I’ve always thought that books made the best gifts.
I think I can remember every book I’ve ever gotten as a gift. And I’ve got a lousy memory. But it always struck me that the person giving the book to me had spent time thinking about me and the kinds of things I like to read. And bought me something they thought I’d like.
I remember even the books I got as gifts as a child. I got great books from my grandmothers, like these:
and my mother and father, like these:
Later on, when I was married, I started to get these kinds of books from my husband and my sister-in-law (they knew I was interested in writing):
This year, I’ve bought quite a few books as gifts. Some of them I haven’t even read myself, but loved the description from different book blogs that I read. Some seemed like the perfect match for family members or good friends.
I even have two family members who live in Africa. It’s hard to get physical gifts to them (unreliable postal service there), but they are getting a gift card to an online book retailer so they can download books to their PCs.
Do you have a favorite book that you received as a gift? Do you have a favorite book that you like to give as a gift?