The holiday is rapidly approaching, Shelf Lifers. You know what that means: You only have a few more days to begin the painstaking task of buying book-related gifts for your friends and family.
Because, as we all know, you can throw yourself deep in the dog house by gifting a friend or family member the wrong kind of book. If your The Biggest Loser-obsessed cousin wants to lose weight, do you buy her a copy of Jillian Michaels’ Master Your Metabolism? If your friend constantly complains about his lack of a love life, do you buy him a copy of Mystery and Chris Odom’s The Mystery Method? And would that evolution-denying aunt of yours be just a bit offended if you gift her a nice 150th anniversary edition of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species?
In the same vein, is it possible to feel good about spending $20 for a book that you despise but know your loved one will devour? Though several family members of mine are Glenn Beck fans, I just can’t in good conscience pick up a copy of Arguing With Idiots. Ditto with anything written by Jodi Picoult or Nicholas Sparks. (Sorry, my Kleenex-loving friends.)
Or, in the end, should we decide it’s all too much trouble and just give our families gift cards? Or boxes of chocolates instead? Because you can’t go wrong with a box of chocolates.
What say you, Shelf Lifers?
Just don’t get me “Going Rogue”
You beat me to it
I someone even asks me for Beck or Palin, etc., he/she will get nothing at all.
If someone in my family asked for Beck or Palin’s books all they’d get is a smack in the face.
Give people what they want if they have a preference. At my family exchange, I gifted a book that I would never ready, Four Agreements??? Not my read, but the recipient loves self help. Me, I got two cookbooks and was very happy. If there’s no pref, go with a surprise.
I’m sorry, but this whole article sounds terribly snobby and judgmental.
If someone has a specific interest, than you honor their interests with a gift that reflects that. Gift-giving is about pleasing the recipient, not yourself.
I had a friend who was fanatical about something I don’t support (like your Glenn Beck example), then I’d hope to know them well enough to get them some other non-book related gift they’ll enjoy (NOT gift cards. Don’t get me started on gift cards.)
Agreed. There are alternatives. If someone asked me for Glenn Beck, I wouldn’t get them “this nice copy of Jon Stewart’s America I came across”, I’d get them a scarf, etc, from the opposite spectrum.
Right. That’s all I’m saying. Christmas isn’t really the time to be pushing your own agenda, nor is it the time to be critical of what others like.
Neutral is the way to go.
Even though my brother insisted up and down that our Fox News loving mother would love it, I refused to actually spend my own money on a Bill O’Reilly book. She ended up getting her favorite perfume instead. If that sounds snobby, keep in mind she would never stoop to buy me something on the other end of the spectrum either–like something by Obama, Gore, or even Jon Stewart. And I’d actually get yelled at for wanting “something so ridiculous.”
Gift giving is about the recipient not about what you like. So hold your nose and give the gift that the recipient will appreciate.
i agree allison! if you don’t like it, don’t get it for you, but it’s different when you’re buying for another person. you won’t be reading it, they will.
Agreed. Won’t buy books I *hate*. Especially non-fiction; i can’t buy books by Palin, Glenn Beck, Paris Hilton or that Hill’s girl, because (even if its a gift) it makes me feel like I’m encouraging them.
Despite potentially snobby comment above, I’ve given out Jodi Picoult, Mitch Albom, Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts and the like to my family for years. I might not like it, but that stuff is harmless.
I don’t care how much someone might love Nicolas Sparks. I couldn’t in good conscince buy that dreck.
A friend of mine LOOOVES Sparks and kind of forced me to read one of his books. I guessed the entire plot by the time I was done with the prologue and, when I was done, was left hating men, Nicholas Sparks, pregnant women, marriage, North Carolina, science, lighthouses and this so-called “Friend.” I don’t care what their wish list says– I could never make another person feel that way.
I go with gift cards now after couple years ago when a friend wanted couple books by Lora Leigh. I had no idea who the author was. Went to borders and found out Lora Leigh writes women’s erotica. I’m no prude and I don’t care what people read but I just could not buy the books.
Stop being so judgey. While of course gift giving is more about the recipient than the giver, I can certainly understand the sentiment of this article. I worked in a large chain bookstore for many years and every Christmas it pained me to sell books to people that I couldn’t stand (especially the year that we ran out of ‘the Notebook’) and put dollars into the pockets of people that I didn’t like.
I get a list of books they would like to get and make my selection from there
Buying an evolution denying friend THAT specific copy of Darwin’s book isn’t that bad an idea considering the forward by a famous/infamous anti-evolution believer…of course I wouldn’t expect authors to actually know what they are linking to…
I work at a bookstore in a neighborhood that loves more “literary” choices. I’ve had customers decide at the last moment to not get Stephen King, but opt for a more literary book. To all these people, I say No Judgements!! As long as you’re keeping the industry alive (I also work in publishing), I’m fine with you buying Danielle Steele or Margaret Atwood. Also, personally, I’m a fan of both literary and commercial fiction, so who am I to judge?! I do, however, have some issues towards Jodi Picoult, which are kind of hard to explain…
Just buy them what they ask for. If you’re too embarrassed to buy it at a bookstore (where people can see you and judge!) then order it online. I for one don’t hold book tastes against people. No I would not buy a Nicholas Sparks novel but my very close friend loves him so I will get *gasp* “The Notebook” for her birthday if it will make her happy. While I do enjoy reading books by Alexandre Dumas, Jane Austen and F. Scott Fitzgerald I also pick up books by Nora Robert, Mary Barlogh and Dean Koontz (though not his newest stuff). And I know I have a friend who turns her nose up at the mere mention of Nora Roberts. Who cares?! We’re reading! With millions and millions of books out there is it realistic to think we should love them all?
Balogh
I agree. I love how snobby people can get. I’ve read and loved many classic novels, but I also love to pick up something lighter and read it too. I really like to mix it up and not read too much of one thing. Sometimes authors have millions of readers as their books actually are enjoyable. I like to pick up a Nicholas Sparks or Nora Roberts book every once in awhile.
I go with gift cards if the receivers taste are too different from mine. I refused to buy my sister the Twilight books and I would never gift Jodi Picoult to anyone either. I just can’t support that.
My feeling is that it not about you, it’s about the recipient. Give them what they want. If you absolutely don’t want to put your name on the tag, write SANTA on it instead.
Christmas is about giving a person what they like. Often if a specific book isn’t mentioned, I buy a book that is one I’ve read and enjoyed in the genre that I know the receiver will enjoy. It works for me!