What books are you giving as Christmas gifts?

[MsAmerica]

What books are you giving for Christmas, to whom, and why?

That's a very good question! I've been giving book tokens and gift cards to in laws and other relatives recently and need to up my game this year 🤔

To add to that one of my bil and I often exchange slightly more obscure non fiction books on WWII. There's loads of choice fortunately.

II don't know what a "book token" is. Is it like a gift of a particular book?

My niblings are getting copies of some of my favourite childhood books.

Nephew, 10. The secret island by Enid Blyton
Niece, 9. A little Princess. Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Niece, 8. The secret Garden. Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Niece, 7. Ballet Shoes. Enid Blyton.
Niece,3. Alina saves the moon. (Not a childhood favourite of mine, but written by friends)

Hopefully they don't already have them! Or can swap amongst themselves if they do. Also hoping they are the right reading levels for them all.

Just realised I missed one!
Niece, 6. The owl who was afraid of the dark. Jill Tomlinson.

Ghosts of K2: The Race for the Summit of the World's Most Deadly Mountain for DH because although he gets vertigo he is weirdly obsessed with watching films and documentaries about any form of climbing.

Marie-Antoinette: The Making of a French Queen by John Hardman audiobook for DM for her French Revolution obsession.

Demon Copperhead for my friend who runs our book club and who loves books and Dickens in particular.

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Lizzie Shane for a friend who is trying to read more but doesn’t want anything too challenging and who loves dogs.

Along the Endless River by Rose Alexander is my book club Secret Santa gift. Historical fiction with good reviews that’s fairly middle of the road which seems to be preferred. I have tried to expand tastes in the past but it didn’t go down well!

You buy a book token in a book shop and the recipient can use it to buy a book in any bookshop.
The only book I am gifting is Unruly by David Mitchell - an irreverent and very funny history of English monarchs up to Elizabeth I.

Marie-Antoinette: The Making of a French Queen by John Hardman audiobook for DM for her French Revolution obsession

Has she read Stefan Zweig's biography? not a biography in the sense that he quoted his sources (which he didn't), but compelling and deeply sympathetic to Marie Antoinette, and beautifully written as well.

My son is getting Tony Carr autobiography (West Ham hero) as he's, well, a fan and prefers non fiction books. I'm getting myself Oliver Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout as a read a good review of it in an old magazine while tidying (always getting diverted)!

National Book Tokens- when I was a child I thought a book token was the best present ever, the opportunity to spend some time in a book shop choosing a book for myself.

DD and I always buy each other a copy of a book we've read and think the other will enjoy.

I've bought her The Dallergut Dream Department Store - it's translated from Korean and is a lovely book - not jaw dropping outstanding but very gentle and easy to read and keeps you interested. It also has a really lovely cover!

I've also ordered my DH a book about the town that his family comes from as it's got photographs taken by his Grandfather & Great Uncle in it. (They owned a photographic shop and studio in the late 20s). MIL supplied the photos and is credited in the book - she passed away last year so it's a nice link to the older generations of his family who he never knew s they all died at young ages.

Unruly by David Mitchell for my brother

Entangled Lives by Merlin Sheldrake for a friend

Kammy by the football guy for DH

Oi Miriam by Miriam Margolyes for DD2

Selection of childrens books for friend's daughter e.g Where's Spot?, The Very Hungry Caterpillar

My favourite books I’ve read so far this year:
A Terrible Kindness
The Alice Network

I love this question.

For the various little people in my life:

C. S. Lewis: Narnia books
Roald Dahl boxset (he was the bright light of my own childhood)
The Wind in the Willows (a beautiful, illustrated, hardback edition)
Kipling: The Just So Stories

For a teen (who's into sci fi and horror):

Douglas Adams boxset
H. G. Wells: Collected Short Stories (these are really good)
M. R. James Collected Stories

For Adults:

P. G. Wodehouse: The Blandings novels
Patrick Leigh Fermor: A Time of Gifts
Virginia Woolf: Collected Letters
Evelyn Waugh: Brideshead Revisited
Wilfred Owen: A Biography

I gave this years Booker winner (Prophet Song) to one of my close friends. We met studying Eng Lit at uni so books very much our thing! I also got her a personalised leather bookmark.

I got my sister Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller (I think?) as she was looking at it in Waterstones the other week.

Getting DP the version of 1984 told from Julia’s perspective, by Sandra Newman. Also getting him the new Mary Beard book.

I DS1 the final book in the ‘Nowhere Emporium’ series as he loves them, and also the new Adam Kay for kids book. DS2 is a baby, he has so many of DS1s old books but got him a couple of ‘That’s not My’ books as he loves them! I got my friends toddler Tabby McTat (Julia Donaldson) also.

I didn’t realise how many books I was gifting until I wrote it down!

I was amazed to find that Cook's publishes cookbooks, not just magazines, and I bought a friend - a good cook - a copy of The Cook's Illustrated Meat Book.