This is the finale of Marie‘s Tuesday Thingers. Beginning next week, Thingers will be hosted by Wendi of Wendi’s Book Corner.
I can actually answer this question with details, since the response is posting the day after Christmas – yes, I definitely give books, as well as bookstore gift cards, for the holidays. However, I don’t always plan what books I’m going to give; sometimes, it’s a matter of browsing through Borders, picking up a book that catches my eye, and thinking “So-and-so would like this one.” That was how I found Rita Rudner’s I Still Have It, I Just Can’t Remember Where I Put It for my sister, who has enjoyed Rudner’s humor for years – she even quoted Rudner in the toast she gave at my wedding two years ago.
On the other hand, as soon as my son mentioned that he had lost his copy of America: The Book when he moved to DC after college, I knew I’d be getting him a replacement. My husband now has David Sedaris’ When You Are Engulfed in Flames and Sarah Vowell’s The Wordy Shipmates on his nightstand, and my 9-year-old stepson was given several books; some of them just feed various obsessions of his, specifically Star Wars and Pokemon, but one was a lovely hardcover copy of his new all-time-favorite book, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.
A tradition has developed over the years for my dad to get the latest edition of the World Almanac as a Christmas gift from one of his daughters. My dad doesn’t have a computer, so he still gets his facts and trivia the old-fashioned way. This year he received the book from me, along with a bookstore gift card so he can get himself some more reading material.
I didn’t participate in any book-blogger gift exchanges this year; I had thought about joining in on the Secret Santa exchange, but never got around to it, and I opted out of LT’s SantaThing because it was announced so close to Christmas and would have meant research that I didn’t have time to do, although I like the idea. However, as part of my giveaway-fest here earlier this month, I did purchase LibraryThing Lifetime gift memberships for two lucky people, and I’d like to think that was kind of a “Santa thing” in its own way.
This meme has helped me learn a lot of things about LibraryThing I might not have discovered on my own, and introduced me to some great new-to-me book bloggers. Thanks, Marie, for all of the time and effort you put into Tuesday Thingers, and thanks also to Wendi for picking it up and keeping it going!
Did you give any good books this holiday season?
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and happy holidays to all! Questions this week are courtesy of Heather from It’s All About The Hat! Thanks, Heather 🙂
1. I must write a new will and update my life-insurance beneficiaries before I die.
2. You can’t stop the beat (hey, maybe I’ll watch Hairspray again this weekend!).
3. I wish I never had to buy any clothing in double-digit sizes again.
4. Moving to California six years ago has helped me change my life.
5. I know the song whose title I can’t remember right now by heart.
6. If I weren’t so afraid, I would go up in a hot-air balloon.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to relaxing at home with Tall Paul, tomorrow my plans include taking some of the gift cards we received yesterday and going shopping and Sunday, I want to read, write, and rest!
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day and have some fun plans for this weekend!
I too gotta write a new will. Thanks fr reminding me!
My BTT post is up!
I definitely consider you my Santa! 🙂
“1. I must write a new will and update my life-insurance beneficiaries before I die.”
Good plan! It’s much harder to do afterwards!
Gautami – I probably should have put that on my list of hypothetical New Year’s resolutions, to be honest. I need to quit procrastinating on that one!
Jessi – Thanks! Hope you’re enjoying that LT membership :-).
Billy Rhythm – Good point. But if I wait till afterwards, I won’t care about it nearly as much :-).
Heehee @ #2, I knew there was a song reference there, only I couldn’t think of it :o)
Great answer for #1!
Happy Last Friday of the Year!
Amber – Glad you liked the reference, and happy Friday to you too!
“Thank blog it’s Friday, for the LAST TIME in 2008!”
Amen! I am ready to get a move on 2009.
J. Kaye – Here’s to the New Year, full of possibilities! Hopefully the ones that come to pass are the good ones :-).
We gave the new Bill O’Reilly book to my mother-in-law. I was glad to get it out of the house. 🙂
I got a gift card from Borders, so I plan to go there soon.
We need to do a will, too. We’ve been talking about it for a long time. That doesn’t get it done, as you know. 🙂
Mike – I got a Borders gift card too! I will NOT use it buy the O’Reilly book. I thought about getting that one for my dad, but if he wants it, he can use his own gift card for it :-).
If talking about stuff got it done, life would be SO much easier…
I’m not sure I’d go up in a hot air balloon either.
Florinda, if you don’t mind me asking, how did CA change your life?
Hope your Christmas was filled with love 🙂
SMarieK – I’m scared of poorly-protected heights. Hot-air balloon baskets certainly qualify, in my opinion.
Janet – It’s allowed my sister and me to be part of each other’s daily (well, weekly) lives, after almost 20 years of living at least 2000 miles apart, for one thing. An even bigger one is that if I didn’t live here, I would never have met the man who is now my (second) husband – or his children, who are still young enough to require participatory parenting.
We had a very nice Christmas – hope you did too!
I hadn’t planned on getting my husband a book for Christmas this year, but while browsing through Borders the other evening, I found one I was sure he would like. Like you, I sometimes find the books I give as gifts that way. I ended up giving away more gift cards this year than actual books to family. And had I not signed up for the three gift exchanges I did online, I would not have gotten any books for Christmas this year. So, I’m glad I talked myself into those. 🙂 I did end up with a few bookstore gift cards from friends though, and so it wasn’t a completely bookless holiday on the home front.
Smilla’s Sense of Snow is a good choice of a book that shouts out “winter”. Brrr!
I’m so bad. I don’t even have a will written out. I suppose it isn’t such a huge deal since I only have my husband, but still. It would be a good idea to have one. I’ve always wanted to go up in a hot air balloon. I wonder if I would chicken out if given the chance. Haha!
I hope you had a great weekend, Florinda.
Wendy (Literary Feline) – I was surprised book-wise this Christmas; I only received one Borders gift card, but I got two actual books! Tall Paul read the wish-list post I did last month and found me a couple of those :-).
I had a will with my first husband, but obviously that’s no longer valid. Since this is a second marriage for both Tall Paul and me and there are minor children involved (toward whom I officially have no legal rights, as a step-parent), writing wills won’t be all that simple for us, so we really should put seeing an attorney to do that on our 2009 to-do lists. But as far as wills go, in your case, you do have to make sure the pets and the books are taken care of :-).