Books Make the Best Gifts
Regardless of age, gender or relation, folks near and far know that Christmas gifts from me involve books.
My nieces, now all in college or just out, will likely get a chick book of some flavor: How Reading Changed My Life by Anna Quindlen, 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, The Bee Keeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King, Killer Heels by Sheryl Anderson, or Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, although this last one is really more universal than chick-specific.
My nephew, a high school sophomore in New Jersey, rips off the wrapping to find science fiction/fantasy or guy books: Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein, Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls, The Boys from St. Petri by Bjarne Reuter, the Wizard of Earthsea series by Ursula Le Guin, The Man in the Ceiling by Jules Feiffer, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, and any adventure books by Gary Paulsen or Will Hobbs.
Future great nieces and nephews (the first one on the way next spring) will be seeing plenty of my favorite chapter books for the younger crowd: Half Magic and Magic by the Lake by Edward Eager, The Narnia books, of course, by C.S. Lewis, A Murder for Her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner, The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks, Five Children and It by E. Nesbit, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, and The World of Pooh by A. A. Milne.
My son, a college senior, shares my love of all things political and each Christmas I add to his presidential library: Truman by David McCullough, Lincoln’s Virtues by William Lee Miller, His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis, Andrew Jackson by H. W. Brands. Non-presidential books make their way under the tree as well: Baseball as America: seeing ourselves through our national game published by National Geographic or Men in Black by Mark Levin.
My husband, retired Naval officer, likes to wring the salt water out of his socks after each chapter of any Aubrey-Maturin book by Patrick O’Brian. He already owns all twenty books and assorted compendia, so now he’s working on collecting the audio versions for the commute to Norfolk each day. Note that Patrick Tull is the master and commander of narration; any other voice is mere recitation.
The trick to giving books, of course, is to know your recipients well enough to select something they will like and, most importantly, will not have on their shelves already. No fair surprising a gun-control advocate with Guns Illustrated 2007 or giving a perpetual dieter Marcel DeSaulnier’s Death by Chocolate. Know thy audience, and all will be well.
Asking your recipient outright if they own this or that book is a major faux pas. The goal is to hit the jackpot on your own, not by shaking the slot machine. Asking people what they want for Christmas is tantamount to doing their shopping for them. The well-chosen gift delights both giver and receiver. Mentioning a title and then waiting to hear the reaction is best way to ferret out have-you-read-it-yet information. Yes, it’s time-consuming, which is why I don’t wait for the day after Thanksgiving to start buying for Christmas. When a great title comes my way, and I just know so-and-so will love it, I grab it, sometimes in multiples.
What to do about gifts for those acquaintances or relatives who have everything or who – gasp—don’t read? Consumables like evergreen wreaths, steaks from Omaha or Florida oranges are usually welcome and do not gather dust on a shelf, ever.
But my experience is that books are the best gift – probably because I have chosen my relatives and friends with such care that a love of books is a common trait.
Karla Kraynak Bruno
Author of Mischiefs and Miseries: a novel of
Published May 20, 2007 in The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Virginia