Although Christmas Eve is almost here, there is still time to make those last minute purchases. A visit to  the nearest bookstore will provide a quick and much appreciated answer to most gift-giving dilemmas.

 Many celebrities contend that books make
great Christmas gifts. (Creative Commons
Attribution Licenced  photo by Alan Cleaver)

In a three-part video created by the Association of American Publishers  celebrities and writers unite to explain why "Books Make Great Gifts." Included are the views of mystery series authors Dan Brown (Robert Langdon series) Elmore Leonard (Carl Webster series) and Al Roker (Billy Blessing series).

Among the reasons why books make excellent gifts given in the videos are these:

• “Books make great gifts because they can unveil hidden secrets.” –Dan Brown
• “Books make great gifts because they expand your horizons and keep you cooking.” –Emeril Lagasse
• “Books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside them, and it’s much cheaper to buy somebody a book than it is to buy them the whole world.” –Neil Gaiman
• “Books make great gifts because… [they don’t] come in any particular size, so you don’t have to be embarrassed if you bought somebody the wrong size.” –Valerie Bertinelli
• “Books make great gifts because in a time of trouble, they can take the reader personally into a place of hope.” –Glenn Beck
• “Books make great gifts because they’re everybody’s favorite things.” –Julie Andrews
• “Books make great gifts because they’re something you love that you can share.” –John Lithgow
• “[Books are] the most fun you can have for under $25. You and your significant other can’t go to a movie and buy popcorn and have that much fun!” –Al Roker
• “Books make great gifts because you don’t have to plug them in.” –Alec Baldwin

Part One of the video features Emeril Lagasse, Stephen Fry, Steve Doocy, Valerie Bertinelli, Elmore Leonard, A.J. Jacobs, Neil Gaiman, and Alec Baldwin.

In Part Two Dan Brown, Glenn Beck, Mo Willems, Sandra Boynton, Jeff Smith, Eoin Colfer, Kevin Nealon and John Lithgow share their reasons why books make great gifts.

Part Three concludes with Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton, Danielle Steel, Al Roker, Meg Cabot, Nick Hornby, Howie Mandel and Peter Yarrow adding their encouragement to buy books.