jmc ([info]jmc_bookrelated) wrote,
@ 2009-11-09 21:14:00
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Entry tags:sbd

SBD: book gifting
Beth's query for SBD: do you give people books for Christmas?  Or whatever winter solstice holiday you celebrate.  If so, how do you choose?

Well...my gut reaction is to say, hell, no, I don't give people books.  But that's not entirely true.  I gave an autographed copy of a Sookie Stackhouse book to a friend last year because she'd just become hooked on the series.  And I look for first edition hardbacks for The Chemist -- he buys/keeps only first edition hardbacks in his library, but for some reason his local bookstores seldom get first runs.  And, well, I buy historical fiction for Mom for Christmas and birthdays.  For the Biochemist, I might buy a reference book but, otherwise, nope.  We exchange recommendations but do not buy for each other.

Receiving books as gifts?  Uh, well, I'd rather not.  That's how I ended up with copies of several Dan Brown's books.  And Nicholas Sparks and Robert James Waller books.  


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[info]janicu
2009-11-10 03:05 am UTC (link)
Yeah, I give books. I gave my mom a book last year for Christmas because she specifically said she wanted it. It copy of a book by William Dalrymple that she hadn't been able to find. And then.. I've given pop-up Star Wars to my brother who loved it. And.. mmm, my husband figures out what books I want from my amazon wishlist and what I talk about on twitter, so he always does right. Everyone else knows to get me a gift card to a bookstore (my brother gives me one to Bookmans in AZ when I go visit him there).

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[info]jmc_bookrelated
2009-11-10 03:34 am UTC (link)
Oh, I forgot about kids' books. (I'm assuming that the Star Wars pop up was a kids' book, no?) They are the exception to any gift giving rule. Lots of books for small children. Especially Dr. Seuss, and the Very Hungry Caterpillar, etc.

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[info]janicu
2009-11-10 02:57 pm UTC (link)
Oh yes, it's a kids book. They work. Also: art books. Which I remember I often give my sister, the art student. I gave her one a couple of years ago that was BibliOdyssey, which was a really cool book, so then I ended up buying one more for myself!

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[info]doctoraicha
2009-11-10 03:06 am UTC (link)
I tend to put books on my Amazon list, but only the large, expensive, hardbook reference books and art books.

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[info]jmc_bookrelated
2009-11-10 03:32 am UTC (link)
That's a good way to share information. Most of the readers in my family don't use Amazon for books, although they do use it for other purchases. Instead they make most of their book purchases in brick & mortar stores.

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[info]doctoraicha
2009-11-10 04:08 am UTC (link)
We haven't really got one in this tiny town. The university textbook store doesn't really work - I spend a lot of time at the library to browse, and rarely buy a book.

But your post reminds me I have the newest Dan Brown and haven't read it yet. How did it not end up on my bedside table?!

Also, your quilt is ready to ship. I don't think I'll be able to get it to the post office tomorrow but most likely Wednesday.

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[info]jperceval
2009-11-10 03:52 am UTC (link)
I do give people books, but not "Oh here's a bestseller and I know you read" kind of gift -- it'll be a well-thought-out gift of a book...either something I know they want or something I'm more than sure they will enjoy.

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