1 . As we close out the final days of this year, treat yourself to a deliciously distracting new book —a book that you can dip into and out of throughout the holidays. Read up, rest up, and enjoy yourself.

A must-have guide for yoga-loving mamas, Yoga for Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond offers helpful relaxation techniques and breathing exercises that are tailored to each pregnant woman. The book also lays out valuable techniques for labor and staying in touch with your body as it continuously changes.

We could all use a little more peace in our lives. Uniquely suited for children and parents to do together, the 40 mindfulness exercises recommended here —from pausing to fully enjoy a tasty sandwich to taking chalk walk together—will not only teach children calm and gratitude, but also bring grown-ups and their littles closer together.

Frankie Elkin is a recovering alcoholic who devotes her time to solving cold cases, especially those involving people of color. A new investigation brings her to Boston, searching for a Haitian teenager who disappeared months ago. But as Frankie starts asking questions, someone else will stop at nothing to keep the answers hidden.

Lauren Redniss’ Oak Flat tells the story of the land near the San Carlos Apache Reservation through an Apache family fighting to protect the land which the U. S. government and two world-power mining enterprises are attempting to seize and destroy for its copper resources. Visually striking and deeply reported, Oak Flat tells a larger story of endless westward expansion and native resistance.

2 . A New Chapter

The day I heard that the Rainbow Bookstore was closing after 50 years of business, I was heartbroken. The bookstore, which was a legendary fixture in the neighborhood, was a place where anyone could drop in and connect through their love of books.

When I hurried to the store, I saw that the books were al already being packed into boxes. I had a long chat with Casey, the store’s elderly owner. Sighing deeply, he told me how it was becoming difficult to run an independent bookstore. Most young people preferred reading e-books on tablets. More and more customers were being attracted by chain stores and online discounts. I tried to think of some words of sympathy, but I had to admit that the Rainbow Bookstore couldn’t stay in business much longer.

Childhood memories came back to me so clearly, as if the events had happened only yesterday. A bunch of us kids would frequently drop by the store after school. We’d look at the new books, or just chat with Old Casey. He knew every book in the store and would always pick the perfect one for us from a dusty shelf. We spent hours reading, seated on the store’s old but comfortable furniture. Casey encouraged us to share our ideas and comments on the books, by writing them on a large board in one corner of the store.

When I left the bookstore, it was becoming cold and dark outside. I turned to wave goodbye to Casey, but both he and his bookstore were already hidden in a thick mist. It made me realize that the bookstore and all that Old Casey had given to the community could soon disappear for good.

A few months later, I was back in the neighborhood during my spring break and was surprised to see that the Rainbow Bookstore was still there and open for business. Its old brick exterior hadn’t changed, but inside it was like a different world. In one area, a book reading was being delivered. Nearby, customers were poring over shelves selling stationery, posters and other best-seller-themed gifts. The large board in the corner had been replaced by a big screen, where customers comments on the month’s best-seller were being displayed. Clearly, the Rainbow Bookstore was in good, creative hands.

I was told that the community had decided to work together on a campaign to save the Rainbow Bookstore. The campaign had been led by Jennifer Oakley, a saleswoman who had grown up in the neighborhood and who had now taken over the bookstore from Casey.

Under Jennifer’s leadership, the bookstore was being turned into a place for literature-loving members of the community to get together. It had a café selling organic food, and there were now more community events such as book readings, poetry recitals and even jazz concerts and movie nights, where people could gather to share an experience that couldn’t be downloaded.

I joined Casey, who was looking up at the screen on which readers’ comments kept popping up. “Well, as you can see, corporate knowledge combined with creativity has brought my humble bookstore into the 21st century! I’m so pleased to see that everything I wanted it to offer to the community is still here.”

4 . Many libraries around the world are as amazing in their architecture and organization as they are in the huge amount of knowledge they contain. With shelves and shelves of books, various collections and amazing historical and cultural displays. there are plenty of undiscovered wonders.

Beinecke Rare Book Library (New Haven, Connecticut)

Yale University has one of the most beautiful college campuses in America, and one of its most interesting features is the Beinecke Rare Book Library. It is one of the largest buildings in the world devoted to rare books and manuscripts (手稿) of famous people. From 2015-16 the library building was closed for 18 months for major improvement. Inside there is a stat ue of its main founder that rises up high.

Vennesla Library (Vennesla, Norway)

Located near the southernmost tip of Norway, Vennesla Library is more than a collection of books—it’s a city cultural center and meeting place. The building hosts a coffee shop, open meeting spaces, classrooms for children and adult education courses. and a cinema. It is mainly built out of wood. The long. thin beams (横梁) on the inside were designed to look like the inside of a whale.

Suzzallo Library (Seattle)

Among the many beautiful features of the campus at the University of Washington, such as its cherry flowers and a light rail station, Suzzallo Library was built in the Collegiate Gothic style. Its buttresses (扶壁) are decorated with 18 statues featuring famous academics and writers such as Plato, Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Dante, Galileo, Beethoven, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.

Library of Muyinga (Muyinga, Burundi)

A school for deaf children, the Library of Muyinga in Burundi was built with local techniques and traditions. A rope hammock (吊床) that hangs between the first and second floors of the library serves as part of the children’s reading room, a great place for indoor activities.

More information of them is just a click away.

7 . Reading can be a social activity. Think of the people who belong to book groups. They choose books to read and then meet to discuss them. Now, the website Book Crossing.com turns the page on the traditional idea of a book group.

Members go on the site and register (登记) the books they own and would like to share. Book Crossing provides an identification number (识别码) to stick inside the book. Then the person leaves it in a public place, hoping that the book will have an adventure, traveling far and wide with each new reader who finds it.

Bruce Pederson, the managing director of Book Crossing, says, “The two things that change your life are the people you meet and books you read. Book Crossing combines both.”

Members leave books on park benches and buses, in train stations and coffee shops. Whoever finds their book will go to the site and record where they found it.

People who find a book can also leave a journal entry describing what they thought of it. E— mails are then sent to the BookCrossers to keep them updated about where their books have been found. Bruce Pederson says the idea is for people not to be selfish by keeping a book to gather dust on a shelf at home.

Book Crossing is part of a trend (趋势) among people who want to get back to the “real” and not the virtual (虚拟).The site now has more than one million members in more than one hundred thirty—five countries.