This week’s Book Blogger Hop question: Do you give books as gifts?
I do tend to default towards books and movies as gifts…those are typically the only things I want, and that’s what I think of giving too! I give my parents books for Christmas frequently, and my book club does a book white elephant swap every year. Another group of my friends also does a white elephant most years, and last year I brought a copy of Pratchett’s Hogfather to both exchanges. Well-received at both, because my friends are awesome.
Despite all that, my instinctive response is that books can actually be a very hard thing to give. Tastes are so particular! Predicting what book someone would like is more challenging than I think people often believe. (“Oh, you like fantasy, you will like any fantasy book!” And…no. Not really.)
I also think a downside to ebooks is that it removes the option of giving or loaning books to a friend. I mean, yes, there are ways to still do that with ebooks, but you can’t unwrap a digital book. And it’s more meaningful when a friend entrusts another with their own physical copy of a book.
Do you give books as gifts? Do you struggle with finding the right one for the right person?
A couple of months ago, I inexplicably got a book in the mail from my grandmother. It wasn’t my birthday or anything… just something she thought I’d like, I guess. I didn’t. I actually would have stopped midway through if it hadn’t been a gift from her, ha. I don’t know if it was a loan or a gift and I’m kind of afraid to ask because then she’ll ask me if I liked it and I don’t really know what to say, because if I tell her the truth she won’t take it well and if I lie, she’ll undoubtedly give me more, because it’s a part of a rather long series.
But you know… it was a very nice and very pleasant and fun surprise to find a book in my mailbox.
Speaking of finding books other people might like, I wonder if you take recommendations? I know you’ve probably got a long list of things to read. I read a couple of books in a series earlier this year. By Kristin Cashore. The first one is called Graceling, and the second is called Fire. I actually liked the second one more than the first, and they’re more companion novels than a chronological series (they don’t deal with the same characters and can probably be read independently), but I still would recommend Graceling first. Anyway, I think you’d like them. There’s another book in the series which I’ve yet to get to.
I totally get that dilemma with a gifted book! And I do take recommendations. 🙂 Thanks for the suggestion!
Books can be great gifts, and many of the books I’ve enjoyed most are ones I’ve received as gifts. That said, one should avoid giving a book without some prior indication that it is something the receiver would like to spend time with–and, as you point out, the indication needs to be a little stronger than that the receiver is broadly interested in the genre. One more thought: books can be marvelous gifts for kids.
I give books as gifts, but I agree it can be hard to choose the right one for the right person. You have to know their tastes. Still, it is a wonderful feeling to share a book you truly loved with someone else who you know is likely to love it, too.
I do give books as gifts but only to my best friend, brother and parents, because I know their tastes well enough 🙂