A Christmas for book lovers

Chennai

Christmas is a time when people indulge their friends and loved ones with gifts of all shapes and sizes. But it seems bibliophiles and book lovers in the city have taken the spirit of the season to another level with their ‘novel’ gifting ideas. From library memberships that allow you to borrow and read as many books as you like, to gift coupons from e-tailers aimed at keeping bookworms glued to their page-turners for the rest of the holiday, and even Facebook based Gift a-Book proposals, Christmas this year is going to be literally a literary holiday.

Setting the ball rolling is the team from I Love Read, a Chennai-based community library initiative. Karthika Gopalakrishnan, the library manager, who would surely agree with the mantra that all great things come in small packages, tells us, “One of our long-time members inspired us to come up with a special, hand-made paper gift box containing a coupon that can be redeemed for a library-membership on our website. It’s a gift suitable for people of all ages as long as you love reading.”

Theme parties

But that’s not all, the team has a big plan up its sleeve too. Anagha Natraj, a party intern with the library says, “We are also holding a special Harry Potter themed Christmas party. We have sold out all the 50 tickets to the event which is being held at a restaurant in Adyar.

The costume party will even feature food from the Potter books, like Butterbeer and Chocolate Frog. It’s our way of spreading a little cheer this season, after the hardships our city has been through.”

Gift a book

For many professionals, Christmas, coupled with the long weekend has also meant catching up on some much deserved reading. Alain Barreto, a hospitality professional says, “I have joined my friends on Facebook in the Gift-aBook plan. I have gifted one of my buddies a book of his choice, and I am expecting six books to come my way. We are all super excited by the prospect of having so many books to read during the Holiday season.”