Let’s Talk Bookish: Books as Gifts

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! Today I’m back with a Let’s Talk Bookish, a weekly meme hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits. This week’s topic is all about giving books as gifts.

I think books are amazing gifts for the holidays! They require a lot of attention on the part of the giver as they have to figure out what kinds of things the receiver would like to read about and, most importantly, which books they have already read. This can make giving books a bit complicated, which I think is part of the reason why I typically receive gift cards to bookstores instead of books for holidays. But it does work both ways as well. I often don’t get books for other people, unless I am sure that they would want to read it.

When I receive books, I generally prefer to not know what I’m getting. Sometimes it is nice to get something that I’ve told someone that I want, but it seems more special for me to get books that I may never have heard of. I don’t really have a wishlist, outside of my Goodreads “Want-to-Read” shelf which contains many books that are on my physical TBR. I think it’s really cool when people get me something that they think I would like, rather than something that I have told them that I would like. My best friend often does this when she gets me things for my birthday, and I’ve gotten to read some really interesting books, mostly nonfiction, because of her amazing gift giving skills!

Generally, I like the books that I am given by people. But, as is also the case with books that I buy for myself, I am not very good about reading them in a timely matter. I still have books on my shelf that people have given me that I haven’t started. I always feel a bit guilty about it, and it’s one of the reasons that one of my goals is always to get through my physical TBR. Because I’m so bad at reading books in a timely manner myself, I don’t judge others who haven’t read the books I’ve gotten them. I think once you give someone a book, it is up to them to decide if they want to read it or when they want to read the book, which is a similar choice people have with other gifts.

What do you think? Do you often give/receive books as gifts? What are the best books you’ve ever received? Let me know in the comments. I would love to hear from you!

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