Is there an appropriate missive for people whose birthday coincides with the holidays? David Ellis Dickerson suggests, "With your birthday at Christmas you may only get half the presents, but you get four times the love." And inside the card: "What a rip-off."
A Christmas birthday was one "Greeting Card Emergency" Dickerson addressed while appearing earlier this month at WORD in Brooklyn, N.Y., to promote his memoir, House of Cards: Love, Faith, and Other Social Expressions, about his days working for Hallmark.
The event came about after a customer brought up the idea. "We love suggestions like that from our community, so I checked out David's book and website and thought he was a good fit," said Kelly Amabile, the store's events coordinator. On his website, DavidEllisDickerson.com, the funnyman (and regular on NPR's This American Life) has created a series of videos in which he writes cards for awkward or unusual occasions like an ex-fiancée's wedding. Every day this week, Dickerson is sharing solutions for Christmas-related greeting card emergencies.
The gathering was one of several in WORD's December line-up that provided holiday help for customers. Rachel Kempster and Meg Leder, authors of The Happy Book, led an ornament-crafting party. Cal Patch, author of Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified, offered tips for taking proper measurements and making last-minute gifts.
Like WORD, other bookstores have beckoned customers this month with events offering advice and information. A cookie recipe exchange was part of the festivities at a soirée with Ann Pearlman, author of The Christmas Cookie Club: A Novel, at Schuler Books & Music in Lansing, Mich. It was part of a monthly Girls' Night Out series featuring female authors and women-focused literature. Attendees were asked to bring cookie recipes, and they each received a copy of all the contributions to take home.
At an event hosted by Just Books in Old Greenwich, Conn., Patricia Lee, author of The Wrapping Scarf Revolution, demonstrated how to use fabric scarves to wrap items decoratively and knot them at the top for easy toting. "In Korea and Japan, this is the traditional way to wrap and carry everything," said Lee during a local radio interview with store owner Marion Holmes to promote the event. Even odd-shaped items like wine bottles can easily be swathed in scarves. Aside from an elegant way to give a gift, it's also eco-friendly. "You totally reduce the waste involved in wrapping with disposable paper," Lee noted. "It's a really fun way to go green."
Recipients can then use the scarf to wrap a gift they're giving or keep it for themselves--using it to cover a purse for a new look or to spruce up household items like throw pillows and tissue holders. The various techniques and uses are demonstrated in Lee's book. And no creative skills are required. "Anybody who can tie their shoes can tie a wrapping scarf," said Lee. She's scheduled to appear on Good Morning America next Tuesday, December 22.
The Clinton Book Shop in Clinton, N.J., held a Tibetan Singing Bowl Workshop with Sandee Conroy. The quartz crystal bowls, similar to ones used for centuries by Tibetan monks, emit sounds that are calming and induce a sense of peacefulness--just the thing during the hectic holiday season.--Shannon McKenna Schmidt