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Walk into any local bookstore these days and you're likely to find extensive displays of coloring books … for adults.

Anne Holman of The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City says coloring books are doing very well for her store: "You could even say they're selling hand over fist."

Catherine Weller of Weller Book Works in Salt Lake City reports that after an initially slow start, coloring books have "started flying out the door."

Not everybody gets the current craze.

Heather Parke Zamora, mother of three young daughters, thinks it's odd that she can buy a kid's coloring book for a few dollars at a grocery store, while vendors like Barnes and Noble charge considerably more for an adult version. "I can get the same therapy from My Little Pony, thank you very much."

And while coloring books for adults are frequently touted as being stress-busters for busy grownups, not everyone who's tried them agrees.

"I like these," writer Julie DeMille says, "but they also stress me out because I feel like I can't make them symmetrical enough. I usually quit halfway through."

Still, there's no denying that plenty of adults this holiday season are stocking up on colored pencils, crayons, markers and a range of thematic coloring books for themselves. "I color more now than I ever did 20-plus years ago. Helloooooooo, Kitty!" says Jo Ann Whirledge.

Why? I put the question to a number of people who are on board with the trend. For some, coloring as an adult connects them to the pleasure they felt in the activity when they were children. "When I color, I feel happy — have done since I was a child. We should have never stopped coloring. Or jumping rope or using hoppy-taws for hopscotch," says Melody Newey.

Many fans find that coloring really does soothe frazzled nerves.

Karla Burkhart assumed she was too hyper to sit down and color. "But once I started," she says, "I didn't want to stop. It's surprisingly relaxing."

Amelia Nielson Stowell agrees, although she admits to feeling annoyed when her kids try to help.

Jan Sloan sums up the experience of many users when she says, "As unartistic as I am, this is one of the most calming things that I can do. You forget everything else around you."

Other users feel like coloring can be actively therapeutic.

Holly Mullen, former Tribune columnist and outgoing director of Salt Lake's Rape Recovery Center, notes that her staff has provided adult coloring books, along with jars of pencils and crayons, in the center's lobby for some time. "Just walking through the door is a challenge for many sexual-assault survivors. They often struggle with anxiety as they wait to see their therapist or advocate. While many get immersed in their smartphones, several have taken to coloring to keep their minds occupied and stress levels down."

Annette Albertsen sees her recently widowed sister, who also suffers from dementia, visibly settle down whenever she colors, while Corrie Watkins has found that the act of coloring distracts her from actual physical pains.

Artist Alicia VanNoy Call recalls that she and fellow inpatients at a psychiatric treatment facility were provided with adult coloring books as part of their therapy. In addition to keeping hands occupied during downtime, coloring was a useful way to "unlock creativity centers that illness had blocked."

Deb Edwards, who teaches art at Salt Lake Community College, wonders if using the coloring-book format in her classroom might be a useful educational device. "It could provide a familiar and nonthreatening — even fun format — in which to effectively teach drawing, art history and color theories to students of all ages."

And then there's a social component to the adult coloring-book phenomenon. "I love hearing about grown women having wine and coloring parties," says author and retired librarian Becky Hall.

Some fans, in fact, arrange to spend time coloring together. "We're all so disconnected by being connected online these days," says The King's English's Holman. Adult coloring books provide "a means of getting together with other people in person."

Whatever the reasons, there is a huge variety of titles and subjects (including hair styles!) from which to choose. Here's a sampling:

"Lost Ocean: An Inky Adventure & Coloring Book," Johanna Basford ($16.95) • Basford, a self-proclaimed "ink evangelist," is a rock star in the world of coloring books for adults. In fact, the recent resurgence of interest in the genre may be partially credited to the success of Basford's earlier titles, "Secret Garden" and "Enchanted Forest." Her latest coloring book features a variety of marine motifs — from seashells to seahorses.

A number of other coloring books draw their inspiration from nature, as well, including "Tropical World" by Millie Marotta ($14.95) and "Color the Natural World" by Zoe Keller ($12.95).

"The Mindfulness Coloring Book: Anti-Stress Art Therapy for Busy People," Emma Farrarons ($9.95) • Filled with repetitive patterns of squares, and curlicues and squiggly lines, "The Mindfulness Coloring Book" invites users to enter the moment and concentrate on the images at hand. The nice thing about this book is its compact size, which makes it easy to slip into a purse or briefcase.

"Calming Swirls: Stress-Relieving Designs to Color and Display," Nikolett Corley ($12.99) • Like "The Mindfulness Coloring Book," this new title in the Zendoodle line promises to calm what ails you.

"Fantastic Cities," Steve McDonald ($14.95) • This stunning coloring book features illustrated aerial views of cities from around the world — Istanbul, Singapore, Paris, Tokyo, Toronto, New York, Sydney, Guanajuato and many more.

"Harry Potter," illustrations based on images and stills from the Harry Potter movies ($15.99) • The Harry Potter novels weren't just for kids, and this Harry Potter coloring book isn't either. Familiar images of Harry and the gang are set against backdrops of intricate designs just begging to be colored.

"The Official A Game of Thrones Coloring Book," with quotations from George R. R. Martin's books and illustrations by John Howe, Levi Pinfold, Adam Stower, Yvonne Gilbert, Tomislav Tomic ($16.95) • Fans of Martin's epic series may enjoy revisiting favorite characters, settings and scenes with colored pencils in hand. No full-frontal nudity involved.

"A Brothers Grimm Coloring Book and Other Classic Fairy Tales," Adam Fisher ($14.95) • Speaking of fantasy, this coloring book goes right to the source of all things once-upon-a-time with images from such well-known stories as "Tom Thumb," "Little Red Riding Hood," "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Hansel and Gretel." Because some of the illustrations in this coloring book are less complex, "Brothers Grimm" is a good choice for a variety of ages.

"I Love My Hair: A Coloring Book of Braids, Coils, and Doodle Dos," Andrea Pippins ($15.99) • "Inside this book," the author writes, "you'll find pages filled with doodles that continue to celebrate my love for black hair and my passion for inspiring all women and girls to feel good about themselves." True to her word, Pippins provides colorists (not the hair kind) with plenty of happy, psychedelic images to keep them busy through the long months of winter ahead.

And finally, just in time for Christmas in particular and winter in general, there's "Home for the Holidays: a Hand-crafted Coloring Book," by Galadriel A.L. Thompson ($14.95). Thompson's crisp images of birds and bulbs, candles and Christmas trees, babushkas and birches are hard to resist.