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Booking Through Thursday


There seems to have been two Booking Through Thursday posts posted this week, so I’ll answer both of them.


Do you give books as gifts?
To everyone? Or only to select people?
How do you feel about receiving books as gifts?
I usually give at least one person on my list books, and it usually depends on personal taste. I enjoy receiving books, of course, but I also enjoy getting gift cards in order to buy them on my own—I’m very picky about my taste.

What is the best book you ever bought for yourself?
And, why? What made it the best? What made it so special?
Oh, goodness, this is a tough question! I’ve bought a lot of good books over the years, but on of my favorite impulse purchase was The Sunne in Splendour. Bought it for less than $5 at the Strand last winter on a lunch break, and I basically devoured the book in less than a week (at over 900 pages, it’s no small feat). I love medieval history, so reading the book was quite a treat for me.
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Unknown said…
Wow! That is no small feat. I've heard wonderful things about that particular book from my best friend (whom also devours books regularly) and I'm thinking of buying it as a Christmas gift (for myself!)
Also, there's a new Peterman's Eye Travel community and today's discussion is about medieval times. Thought I'd share!

http://www.petermanseye.com/travel/travel/437-the-medieval-port

Cheers!
December 18, 2008 at 12:55 PM
SmilingSally said…
That must be some good read--900 pages in one week!
December 18, 2008 at 1:01 PM
Anonymous said…
I'm spending a lot of time matching books to their recipients, especially those who don't read much. I believe there is a book for everybody. Books are very personal gifts.

I’m a “piece of work” in terms of recipient of books. Over the years my friends have cringed from giving me books for my birthday owing to my eclectic taste. They also keep in mind that I’ve probably read some of the books they want to give me. Books do make perfect gifts, but by their very nature, books can also be a problem as tokens of affection. The delay factor is huge. Some books get a one-way ticket back to the used bookstore.

***

For the second question, which I didn't see this morning, I just can't answer. I love all the books I bought for myself! They were all special. If I have to pick one, it's The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.
December 18, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Alyce said…
I would have too difficult a time choosing a favorite book that I've bought for myself.
December 18, 2008 at 8:13 PM
Anonymous said…
I noticed that you had a category for 1001 books and from that it seems you might be interested in heading over to Arukiyomi for a copy of the new version of Arukiyomi's 1001 books spreadsheet .

Along with calculating how many books you need to read a year before you die, there's all the 2008 edition books, all those removed from the 2006 edition, links to wikipedia , amazon.com and .co.uk and Google books.
January 4, 2009 at 4:51 AM
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