was, I have it on my Libby holds, which maybe someday will come in.

Briana: We'll see. But I like that it's epistolary. And I also like, to your point that people I don't think have caught on to how great this book is. I feel like they're just maybe starting to, 'cause they're such a long holds list for it, and we're making it a book club kit. But it also, it doesn't look like 

Stephanie: that's what this book's about it.

Stephanie: See, the cover's really cute. It's got birds on it, but I would miss it. It's like never, yeah. I never would've picked this book up based on the cover and matched it with the plot. 

Christy: Right? Yeah. I, I'm not sure about the cover, like why I have, I can't remember. There is something, there is a reason why she chose the birds.

Christy: Okay. But it's not coming to me at the moment. 

Briana: How did this 

Christy: book resonate with you and why is it a good choice for gifting? So this book [00:11:00] resonated with me in such a, a strong way. I loved reading about Sybil and I couldn't put it down. I, I feel like. For a gift for someone. It would just be really interesting to talk with them afterwards about letter writing, about maybe letters that they've received in their life that are, were important to them, and maybe it will inspire them to write a letter to someone too.

Briana: Oh, I can't say I remember the last time I wrote a letter, to be honest, but I like that idea. Yeah, like bring back a different form of communication than like texting or I will tell you emails 

Stephanie: when my husband and I were first dating. And we were long distance. We wrote, we hand wrote letters. Oh, that's so, and I'm like, wow, that's very romantic.

Stephanie: Romantic. What a time in my life. Yes. It was very romantic. I have them all saved. And then once we started living together, it was like, well, we don't need to write letters anymore. But I feel like letter writing is such a lost art and it's so beautiful. 

Kim: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, yeah, and selecting the paper and the pen and Yeah.

Kim: You know, setting aside 

Stephanie: the time to really do the task, we don't really do that anymore. Mm-hmm. 

Christy: And then waiting for a response. Yes. In this day and [00:12:00] age, like everything is immediate, right? Mm-hmm. So she does do some emailing. I will. Okay. You know, full disclosure, 

Stephanie: she's gotta keep up with the modern times.

Stephanie: She does. Yeah, she 

Briana: does. 

Stephanie: Yeah. 

Briana: My wild card question for you, what bookish item do you recommend for the readers in your life? 

Christy: So I brought a band books puzzle from Uncommon Goods. Yay. And already Uncommon Goods. 

Kim: So many items 

Christy: on 

Kim: my Christmas wish list from Uncommon Goods. Yes, they're amazing. It is a 

Christy: wonderful.

Christy: Um, I'll, I'll say small business. I mean, it's a catalog business, but, um mm-hmm. It's not your typical big box store, Amazon. No. And they have some really, um. Local type items that they sell. Mm-hmm. So, yes, I definitely recommend them. Um, we've had a lot of fun looking at all the books on the cover and mm-hmm.

Christy: Like deciding why they're banned and sometimes it's stumped. We're just stumped. Yeah. Like, oh, why is that one on there? We have to go look it up. Well, I looked at the 

Stephanie: PII was, I looked at the box that Kristy brought and I was like, is that the puzzle? I've done it. [00:13:00] It's such a good puzzle. 'cause the colors are rich.

Stephanie: But the books are small, so it's one of those puzzles that's like challenging enough to keep you in, but not so challenging that you quit. Yep. That's a fine line for me with a puzzle. Mm-hmm. And it's in a box that's shaped bookly. It's really cool. You can use it as a 

Briana: decoration if you don't like 

Christy: doing puzzle.

Briana: Yes. Yeah. No, it's a, it's really cool. It's 

Stephanie: really cute. It a nice thick book with a spine that has the puzzle on the spine. Mm-hmm. It's cool. 

Christy: Yeah. Love 

Stephanie: that. 

Christy: Would you recommend this book? So I have been nonstop recommending 

Briana: everybody who will listen. Mm-hmm. So, yes, absolutely. Like, I'm looking forward to reading it at some point and then talking to you about it.

Briana: Yay. Same. 

Stephanie: Yeah, me too. Good. We're gonna book club it. We should. We should. We always accidentally book club books after we do podcasts. I know, I know. I feel like we've done so many accidental book clubs. 

Christy: We are doing this one for book supers, though. We are. We are really doing it for book club. Very nice.

Christy: And we'll have a book bag for Yep. Um, it's in the works right now. If people want to borrow the whole bag of books. Awesome. And [00:14:00] do it with their book club. Mm-hmm. Nice. Awesome. 

Kim: I love 

Briana: that. 10 Outta 10 recommend. Let's finish things off with Steph. Can you tell us what book you brought today along with a brief description of it?

Stephanie: Uh, today I brought the book The Most Fun We Ever had by Claire Lombardo. Um, this is a book I read a few years back, but I think about it all the time. It was a five star read for me. This is a, an adult book, but it's a messy family drama, which we know. I love, um, it's about the Sorenson family and they have four di very different adult daughters and it centers on the issues of all four of the daughters plus the marriage of the parents.

Stephanie: And they've been together for decades. And each of the daughters is like, how do I get that? But we also start to find out that the parents' perfect marriage may not be what the daughters think it's been for all these decades. Um, so the daughters are always comparing themselves to their parents because their love is seemingly perfect.

Stephanie: Um, but the story follows the family during a really challenging year that upends the family in various ways. So like very character driven [00:15:00] is different for you. Don't always love, but I, yeah. This is very character driven, but it also has enough plot that you stay hooked and it's, it's a chunker, it's over 500 pages Wow.

Stephanie: For afic. So, um, you have to get hooked by the characters or else Yeah. You're not gonna, you're not gonna wanna, the characters and the plot are just propulsive enough. And I was reading this during like. Christmas time where it was very distracting and I was still sucked in. Mm. Yeah. 

Kim: Well, I love a messy family drama.

Kim: Yes. For the holiday. Yes, yes. 

Stephanie: Especially for the holidays. She distract you from your own family. Exactly. 1% families not that bad. Exactly, exactly. I've been seeing that going around the, there's a meme, there's a, there's a meme, there's book. It's a book display of dysfunctional family books. Yes. And it says your family's not that bad.

Stephanie: Yes. Something like that. I love that so much. Yeah. I'm actually, I didn't check, but this book is probably on that display. Iconic. We'll have to look afterwards. What drew you to select this book as a gift? So I'm always really hesitant to gift books [00:16:00] because not everybody in my life is the same level of reader as I am, and I actually don't like to be gifted books because I'm so specific and I'm such a mood reader.

Stephanie: So if someone gives me a book, even if I wanna read it, it will sit on my shelves until I'm ready. So. I don't like getting them myself, so I am kind of picky about gifting them. But if I am gonna gift a book, I, I like to default these days to a book club type book. Um, so giving book club picks, I usually give them to my mom because they're really good for discussion and there's a good chance that we won't.

Stephanie: Both will like that book. So, I mean, this one isn't on a specific book club list, but it feels book clubby. Mm-hmm. Because there's so much to talk about and there's so much to chew on. 

Kim: Mm-hmm. 

Briana: That's a smart idea to go about, like almost like the book clubby books, like Correspondent Correspondent too. Like it feels very book club.

Briana: Very much. I feel like yours, Kim could be read by a book club because I feel there's so much in it to discuss. Yeah. 

Kim: Mm-hmm. 

Briana: That way it's like, it's almost like the safer route in a way. Like, well, like they'll probably like this, but if they don't like I'll read it. Yeah. Somewhere else they know we'll read it.

Briana: Or if they 

Stephanie: didn't like it, we can talk about it. We can talk about it. Yeah. '[00:17:00]

Christy: cause people still like to talk about books even if they don't like them. Yeah. Sometimes they wanna talk about 'em more if they didn't. Like I know. I, 

Stephanie: if I didn't like a book, I will tell you why. 

Christy: Yeah. With bullet points and, and I love when people come to book club and they ha they have not cared for the book.

Christy: Yeah. Mm-hmm. That you're absolutely right. They're very passionate about it. Mm-hmm. There's still more to chew on. 

Briana: Yes. 

Kim: Mm-hmm. 

Briana: How did this book resonate with you and why is it a good choice for gifting? 

Stephanie: So this book was really fun for me because I'm also one of four. So, um, there are three girls and one boy in my family and in this story there's four daughters, but I always like a dramatic family story with lots of siblings.

Stephanie: So I was like, Ooh, okay, there's four kids. Where do I fit? Who do I resonate with the most? I kinda like to self insert and figure out where I fit and where my siblings fit into these fictional scenarios. I gave this one to my mom last year 'cause she's the person I give books to most often and it was really fun to chat with her about it because she's the mother of four kids and she had a absolutely different time.

Stephanie: She had a similar experience reading it in like plot and character, but she had [00:18:00] a totally different experience. 'cause she's the matriarch of the family while I am one of the kids. Mm-hmm. Um, so, you know, just finding a story that I can kind of self insert but also be like, oh boy, my family's not this bad.

Stephanie: Um, was, that's why I. It. That's cool. 

Christy: Yeah. And did she like it? 

Stephanie: She did. She did like it. Yay you. Yeah, it was, it was a good pick. It was a good pick. I gave her a lot of books last year, and this is the only one that I remember her being like, I read it. Let's talk. So 

Briana: it's a good sign. Oh, good. So wild card question for you.

Briana: What bookish item do you recommend for the readers in your life? So I went really 

Stephanie: specific and I picked two people. Mm-hmm. Um, so this might help people in general, but, um, my niece who's 10, huge reader, uh, uh, and she likes to stay up late reading or get up early in read. So, um, I like to give her a book light.

Kim: Nice. 

Stephanie: I feel. That's good for that. But also I loved a book light as a kid. I was like, oh, the lights are up, but I can still read. Yes. So I feel like it's that really good childhood, almost into tween experience of like staying up past your bedtime because you're reading a [00:19:00] good book and a book light really pairs well with that.

Stephanie: And then this year we are trying a Tony box for my nephew who's learning to read. 

Christy: That's so exciting. Yeah. So 

Stephanie: he just turned six and he's really just. He's working on sounds and letters and blends. Mm-hmm. So, uh, we're trying a Tony box for him this year to see how he likes it. 

Kim: Oh. 

Stephanie: And we have Tony boxes here.

Stephanie: Yes. Uh, he's actually borrowing one of our Tony boxes right now to take out for a test drive that's before, before we buy the full thing. Mm-hmm. That's, I'm so smart. And his library doesn't have Tony boxes. So, um, just the Tony's. Just the Tony's, so he's borrowing the box from me and then, um, I got him some Tony's to try too.

Stephanie: Yeah. So take a test drive with ours. 

Briana: Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. And see if it's worth purchasing. Yeah, that's great. Do you have a specific, like brand of book light that you recommend that you really like or just kind of like. One in general is cool to have. 

Stephanie: When I was a kid, I liked the one that was just that long.

Stephanie: Like almost like a binder clip. Yes. And it has just the neck that you can, that's, that's all you need. You don't need, you don't need, you don't need anything swanky. I think you don't need anything fancy for a book light. It's just, you clip it on and it has a light and maybe [00:20:00] the light has a dimmer, but like you, you can just crane it.

Stephanie: Mm-hmm. And clip it and go like, I don't think it needs to be fancy. 

Christy: Mm-hmm. If you have pets, you can still use like, this is good. Yes. Then I'm not turning on a light. Right. And I'm keeping my pets up. They go to Yes. Yeah. Yes. Yes. I love that. So good for the adults in your life. Yeah. Yes. Mm-hmm. 

Briana: I also have to ask the cover.

Briana: Yes. Is that like a ginkgo leaf on it or like, so what's the significance there? Or is there any I think so. So 

Stephanie: there is a tree outside the family house that is significant to the story. So the cover of the book has these big leaves, these four, actually four for the daughters, now that I'm looking at it.

Stephanie: Yeah. Yeah. Four big leaves, but they're all faded into slightly different colors, which is properly representative of the four kids. But yeah, there's a tree that is central, so this. Story both in the past and the present timeline. 

Kim: Mm. That's very cool. 

Stephanie: I can't remember what type of tree it is. It probably looks like go, but yeah, the tree is very important to the family.

Stephanie: That's cool. Yeah, 

Briana: I've seen that book for sure. And I know that that author had a book come out, I feel like in the last year too. She did last year, and I tried to read it and I 

Stephanie: was just nodding in the head [00:21:00] space for it. That's no same on that one. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I'll come back to it. Absolutely.

Stephanie: Because I really did love this one. And yeah, for me, very character driven, but just messy enough. With the plots and the drama. 

Kim: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So I 

Stephanie: take it that you would definitely recommend this book. I do recommend this book, and not only for people with big families. I mean, yeah, if you have a big family, you're probably gonna resonate with this.

Stephanie: But anybody who likes messy family dramas with lots of characters and wild plot points, like I said earlier, it's on the longer side for literary fiction, but, um, I think it moves really fast and you just get so sucked in that it doesn't really matter. You're not thinking about the fact that it's 500 pages long.

Kim: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I love this book. Love that. 

Briana: I'm really looking forward to adding all of these to my t. Yeah. Um, I think these are great. Books to gift, and I love all the bookish items that you recommended to gift as well. Yes, I know. I'm gonna plug mine in real quick. Yeah. If you know someone who loves to read on like a Kindle or like any type of e-reader, a really fun little Kindle case is like the perfect gift.

Briana: Oh yeah. There's a lot of great small businesses on. I know for me on [00:22:00] Instagram that I found. That make such fun ones, like I have one with blueberries on it, but then there's a brand that just came out with like a Jayna Austin theme. 

Kim: Oh, I love that. I know. Now is this 

Stephanie: a case or a sleeve? It's a case. Okay.

Stephanie: 'cause I know that there's a lot of small businesses that do sleeves Yes. Too. Especially around this time of year in lots of different patterns. Yes. 

Briana: So e-reader accessories, 10 outta 10 recommend for the people who love those in your life. Yeah. So that's my little plug. Yeah. Um, this was great. Super excited about the books.

Briana: We talked about all the little fun other bookish gift ideas. Some people are gonna have some really great. Gifts this year for the holiday season. Yes. Hope so, that hopefully all your ideas came from our podcast. Yes, yes. Libraries are so much more than books, so we want you to know what's happening off the shelf this month at Russell Library.

Briana: So what we're gonna highlight this month is our really unique collection of swag. That is perfect for the library lover on your list that you might be shopping for gifts for this year. One of our most iconic and popular swag items is our [00:23:00] T-shirts that say I book Heart Russell Library on them. Kind of like that iconic, iHeart New York logo or iHeart, blah blah blah.

Kim: Mm-hmm. 

Briana: Just a black t-shirt with a red logo. But they look so good, especially, I was wearing mine yesterday. Yeah. And 

Stephanie: someone said, I love that shirt. I said, you can buy that. Literally, I mean, they were just taking a bag 'cause they didn't. I didn't think they thought I was gonna pitch that to them, that they were available, but they were like, I 

Briana: love it.

Briana: I was like, you can get one. Yes. We go right over to the desk. Yep. If you come to our. It's main circ desk. You can buy a shirt and we actually have a couple hanging so you can see what they look like. A fantastic gift idea. We have other types of t-shirts as well. We do have some really cool swag that is coming up, so keep your eyes open.

Briana: But we're gonna have some hoodies, like nice travel mugs, like water bottles, um, magnets for your car that say I book Heart Russell Library. I love how we were calling it. I book heart. I wanna say iHeart, but it's a book Heart. It's a book. The Heart. No, I 

Stephanie: love it. Yeah, we're rebranding. I book Heart. I 

Briana: love it.

Briana: I think Brandy calls that a lot. Oh, that makes sense. That's how it's like stuck in my head. [00:24:00] It's cute. The book Heart 

Christy: piece. 

Briana: Yes. It's cute. Yeah, so it's, this is the best way to get a gift for someone that you care about, that loves libraries, that's local, and you're the proceeds of the gift that you're buying.

Briana: Go right into the library and we can use it for. Programs or getting new books on the shelf, like mostly programs. 

Kim: Yeah. 

Briana: So it's, you're, you're giving a gift to someone else that's also giving to us. Yeah. 

Kim: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

Briana: Um, and I'm sure that. Other local libraries have something similar with their own types of swag that if anyone here has, anyone they wanna plug, feel free to spread the word.

Kim: Yeah, no. Um, Meridan Library, which is about half an hour away from us mm-hmm. They have a wonderful set of Christmas. Ornaments, Christmas tree ornaments, um, that highlight different locations within Meridan. So they've been finding that people have been collecting these throughout the year. And so people can not only buy the current year of Christmas ornament, but they can buy previous years as well.

Kim: And I just think that's a [00:25:00] lovely tradition. Um, especially if you know somebody who's in the area who goes to any of these places. And again, it supports the library so. I think that's really clever and very fun. 

Briana: We actually have ornaments here too. 

Kim: Yes, and they're very nice. They're really 

Briana: nice. 

Stephanie: Yes. Ask your library what they have.

Stephanie: You might not even know they have items for sale. I know a lot of libraries have mugs or magnets. I know my tote bags. Tote bags to tote bags, and we have tote bags that are fantastic. We do zipper. Yes. I use mine every day. My hometown library has. Chapstick. I don't think they sell it, but they give it away during summer meeting.

Stephanie: Love, love a chapstick. And I'm like, I reach in my bag and I'm like, Hmm. Craig And Chapstick. Yes. They're like very branded. They love like coozies malice pads. Wow. I think we 

Christy: might be getting coozies too, but that would be very, yeah, just like ask your library, they might have some stuff that you don't know about.

Christy: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And maybe onesies. Onesies for the babies in your, leave your eyes on them. 

Kim: Yes. Anything with feeds. I love anything [00:26:00] with feeds. Mm-hmm. 

Briana: I wish I could wear a onesie. I know, right? Yes. Maybe we'll get some adult onesie. They're probably expensive, but they probably would 

Stephanie: sell really well. Yeah. I book Heart library with a like full onesie full walking around with community advertising.

Stephanie: Yes, yes. I don't hate it. 

Briana: Tuck the feet into your shoes. I love that so much. Mm-hmm. So definitely check your local library when you're looking for gifts for the people in your life this holiday season, because you might find something really cool that they may treasure for a very long time. Mm-hmm. Like to your point, Kim, like the ornaments.

Briana: 'cause I know I was actually gifted a Russell ornament from someone who I used to work with way back before I started working here. She gave it to me before I got hired and was like, Hey, like I know you're gonna be working there, so here's this ornament. I feel like you'd really like it. And it was old.

Briana: This had to be. This. This was not a recent ornament. It was beautiful though. Mm-hmm. So to your point, like that's a collector's item that, yeah. Like if, let's say you celebrate Christmas, like you might hang that on your Christmas tree every year. Mm-hmm. [00:27:00] Or pass that down to the next generation. Like, I collected these in, they're yours now.

Briana: Enjoy. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Classic. Classic. Yeah, A classic. It's time to close the book on today's episode. If you like what you've heard here, please subscribe to the show. This ensures that you won't miss any episodes. And if you have a moment, kindly rate and review the podcast. This helps other bookish people like yourself find the show.

Briana: June in next month to find out what else is on the shelf. 

Christy: Bye-bye. 

Briana: Bye 

Christy: bye. 

Stephanie: I feel like I wanna say bye, bunny, every 

Kim: time,

Christy: and that's problematic. Yes, that would, you would not wanna 

Kim: be working inside. 

Christy: Did we ever tell you about the time that somebody put a manhole cover in the book Drop? 

Kim: What? No. It Okay. Kristy tell us. It was a smaller 

Christy: manhole cover. Not like the ginormous ones, but yes, they decided that it had come loose and they.

Christy: Thought the book drop was a good place to leave it. Stop. Mm-hmm. Fascinating. [00:28:00] I mean, people leave weird stuff in book drops all the time, but that's, yeah. 

Stephanie: That's unique. Very unique. Mm-hmm. 

Christy: Wow. And not recommend and no, we do not recommend do that. We don't put 

Stephanie: non-book items in the book drop unless you've been specified to put them in the book drop.

Stephanie: Yeah, yeah, 

Christy: yeah. We can decide to keep that and take it out. I love it. But I had to put that in there. Love it. I love it. I think that's so funny. I can't believe that actually happened. That's really 

Stephanie: funny. Think it's a funny library anecdote. I love that. Alright, we all ready to go? Everybody clear your throats one more time?

Stephanie: Okay. I'm sorry, that was so loud in the middle. That's okay. I tried not to, sorry, Dylan. No, I, 

Kim: I contributed, I contributed, I heard it like 

Stephanie: echo and I did it on my arm like a vampire, but 

Briana: still. Okay. All right. We're ready? 

Kim: Yes. 

Briana: Yep.