Elise Skidmore

Anyone who knows me will tell you I don’t even want to think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving. It stems from my childhood when each holiday was taken as it came, one at a time, to be savored and enjoyed. I still hold to that as much as I can, but the world we live in makes that very hard to do sometimes. I normally wouldn’t even think about posting anything about Christmas in September, but it’s been brought to my attention that not all of the side effects of COVID 19 are health related, and it might be a good idea to remind you of the same things I’ve been hearing about.

I’m sure many of you are like me and do a lot of shopping online. You’ve probably noticed packages not being delivered as quickly as they used to be and shipping costs have increased—and that goes all the way up the line to those who supply the suppliers. So this year, if you’re holiday shopping you need to remember to shop early if you want to make sure you gifts arrive on time.

If you’re someone who loves to give and receive books, this early shopping is extra important. The shortages have hit the publishing industry hard. There’s a paper shortage—and I don’t mean toilet paper. There’s a shortage of ink—did you know that the Ethanol that is used to make ink is also used in the production of disinfectants and sanitary products? Naturally, medical environments are given priority access to it.

There are shortages in the work force. People have gotten sick, many have died. Many are nervous about returning to work while the pandemic continues. Many others have decided to retire early or learn new skills in hopes of a better future when the world gets back to normal.

In the book world, this means there’s a shortage of people to run the presses, stock the warehouses, and drive the trucks.

Holidays are always a busy time for printers and publishers. As book lovers you know that many of the books we’ve been waiting for tend to be released in the fall and, if you’re like me, there are usually books on your Christmas wish list. This year might be the year to try digital books, if you haven’t already. Most sellers will let you gift them to others. If you’re a die hard print copy person, just remember not to procrastinate this year because opening a box with a picture of the gift that’s still in transit is never as much fun as opening the real thing.

With that said, I’ll just add that all of my books are available in both digital and print formats, and I hope you’ll think about giving them as gifts to friends and family. You can find links to purchase them HERE.