Books you got given for Christmas!

[tobee]

What books did you get given for Christmas?

What did you think of the choices people made for you?

I was sad to only get 3 books for Christmas (maybe that makes me greedy). I love to get given books but I'm hard to please, which isn't very fair of me. One of the books is a bit of jokey book, one I, unfortunately, already had, one is by an author I don't really like. 😬

Just interested in people's hits and misses.

Disclaimer:- I'm sure I've inadvertently given duff books to people many times.

I got Becoming Michelle Obama. Twice.

It is good but I’ll only read one of them.

All That Remains: A Life in Death by Sue Black which I asked DH to get me. It's good but taking a while read. Finding some chapters more interesting than others. Enjoying having a hardback instead of usual Kindle.

Wanted Blue Peter book! Keep meaning to see if in sale!

A History of Britain in 21 Women by Jenni Murray.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Unplugged by Gert de Mangeleer (cookbook)

Amazon wishlists are wonderful things!

I wish I'd got a book token now. Don't know why I've got plenty of unread books. I'm obviously just greedy.

I asked for, and received, Cassandra Darke by Posy Simmonds.

A most excellent book. I already own Tamara Drewe, and now need to get Gemma Bovary. Posy is bloody brilliant.

Ah! One of my favourite birthday presents bought by myself in the last few years is Mrs Weber's Omnibus @Lambbone

Cross out fail on "bought by myself" there.

Ooh, this thread is making me so jealous! I would like the Murakami, Ie Guin, Sue Black's book (I wrote something about her a few years ago, thought she was fascinating), George Saunders' new one and Washington Black.
Harvey, am intrigued by Circe; is it about Circe or is that too obvious?
Elle, is Mikhail and Margarita anything to do with The Master and Margarita, which is my most favourite book ever and always?
I'm also now intrigued by the Kermode book, which I'm surprised by.
I always give loads of books at Christmas, which I think is a really massive hint that I'd love the get the same back. However, I only got:
Flights (Olga Tokarczuk), which i'm about 2/3 through. Intriguing and slightly odd, really delicate spinning of the threads
How to eat a peach (Diana Henry), a book of menus and recipes but also a book of stories about food. Have read it all and it makes me want to invite lots of people over to dinner and cook all the menus.

I once received £100 worth of book tokens at Christmas from my boss. I spent 6.5 hours in my favourite Waterstones with a basket and sat down at regular intervals to have short conference calls with two bookish friends to discuss my choices.

I got a book about Black Sea authoritarianism and The New Silk roads by Peter Frankopan. Particularly excited about this as his Silk Roads was the first book I read last year.