Books

Gift-giving

I love to read, and make sure to do it on a regular basis, and one stumbling block I occasionally run into is that I imagine all of my friends and family are as excited about it as I am. When it’s time to give a gift, the bookstore lures me in, and I always think that the perfect gift will be a special book that I enjoyed and want to pass along to someone I love. However, experience has taught me that after a point, a gift-recipient will say “Enough! They look good, but I’m never going to finish all of these.”

I try and pick out something that I found interesting and enjoyable, but different enough so I’m not just thrusting my specific taste onto someone. Some of my most successful selections have been Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai, The Passion by Jeannette Winterson, and If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino. I’ve learned that shorter works best!

Are there any books that you think make particularly good gifts?

Holiday Reads

At this time of year, the holiday spirit can be infectious. And if, like me, you thoroughly enjoy that spirit and are a book-lover, give in to temptation and immerse yourself in it with a few choice holiday reads. There are rightfully beloved classics such A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, or Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. But there are also a host of others that touch briefly or indirectly on the topic and still seem imbued with that festive spirit. L.M. Montgomery is one of my favorite authors to suit that purpose and her Anne of Windy Poplars fits the bill nicely. Anne invites her curmudgeonly fellow teacher, Katherine Brooke, home to Avonlea for Christmas and the season and Green Gables conspire to work their transformative magic on Katherine. Even though it’s a familiar outline, it still always makes me wish I too, were spending the holidays on Prince Edward Island!

Do you have any favorites? Plus, any grinches out there who have their own alternative or anti-holiday picks?