A recent post over on Gale Stanley’s blog got me thinking about receiving books as gifts. When I was a great deal younger, my mom gave me some Judy Blume books as birthday presents: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Superfudge, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, and Tiger Eyes. They were brand new, and I can still remember the glossy shine of the dust jacket, the feel of the hard cover underneath, and the crisp sensation of pages that had never been turned by anyone else. It’s been many, many long years, and I can still remember the tissue paper and the ribbon nestled inside the box. And then, on top of all that, there was the wonderful, rare connection with the story, the feeling that Blume was talking directly to me. She got it. She understood what my life was like in a way that no one else did.
(I think I owe her a thank-you note. Better get on that later.)
I did finally thank Mom properly for what she’d given me. I always had books around (book addiction is a family disease), but those were so powerful and so special that they really stood out for me. Years ago, an ex-boyfriend brought me a box filled with part of the Great Books of the Western World series — he’d found them at the thrift store, and I thought I was going to faint with delight when I saw Aquinas, Augustine and Moliere on the spines! A box filled with gold bars wouldn’t have made me happier. Another ex-boyfriend gave me a book by one of his favorite authors. It was something I would never have chosen for myself, but I’ve read it and re-read it and given four or five copies away to friends.
These days, I think the trend is leaning more toward giving gift cards instead of books, and I can understand that people hesitate to give books on the chance that the recipient won’t like what they’re getting. I’ll always prefer the book to the gift card. Giving someone a book creates a relationship. It’s an offering of a very personal part of yourself. It’s the unspoken hope that your offering resonates with this other person. It’s the flash of recognition: “Wow! You get it!” It’s that warm realization: “Wow. She gets it.” When you get it right, a book is a very intimate, timeless gift. It can become a part of the recipient’s history. To me, it’s what gift giving is all about.
Today, let’s share a word or two about a meaningful book gift — given or received — and why we love to give or get books! And of course, if you can’t bear to receive or give another book, I want to hear from you, too!
