By The Book Christmas Tree

Tree of Romance with twinkle lights! Oh, yes!

When I saw the photos of the Christmas trees made from books in The Mary Sue (www.themarysue.com/12-christmas-trees-made-out-of-books/ )I had to build one for myself. I own hundreds of books, a three-foot tall round table, and twinkle lights… How hard could it be?

Well after two tries, I realized building a book tree would have been a lot easier if all of my books were hardbound, like those in the photos.

However, perseverance combined with the engineer in me and I decided to create a sort of recipe. For a three-foot tall tree with a two foot base, you will need the following:

• 120 books, sorted by size,  thickness, and hardness.
• Solid surface base (wood or marble, not carpet). I used a marble table.
• 1- 25′ strand of clear mini lights (indoor, low heat)
• 1- 25′ strand of colored bulb lights that twinkle (indoor, low heat)
• Topper

Starting with your largest hardbound books, form a circle with the bindings facing out. My base uses 5 hardbound books. Continue to form circles, bridging two books from the bottom layer with your next lift. Slowly decrease the number of books you use per layer until you have an opening that is big enough for the smallest paperbacks to slide into and fill in the middle to stabilize the tree (a simple stack will do the trick for a tree this size). Test to make sure your tree is sturdy by rocking it slightly. It should feel solid.

Next:

• Add several single books to increase the top height. I used 8 more books of decreasing size.
• Wrap with the clear lights, non blinking.
• Add a strand of colored bulbs, blinking.
• Add a star, angel, or whatever for a topper. I used a snowman.
• Plug in and Enjoy!

As I stepped back, I had an epiphany of what kind of reader I am. I’m author loyal and am a huge fan of paranormal and romantic suspense, with a light sprinkling of classic stories. I also support my circle of friends who are also writers.

If you build a book tree (or imagined building one with the books you have handy), what would your tree tell about you–the kind of reader you are? The kind of writer you strive to be?

Please share your tree pictures!

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