Ex Libris

Like all bibliophiles, I mark my Holidays by books given and received. I remember many a Christmas Day spent curled up by the fire (usually in a fancy Christmas nightgown) with a new book in hand. My brother and sister would be playing with their toys like most children, but I just wanted to read. My mom would eventually drag me out of the story and insist I spend time with the family.

One of the books that most stands out in my memory is the . I just googled this book and got chills looking at the cover- I could be ten years old, sitting on the sofa in the living room, so excited to read about Elizabeth and Todd. (Ten years old? The romance bug bit me young :-D.) Oh how I loved these books-it is no coincidence that Elizabeth was the name of the heroine in my first (unpublished) novel.

The next book I remember is . It was a thick hardcover edition that seemed so grownup to me. I’d heard of Anne, but had never read about her. Little did I know I was about to enter a world that would be part of my life forever. I devored those books. I don’t think I slept for a year. Ah, Anne and Gilbert, how sweet you were.

The next Christmas my mom got wise and bought me a reading light. She’d given up trying to make me go to sleep and finally just wanted to protect my eyes. Somewhere is those years, my younger brother started giving me fancy bookmarks. Some of them are still stuffed in my old books (the one’s I am not able to give away.)

I like to gift books as well. My father reads non-fiction—the biography of Andrew Jackson and other such exciting works—and I try to spice up his reading. I’ve given him, among other books, and . Both of these are lovely books, packed full of powerful ideas and interesting information. I must give my dad credit, he read both cover to cover.

This year, my neice is getting two books from me. (Shh… don’t tell her.) and are favorites in my household.

For my friends who read romance, the book I chose this year is . This book hits the right notes of romance, humor, and life lessons and is a delight from start to finish. I’ve also given .

Gift certificates to the local bookstore abound in our family stockings. I wouldn’t be surprised if I receive a Kindle Fire this year. My kindle is a few years and, has one mark on the screen, but it's fine by me. It is my husband who looks at it and shakes his head. For him, the technology is exciting. For me, it is still all about the story.


Leigh LaValle was born in a time when ladies shopped at the modiste and rogues sent heated looks across a crowded ballroom. Time slipped forward a few hundred years, and she currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. When she is not writing about said ladies and rogues, mommying, or reading, she is rarely seen cleaning. More often, she is found hiking or, when she is really lucky, in the white powder of the ski slopes. She is also a devoted yoga practitioner and instructor.

You can reach Leigh on her website, blog, , and Goodreads.

Leigh has generously offered ebook copies of  both  and  to a lucky commenter!