Anyone receive books for Christmas??

BarbaraKE · Jan 1, 2009

Just curious - did anyone receive books for Christmas? If so, what are they?

Me? I didn't receive any. Not one.

(Sorry if this has already been asked. I didn't see a thread about it. But if there is one, feel free to combine.)

Exir · Jan 1, 2009

None

StevenJ · Jan 1, 2009

Yup:

A Jealous Ghost by A.N. Wilson - Terrible rewrite of Turn of the Screw.
The Spear by James Herbert - Hilarious. Exposition overload. Garth Merenghi lives.
Koba the Dread by Martin Amis - Amis tries, and fails, to become an historian.

Gary Clarke · Jan 1, 2009

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke - Desperately waiting for shops to open so that I can buy the sequel.

Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell , by Susanna Clarke - (reccomended by fellow AWer) Haven't started it yet but looking forward to it!

Want to kick back and enjoy the reading while I can. Despite my best intentions, I started the new novel yesterday ( noooooo! was meant to give myself at least four months break!) and so the reading will go out the window very soon.

scarletpeaches · Jan 1, 2009

Books are the last things you buy readers as gifts. As my dad says, "You'd probably already have read it or bought your own copy."

Susan Gable · Jan 1, 2009

No books, but a nice fat gift card for Borders so I can pick out my own books. <G> No one wants to by me something, as SP pointed out, that I've already read.

So, I get to book shopping!!!! Wooohoooo! (First I'll stop off in the AW library to see what new releases my friends from AW have on the shelves. <G> I'll make a shopping list.)

Susan G.

Gary Clarke · Jan 1, 2009

Scarlet, little Christmas tip, *cof* ask for what you want *cof*

scarletpeaches · Jan 1, 2009

Meh. I'm not big on Christmas anyway. Plus, when it comes to books I'd rather choose my own.

My dad says "I was gonna give you book tokens but I figured you'd rather have the money."

Pragmatic? Yep. Unthoughtful? No. I read voraciously and because of this it'd be a waste of someone's money because ten to one on, I've already got the book they buy me.

Sure, I could ask, but that defeats the purpose of giving, if you know what it is beforehand.

Ken · Jan 1, 2009

...received one: "Planet Google."

tehuti88 · Jan 1, 2009

I didn't receive books, but only because my family has no clue what books I want or already have.

My mother did pay for an Amazon purchase I made though...I bought a book on voyageurs, a book on Indian women and French men in the fur trade, and a book on ancient Indian copper mining in the Lake Superior region. Yea! *is a dork*

Parametric · Jan 1, 2009

Brace yourselves!

Paul Kearney's THE TEN THOUSAND
Ellen Kushner's THE PRIVILEGE OF THE SWORD
Diana Wynne Jones' THE TOUGH GUIDE TO FANTASYLAND
Matthew Woodring Stover's HEROES DIE
Terry Pratchett's NATION

Every Christmas I list all the books I'd like and my family score half a dozen of them for me. (After the Robert Newcomb Incident they are wise to the dangers of trying to make book choices themselves.) This makes me a very happy person on Christmas morning. <3 I also received Richard Morgan's THE STEEL REMAINS, Jeff Somers' THE DIGITAL PLAGUE and David Anthony Durham's ACACIA recently.

BarbaraKE · Jan 1, 2009

Ack!! I should have included a bookstore gift card. If you did get a gift card, what did you buy (or what do you plan to buy)?

I didn't receive any giftcards either. Bummer.

BarbaraKE · Jan 1, 2009

Parametric said:
Every Christmas I list all the books I'd like and my family score half a dozen of them for me.

This is an excellent idea!! I'll have to do that next year.

What's "The Ten Thousand" about? I have a book with the same title but it's by Michael Curtis Ford.

Puma · Jan 1, 2009

Books are one of the primary presents in our house, we each get several based on our likes. My favorites from this year are:

Dr. Seuss Goes to War - his WWII editorial cartoons
Snowflakes - nonfiction and full of gorgeous pictures

My husband's favorite is Boy Toys - a history of the toys that have delighted boys for years

Our daughter's favorite was a "made by Mom" - photo albums of her growing up years. She alternated between laughing and crying.

Between the three of us, I think there were about twenty-five book presents - my type of Christmas. Puma

RobJ · Jan 1, 2009

Gift cards, with which I've so far bought:

- Writers Talk (conversations with contemporary British novelists), edited by Philip Tew

- How Fiction Works, by James Wood

- Writer's Market UK 2009

- Sputnik Sweetheart, by Haruki Murakami

- Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Vol 2, edited by George Mann

Cheers,
Rob

Nakhlasmoke · Jan 1, 2009

I didn't receive one book.

However, everyone got a book from me.

JamieFord · Jan 1, 2009

LA Requiem, Robert Crais
Borges: Collected Fictions, Jorge Luis Borges
Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana
The Complete Stories, Franz Kafka
The Ten-Cent Plague, David Hajdu
Watching the Watchmen, Dave Gibbons, et al

And those are just the ones off the top of my head...

Komnena · Jan 1, 2009

A book on horses.
The Kearney book is a fantasy version of the story in the Michael Curtis Ford book.

Parametric · Jan 1, 2009

BarbaraKE said:
Ack!! I should have included a bookstore gift card. If you did get a gift card, what did you buy (or what do you plan to buy)?

I also have an Amazon gift certificate from a friend. I'm planning to use it to buy some more Ellen Kushner books - I didn't realise The Privilege of the Sword was the sequel to a sequel. Sadly I think one of the two sequels is out of print, so I'll have to find another paperback to buy.

This Michael Curtis Ford person is trying to muscle in on my love for the brilliant and sadly unappreciated Paul Kearney. His book is clearly an attempt to cash in on Kearney's genius!

(Let's just check those publication dates ...)

Clearly, I say. :tongue

BarbaraKE · Jan 1, 2009

Parametric said:
This Michael Curtis Ford person is trying to muscle in on my love for the brilliant and sadly unappreciated Paul Kearney. His book is clearly an attempt to cash in on Kearney's genius!

(Let's just check those publication dates ...)

Clearly, I say.

Well, the Ford book has a copywrite of 2001. It's been a while since I read it but I seem to remember it as being quite good.

Claudia Gray · Jan 1, 2009

Yes, I got two cookbooks and two books on Roman history.

And I gave books to nine people (more than one book in some cases).

kellysarah · Jan 1, 2009

I got Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

circlexranch · Jan 1, 2009

I haven't spent my gift card yet, I look forward to an entirely leisurely afternoon or evening of filling and emptying my virtual shopping cart several times as I decide what to add to the library.

Can't wait!

I consider a gift card to be three presents: 1- receiving it, 2 - shopping with it, 3 - receiving the package. A definite gift that keeps on giving!

underthecity · Jan 1, 2009

Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents

The Everything Father To Be Book

Michael Chricton's Next

Clive Cussler's Treasure of Khan

burgy61 · Jan 1, 2009

tehuti88 said:
I didn't receive books, but only because my family has no clue what books I want or already have. My mother did pay for an Amazon purchase I made though...I bought a book on voyageurs, a book on Indian women and French men in the fur trade, and a book on ancient Indian copper mining in the Lake Superior region. Yea! *is a dork*

You're not alone, must be something in the water here. I would like to know if you enjoy the book about copper mining. Copper Harbor has always been a favorite place of mine to visit and I have been there dozens of times.

The last few years my oldest son has given me books. Last year was the The Oxford Companion to Wine, and this year, Gun A Visual History. He looks for books about things I'm interested in instead of novels. I can never keep track of what he is reading so I just get him gift cards to Borders.

Anyone receive books for Christmas??

BarbaraKE

Exir

Out of the cradle endlessly rocking

StevenJ

Bored Fanatic

Gary Clarke

Knackered

scarletpeaches

Susan Gable

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

Gary Clarke

Knackered

scarletpeaches

Ken

tehuti88

Mackinac Island Fanatic

Parametric

BarbaraKE

BarbaraKE

Puma

Retired and loving it!

RobJ

Nakhlasmoke

yes

JamieFord

giving resonant directions

Komnena

In Honor of Peter Tomich,USS Utah

Parametric

BarbaraKE

Claudia Gray

kellysarah

circlexranch

Terri Coop has been known to write

underthecity

Finestkind

burgy61