Books are my favorite gift and this Christmas I acquired lots of reading. The Book of HOPE by Jane Goodall  and Douglas Abrams – with Gail Hudson is one. We all know about Jane Goodall and her work with chimpanzees, but there is more to her work than that. Goodall, now age 87, is considered the world’s most famous naturalist, and her concerns are not only with animals. In The Book of Hope she focuses on ‘Four Reasons of Hope – The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People and The Indomitable Human Spirit. We have had anxieties for two years now, a trying time indeed, but Goodall is giving us her Survival Guide for Trying Times. This is a small book, but she covers a lot of ground. I have had lots of think about, reading more slowly that I usually do. The Jane Goodall Institution gives a lot of information about her works.

I hadn’t decided who to give this book to when I was browsing in the World Eye Bookstore right here on Main Street in Greenfield. A Promised Land by Obama is a big book, 706 pages, but I thought of several people who would enjoy this Christmas gift. Ultimately I chose myself.  Obama is great writer, a true gentle man, who can make us laugh. However, This is a serious book and after browsing I had to put this new book on my own shelf. “Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowas caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office.

There is always always something more to learn about plants and creatures – which go together. I first came to Tallamy with Bringing Nature Home which amazed me with the information about the way trees and little ‘bugs’ work together. Caterpillars and butterflies and bees obviously aren’t ‘bugs’ but Tallamy teaches about all those creatures, so many of which we know nothing. Then came  Natures’s Best Hope a clarion call for the informed appreciation of native plants. This was something I had rarely paid a lot of attention to. Now I have the amazing Nature of Oaks.  I never gave a thought to how many acorns fell from one oak tree, or how important those acorns were to other creatures.

I think there is nothing more delightful that reading books while snacking on cookies that I made myself. I have only had  time enough to make one batch of cookies, using Diane Mott Davidson’s recipe for Fa-La-La Fruitcake Cookies. Delicious!

Needless to say there are many Mystery Writers, male and female, and they all seem to know their way around the kitchen. The book takes the reader/cook from Breakfast through Appetizers, Soups and Salads, Entrees, Side Dishes, Desserts, and finally Cocktails. You are sure to find treats you will enjoy.

I’m  wondering what kinds of books Santa left for you. Or maybe it was a mother, son, daughter, loving husband?