My Grown-Up Christmas List

It will be Christmas morning when this blog is read but as I write it, Christmas is still 13 days away. The preparations for the holiday are beginning to move from enjoyable to a bit more frantic as time grows short for getting everything in place for Christmas Day. Lists for Santa are growing longer as last-minute ideas come to the minds of kids everywhere. Even adults I know are sending out their own lists of inspirable ideas to friends and families.

Making lists always feels like an activity for the kids but, lest we forget the song that shares the name of this blog, there does exist the concept of a Christmas list for adults. So today, I'd like to share a brief Grown-Up Christmas List through the eyes of my role here at ThriftBooks.

My Grown-Up Christmas List (for Books)

1. Libraries and Friends of Libraries will find a path back to vibrancy. Libraries hold a special place in my heart as I spent many hours at my local library growing up, fascinated with the concept of being around so many books and then having the freedom to take home whatever I'd like. It was magical. The work that Friends of Libraries groups do to support their local libraries is so important for their success. As many of you know, ThriftBooks loves libraries! The relationship we enjoy with our library partners is best in class and provides needed financial support to libraries everywhere! Your support of ThriftBooks in turn supports these libraries so that many others can experience the magic of books.
2. Book time will increase, and screen time will decrease. Yes, I know there is still an element of "good screen time" but, generally speaking, as a society we need to dedicate more time to putting down the screens and picking up physical books. If we teach children at a young age to balance the two perhaps they will continue that balance as they grow up. After the past 20 months of living our lives through computer screens, let's embrace the physical and the physicality of books!
3. More books will find their way into the homes of underprivileged children everywhere. For many of us, it is quite easy to take for granted our access to books. We have stacks of them around our house, shelfies of ones already read, ever-growing TBR piles, and wish lists with more to come. Yet there are countless number of homes across the country lacking even one book to call their own. ThriftBooks book donations to non-profits like Book Drive for Kids and organizations like Race to Kindness aim to make an impact, one book and one home at a time. The joy on a child's face when they receive their very own books to take home and read over and over again is priceless.
4. Classic books will continue to be read and not banned. Enough said.
5. Book lovers everywhere will immerse themselves in the Joy of reading. My final wish is for all people, young and old, avid readers and casual readers, and even non-readers, to have a year filled with all that books have to offer: wonder, intrigue, romance, education, laughter, improvement, knowledge, and so much more. Let's embrace the joy of books, all they do to enrich our lives, and, always, ShareBookLove.

From all of us at ThriftBooks to all of you in our community, we wish you a very Merry Christmas.

About the Author: Barbara Hagen is the Vice President of Marketing and Sales here at ThriftBooks. She has more than 20 years of experience as a senior marketing executive, with an undergraduate degree in marketing from Syracuse University, an MBA in international marketing from NYU's Stern School of Business, and an MS in data analytics, also from NYU's Stern School.

Read more by Barbara Hagen