Thursday, January 10, 2013

It's Meme Week! Booking Through Thursday- Buying Books as Gifts

It’s my Dad’s birthday today, which makes me wonder … do you like to give books as gifts?
I’m usually torn. I love giving and sharing books, but it can be hard. The giftee can be difficult to please, or you don’t know what they’ve read (or what they thought of books they have read). Even people who love to read and love to get books can be hard to gift books to … so, does that make you pause and reach for the neckties or DVDs or sweaters … anything BUT a book at gift-giving time? How do you feel about getting books yourself? Are you picky or easy? (For the record, I’m told I’m VERY hard to buy for, even though I’ll read just about anything … go figure.)

I like giving books as gifts. This past Christmas just about everyone got books as gifts, even people who aren't big readers. People like my husband, who are avid readers, are easy to buy for of course. But the great thing about buying books is there's something for everyone. You can give beautiful cookbooks, coffee table books, craft books and more- puzzles, games, home improvement, photography, fashion, art, the list goes on. There's so much to choose from!

I'm easy to buy for because I keep detailed wishlists so there's no guessing. Otherwise I'd probably be very tricky to buy for only because I buy so much for myself. I work  in a wonderful independent bookstore where employees get a generous discount, so I have little incentive to wait! And in fact I'd rather buy books for myself, since it's cheaper that way. But I do keep a wishlist at a sister independent bookstore, and once a year we give a little business to it.

Update: I gave The New Yorker Book of Dogs to a relative whose reading habits I don't know, but I figured she'd like it because she loves dogs. I got the sweetest thank you note in the history of thank you notes from her today! Books make a great gift, guys! Don't be afraid to give a book!

More Booking Through Thursday here.

6 comments:

Ryan said...

The problem with giving books as gifts is that it is an investment of time. The gif tee might feel obliged to read the book given to them despite their complete lack of desire to do so, and resent the gifted for making them read something they would otherwise never read. Sort of like giving a pet.

bermudaonion said...

I love to buy books for other people and generally don't wait for a special occasion to do so.

Zibilee said...

I try to give books whenever possible, and if I can't do that, I will give a gift certificate to a book store. I love it that my young nephews are beginning to love to read, because there are so many great books waiting for them, but in reality, I try to give as many books as I can for holidays and birthdays. My kids love this.

Alexia561 said...

I love giving books as gifts to my nephews and nieces, as I'm trying to encourage their love of reading. For adults, I only give a book if they have a wishlist, just to make sure I give them something they actually want to read.

Kathleen said...

I love giving books to people and trying to match their tastes and interests to a book I think they might enjoy. How nice that you got the thank you note to solidify the choice you made for your loved one!

Anonymous said...

I gave out books to everyone on my list last year so I gave everyone this yesr off, LOL. I love matching books to the giftees, especially the nonreaders. Must be all those years in retail.