Just a Friendly Reminder

John Guillen9 Comments

Holiday season is in full swing even though Thanksgiving was just a few days ago. Malls are packed. Stores are launching Cyber Monday sales. And everyone is feeling jolly.

So I feel obligated to offer a little friendly reminder. Books are NOT the ideal gift. Assuming someone will like this book because they liked that one doesn’t always work out. Assuming someone will like this book because you enjoyed it works out even less often.

Sometimes someone goes on and on about how much they want the next book in a series, and getting that book isn’t so bad. It’s when you get something they haven’t been going on and on about that leads you to giving a bad gift.

So, happy shopping and book giving!

9 thoughts on “Just a Friendly Reminder”

  1. I love receiving books – though granted, they’re usually ones I’ve asked for. A book VOUCHER, however is a lovely gift – I get very excited about getting those. 🙂

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  2. I want to give books to my boyfriend’s 11 year old cousin this year, as that is an incredibly hard age to buy for (especially for a girl who’s a tomboy), and she sort of sees me as a role model. So I thought I might give her three books I really enjoyed when I was 11….but it’s no easy task. I’ve sorta had to probe her and her dad for what books she’s already read/already tried to read and I’m almost at the point where I want to give up, because I’m really afraid of getting her books she already knows about or books she actually dislikes! I have pretty much no grasp on her taste. I think she would appreciate the gesture, but might not actually like the books.

    So for the most part, I would agree with your advice. Giving books is not easy or ideal. I’m still not sure if I’m going to do it or not. It could go really badly lol.

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    • Haha. Oh man. I can tell you that I’d have NO IDEA which books to give. Mostly because I can’t put myself in the shoes of an 11-year-old to really understand what they might like. At the store people always come in asking what would be good for their young child around the same age as you’re looking for. I never give them an outright recommendation. I always just take them to our “young readers” section and leave. It has Goosebumps, Captain Underpants, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and plenty of other well-known series for younger readers. But I couldn’t just recommend something, just like you’re struggling to buy something. It’s impossie.

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