Thursday, December 18, 2008

Booking Through Thursday

Do you give books as gifts?
To everyone? Or only to select people?
How do you feel about receiving books as gifts?

I do like to give books as gifts. I value reading so much myself that I give books as gifts in order to encourage others to do so too.

I am selective about the people to whom I give books though. First, I always want to make sure that the book is one that is appropriate, one that the other person will enjoy. This means I have to know that person pretty well before I can purchase the right book, and as a rather introverted person, I don't get to know many people that well. Second, in my family my wife handles most of the gift giving. So, I actually choose gifts only for close family members.

As far as receiving books as gifts, is there any other kind of gift? Anyone that knows me well enough to give me a gift knows that I am an avid reader. So, books are pretty much the extent of the gifts that I receive. Years ago I wasn't as keen on receiving books as gifts because often the books I received weren't to my liking. Now an Amazon Wish List means that I mostly receive books that I want to read.

2 comments:

SmilingSally said...

I don't have any list, but I'll enjoy any book that anyone gives me.

Anonymous said...

I'm spending a lot of time matching books to their recipients, especially those who don't read much. I believe there is a book for everybody. Books are very personal gifts.

I’m a “piece of work” in terms of recipient of books. Over the years my friends have cringed from giving me books for my birthday owing to my eclectic taste. They also keep in mind that I’ve probably read some of the books they want to give me. Books do make perfect gifts, but by their very nature, books can also be a problem as tokens of affection. The delay factor is huge. Some books get a one-way ticket back to the used bookstore.