Guess who's coming to town? Santa will be at the Lampasas Public Library on Dec. 23 at 6 p.m. for a special "Storytime with Santa."

Parents will have an opportunity to take pictures of their children with Santa.

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December preschool storytimes are Wednesdays, Dec. 3-17.

Dec. 3, will be "National Roof Over Your Head Day" with an "Up on the Housetop" storytime.

On Dec. 17, a "Cookies, cakes, and pies" storytime will be held. Both storytimes start at 10 a.m.

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Want to give, but don't know how or what? The library has created a "wish list" at amazon.com to make giving a little easier. To view the wish list, click on "Gifts & Wish Lists" above the search box on the Amazon.com homepage. In the "Find someone's wish list" search box on the right side of the screen, search for "Lampasas Public Library."

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Recent donations have been received in memory of Billie Pitts and Juanita Arnold.

Library staff appreciate the public for remembering the facility when giving memorial donations.

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Renew items and place reserves online. For the services, patrons can access their library account online at www.cityoflampasas. com/library. Navigate to the "Online Catalog." Enter the library card number and phone number, and click on "My Account."

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Author read-alikes.

If you like V.C. Andrews, you might also like John Saul, Kay Hooper, James Patterson, Barbara Michaels or Joyce Carol Oates.

If you like Stephen King, you might also like Douglas J. Preston, Lincoln Child, Dean Koontz or Orson Scott Card.

If you like J.A. Jance, you might also like Aimee & David Thurlo, Tony Hillerman, Lawrence Block, Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton or Nevada Barr.

If you like Belva Plain, you might also like Barbara Delinsky, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Nicholas Sparks or Fern Michaels.

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New books at the library:

"Around the world with LBJ," by James Cross. When Lyndon Baines Johnson wanted to go somewhere, there was no stopping him. This dynamic president called for Air Force One as others summon a taxi -- at a moment's notice, whatever the hour or the weather. And the man who made sure that LBJ got his ride was General James U. Cross, the president's hand-picked pilot, top military assistant and personal confidante. In this book, Cross goes on the record, creating a behind-the-scenes portrait of America's complex, often contradictory, always larger-thanlife 36th president.

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"The Christmas Sweater," by Glenn Beck. When Eddie was 12 years old, all he wanted for Christmas was a bike. Although his life had gotten harder -- and money tighter -- since his father died and the family bakery closed, Eddie dreamed that somehow his mother would find a way to have his dream bike gleaming beside their modest Christmas tree that magical morning. What he got from her instead was a sweater. Scarred deeply by the realization that kids don't always get what they want, and too young to understand that he already owned life's most valuable treasures, that Christmas morning was the beginning of Eddie's dark and painful journey on the road to manhood.

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"Six Geese a-Slaying," by Donna Andrews. Meg and Michael's house is serving as the marshaling point for the annual Caerphilly Christmas parade. Meg was volunteered to organize the parade, which is to proceed from her house to the local campus, where Santa will take up residence to hear the Christmas wishes of the town's children. However, her nephew Eric, wide-eyed and ashen-faced, whispers, "Meg, something's wrong with Santa." The local curmudgeon, whose beard and belly made him a natural for the role, has been murdered. Now Meg and Chief Burke, who is playing one of the wise men, are faced with the two-fold mission of solving the murder and saving Christmas.

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"The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life," by Alice Schroeder. This book recounts the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world -- Warren Buffett, who is an array of paradoxes. He set out to prove that nice guys can finish first. Over the years he treated his investors as partners, acted as their steward, and championed honesty as an investor, CEO, board member, essayist, and speaker. At the same time he became the world's richest man, all from the modest Omaha headquarters of his company Berkshire Hathaway.

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"One Perfect Gift," by Kathleen Morgan. Jessica Ashmore has brought her young daughter to the Colorado high plains in the winter of 1933. A penniless widow, Jessica is hoping for employment as an office nurse. Though the job she wants is no longer available, she is grateful to at least be offered a temporary position taking care of stroke victim Abby MacKay at Culdee Creek Ranch. Abby's son Sean, an embittered WWI veteran who many view as a coward and deserter, is none-too-pleased with the arrangement -- and he doesn't hide it very well. But Christmas is a time of love and forgiveness, and their antagonism starts to give way to far deeper feelings. Can Sean and Jessica ever hope for a life together? Will they be able to find that one perfect gift?

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"The House on Tradd Street," by Karen White. Practical Melanie Middleton hates to admit she can see ghosts. But she's going to have to accept it. An old man she recently met has died, leaving her his historic Tradd Street home, complete with housekeeper, dog -- and a family of ghosts anxious to tell her their secrets. Enter Jack Trenholm, a gorgeous writer obsessed with unsolved mysteries. He has reason to believe that diamonds from the Confederate Treasury are hidden in the house. It turns out Jack's search has caught the attention of a malevolent ghost. Now, Jack and Melanie must unravel a mystery of passion, heartbreak— and even murder.

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Other new books at the library:

"Your Heart Belongs to Me," by Dean Koontz

"Santa Clawed," by Rita Mae Brown

"Cross Country," by James Patterson

"Heat Lightning," by John Sandford

"The Longest Trip Home," by John Grogan

"Letter to My Daughter," by Maya Angelou

"The Boxer and the Spy," by Robert B. Parker