Books You Are Giving—And Books You'd Like to Get this holiday

Over on MTS, hopeful09 recommended Dervla McTiernan. I downloaded the first few pages of THE SCHOLAR, and that one's definitely on my list now. Dark but human: my favorite kind of mystery/thriller.

I hope to get Familiarity: A Winston and Ruby Collection. I got the suggestion from a wonderful AW-user. Thanks again Friendly Frog for the recommendation.

I'm giving my sister David Guterson's Turn Around Time because section of it perfectly describes what happens when we hike together. Also, I suspect she's a closet poetry-reader.

My father tends to like either autobiographies or historical fiction, so he's getting "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" for Xmas, and "Whose Names Are Unknown" by Sanora Babb for his birthday (same month).

My mother mostly reads rightwing non-fiction by reactionary authors who will never get a dime of mine, so she's not getting books.

The Teen Girl is getting "Animosity, volume 1" by Marguerite Bennett from me. A graphic novel, described as "One day, for no reason, the Animals woke up. They started thinking. They started talking. They started taking REVENGE." Sounds dark, right up her alley.

And I'm getting a couple of anonymous things for Someone Who Also Posts Here, so mum's the word.

My in-laws can no longer read, sigh, so no books for them.

And I wouldn't know what my adult son reads these days, beyond chemistry text books. My adult daughter and I share some favorites but that's proven a bad compass towards books she'll like recently, so, no books for her.

mrsmig said:

I've asked for Mudlarking: Lost & Found On the River Thames by Lara Maiklem

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. *gasp* ME TOO!!! (Ted Sandling’s “London in Fragments” is a gem of a book, in case you missed it)

mrsmig said:

I don't know that one - I'll have to look it up.

I've been advised that our US version of MUDLARKING (called MUDLARK, for some reason) lacks some of the photo/illustration content, and that it's not a great book to get in ebook format if you want to appreciate said photos/illustrations.

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i will insist on the uk version. I’m doing mudlarking when I eventually get to London...

I don't have anyone to give it to (since I'm the only SFF reader in my whole circle), but I kinda just want to give Future of Another Timeline to everyone I know and force them to read it for me to keep talking to them.

Never heard of the Jolabokaflod before now but very cool nonetheless. I have no planned donations or gifts of books to give or receive this year, but know I will get at least one piece of classic literature. My father has graced me with a wonderful gift every Christmas since about 1980. They are the only real permanent collection in my physical library. No idea what he is going to gift this year, but every year it's a source of excitement.

Only really writing in to flag it for following

The very pretty Barnes and Noble edition of Jane Austen's novels for a friend who has never read her. Trying not to judge... Son is getting a new Nook with enough memory to hold the 1600+ books on the family account; he's looking forward to diving in to the Merrily Watkins mystery series that I fell in love with this summer and recommend highly. One daughter is getting several books about Native American folklore, and I think I need to hunt down that Calvin and Hobbes exhibit catalog for my husband.

I'm hoping to get The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh!

Giving The Martin Chronicles (Ray Bradbury) to a friend.

I'm not doing a gift exchange with my friend this year, but I am considering gifting myself a copy of Drawing For Architecture by Leon Krier, which is what I would've asked for if we were doing it.

I recently read a short story by Wendell Berry set in his Port William, Kentucky setting. I loved the whimsy and understated humor, and found there is a whole series of about eight Port William novels out there. One is a four volume collection covering the Civil War to WWII that includes four of the novels. My hesitation on buying it myself is what happens if the novels aren't as good as the short stories? Perhaps a trip to the library is in order...

I actually gave a few books this year. No idea if they'll be read, but I'm hopeful.

Mom got Small Gods by Terry Pratchett (because she loved the Amazon Prime series of Good Omens enough that she actually read the book, the first book she's actually read in ages despite reading for most of her life, so I figured Pratchett's Small Gods might appeal to her) and All Systems Red by Martha Wells (because she has an ongoing interest in artificial humans/androids.) I'm hoping she can get back to enjoying reading again.

Dad got a book on the history of space in 100 objects (because he's been a SF fan since grade school, and it looked like something that would appeal to him - I've seen it go through work, and it looked interesting, including ancient records of celestial events and modern items like the failed O-rings that brought down a space shuttle) and Master of Formalities by Scott Meyer (because he enjoyed Douglas Adams once upon a time, and Meyer reads a bit like Doug Adams Lite.) He also got a couple Sudoku books.

And the sibling got a few: The League of Regrettable Superheroes (about comic book heroes that flopped or were simply wrong place/wrong time), Be More Yoda, Be More Vader, and Be More Leia (the last three being somewhat tongue-in-cheek advice books; there's also a Lando one but that's not a character she identifies with that much.)

I got Cloud Roads by Martha Wells, Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, and The Art of How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

I told my sister she could sell the poetry book I got her and maybe get a little for it as it was signed by the author. She glared at me and said "I read poetry." Then proceeded to grill me, still glaring, on how I'd heard of the author and why he'd signed it. This means she's pleased.

My sister and father got my mother her own copies of books that I took when I moved out.

My mother got me Skid Road by Murray Morgan, a history of Seattle. Last year she got me his history of my current location, and I laughed and quoted my way through it both times I read it, ergo this. I can't wait to tuck in, but I'm in the middle of reading something else and I'm pedantic about finishing books before I start new ones!

Merry boxing day, all!

Gave someone How to Stop Time, by Matt Haig.

Final Tally

Me: Nothing, last thing I need is more books.

Everyone else: To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey, Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha, Make Trouble by Cecile Richard, and Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow.

Oh goodness, there are so many books I want. I want to research old pulp scifi, so any 60s, 70s stuff would be great. There's also part three of a biography of Margaret Thatcher I want.

I also wanted the Field and Stream Total Gun Manual, but I ended up giving it to my dad instead, lol. But seriously, from a writer's perspective, this book is really great. No really. It talks about various things any gun owner would need to know, that a writer wouldn't necessarily think of. For example, did you know it's illegal (in the US) to hunt migratory waterfowl with lead shot? Also, the scariest animal in Africa to hunt is the elephant, because it is smart and bulky.

Okay, maybe you guys aren't interested in that kind of thing, but anyone who has any elements of hunting or weapons in their stories, even if it's fantasy creatures or made-up guns, you may want to consider it in your research. At some point I'll get myself my own copy, lol.