With travel advisories and stay-at-home orders taking away many traditional holiday activities, you can still take advantage of your time at home by snuggling up with a good book or participating in one of the many virtual book clubs around Santa Barbara County.
Staff at Santa Barbara’s biggest bookstore, Chaucer’s Books, put together a gift guide of the best books to read and give loved ones this holiday break.
With more than 30 books listed — ranging from nonfiction tales, photo books, historical retellings and fantasies — you can find the perfect read to keep them busy and comforted during this unprecedented time.
“These books are ones that our staff have loved and really enjoyed; we stand behind all of our recommendations,” said Greg Feitt, general manager of Chaucer’s, at 3321 State St. in Loreto Plaza.
“Although, I could probably add at least 30 books to the list!”
While indoor browsing is limited to 20 percent capacity at the store, Feitt said the community has shown immense support, with business booming right before the holidays.
Over the past few months, Chaucer’s has hosted virtual events to keep the community engaged in the book world. The store invited authors such as Jacob Seigel Brielle and Charles Yu to host discussions about their work.
“We’ve pivoted to online events and are trying to make that work,” Feitt said. “We’ve had some success with the events we have hosted.”
He said Chaucer’s plans to continue hosting the events in the new year.
Libraries throughout the county have also created virtual book clubs and activities to promote reading.
From Jan. 1 through Feb. 13, the Goleta Valley and Santa Ynez Valley libraries — at 500 N. Fairview Ave. in Goleta and 3598 Sagunto St. in Santa Ynez, respectively — will host a six-week Winter Reading Challenge for all ages to start off the new year with “the transformational power of reading.”
The theme for the challenge is “Books Like Us,” and participants are encouraged to log their books through Beanstack, a website and app that makes keeping track of reading easier.
“Expanding our Annual Winter Reading Program to include readers of all ages this year is an exciting opportunity for all of us to start of 2021 with a fun and great book,” said Elizabeth Saucedo, the Goleta Valley Library’s children’s librarian.
During each week, the two libraries will hold drawings for prizes such as themed gift baskets, gift cards to local restaurants, stickers, games, art kits and books. Readers are eligible for these prizes each week that they log at least one book.
In addition to the local prize drawings, the 10 libraries in Santa Barbara County with the highest participation in the challenge will win virtual visits from authors such as Sharon M. Draper and Stuart Gibbs, as well as a collection of 50 books from the Simon & Schuster Books Like Us collection.
The Santa Maria Main Library, at 421 S. McClelland St., is also holding two Winter Reading Programs. Through the youth program, which runs through Jan. 23, participants can log their reading online for a prize and entry into a grand drawing at the end of the program. Those who complete the program also receive an award from the library.
The goal is to have 500 books read by the end of the program, according to event organizers.
For the Adult Winter Reading Program, participants who log 600 minutes of reading between Dec. 21 and Jan. 10 are eligible to receive a prize.
In lieu of in-person book clubs, there is a wide variety of virtual book clubs hosted by local libraries throughout the county.
The Santa Barbara Libraries hosts a virtual crime book club on the first Wednesday of the month, a virtual romance book club on the first Tuesday of the month, and a virtual fiction book club on the second Tuesday of the month. It also offers other virtual clubs such as the Memoirs and Biography Club and the Teen Anime and Manga Club.
A list of all the libraries’ upcoming events can be found on its website.
The Goleta Valley Library will be hosting live Wiggly Storytimes for children ages 14 months to 3 years during which a storyteller will share short stories, songs and dancing. The library also hosts live online Bilingual Storytime every Tuesday for readers to hear stories in English and Spanish.
On Wednesdays, the library offers live online Pajama Storytimes for youth to hear a telling of stories while curled up in their blankets.
At the Buellton Library, at 140 W. Highway 246, the facility’s Bookworms Club also holds monthly discussions about various reads.
The county also offers the Book Club in a Bag program, through which readers can rent a book club kit to host their own book clubs in a coronavirus-safe setting. Each adult fiction and nonfiction kit contains 10 copies of the selected book, and children’s kits contain 12 copies.
The kits can be reserved online through the library catalog, or through staff by phone or email, and are held for pick-up for seven days. Residents who rent the kits will be able to keep them for a six-week loan period.
— Noozhawk staff writer Jade Martinez-Pogue can be reached at jmartinez-pogue@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
