December is upon us, and that means shopping, parties, celebrating (and for Miss Havisham, final exams...yuck!) In the spirit of the season, and as I plan my trips to the mall, I'm curious about the best literary gifts to give (and receive).
I have a long history of asking for books as gifts. As a child, my list for Santa Claus was primarily a wish list of Nancy Drew titles. But I also loved the "surprise" books that I sometimes received...you know, the books that someone purchased for me, that weren't even on my radar, and that I ended up loving. Books like Johnny Tremain, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Number the Stars (thanks Aunt J, Mom and Grandma for opening my imagination to these wonderful stories!)
When I was fourteen, I asked for my own copy of Gone With the Wind, which I had checked out of the library at least four times the previous year. I still have that copy, although it has been read so many times that the pages have completely fallen out of the spine (and a few have fallen out of chronological order).
However, books as gifts can also be problematic. This summer I received a copy of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest from a well-meaning giver. The only problem: I haven't read the first two in the series (or is Hornet's Nest second? I'm not even sure) Now I feel obligated to go out and purchase the other two, even though I really had no interest in reading any of them.
Let's not forget the writing element of literacy. When I was a teenager I looked forward to receiving a new journal every year for Christmas. Regardless of whether the old journal was half-full or overflowing, I would start a new one every year on New Year's Eve. I haven't kept a journal since senior year of college, but I'm seriously thinking of starting one up again...
I'm curious...what are your favorite literary gifts to give and receive?
Hello! Long time no post!
ReplyDeleteRebecca, I don't remember ever asking for many books as a kid - mostly because I had all of your hand-me-downs to get through. And I must say, Number the Stars was probably my favorite book at age 10 -- that's awesome that it was a gift!
Actually, senior year of high school I was going through a huge Hemingway phase after reading The Sun Also Rises and ended up asking and receiving several of his books. Unfortunately I ended up not liking much of his work besides The Sun Also Rises. Too much bullfighting! But it did help me on my AP English exam because I was able to write about Farewell to Arms.
I do enjoy GIVING literary gifts though! The year I read Eat Pray Love I ended up giving it as a gift to half my girl friends (and mom!).
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE A Farewell to Arms! Haven't read it since I was seventeen...spent half of this summer talking about it...I think I need to get a copy and re-read it over Christmas!
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