Happy Holidays!

 

Christmas Is Here!

Christmas Eve Already!

Happy Holidays!

Booking Through Thursday: Gifts

This week's BTT topic is about books as holiday gifts: "What books did you get for Christmas (or whichever holiday you may have celebrated last month)? Do you usually ask for books on gift-giving occasions or do you prefer to buy them yourself?"

Good questions, and I'll be very interested to see everybody's answers. Me? I don't usually ask for books as gifts, since I buy so many for myself during the year. And, not too surprisingly, I didn't receive any bookish gifts from anyone this year. But I did buy two books as gifts to myself from Santa – Margaret Drabble's The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws, and A.S. Byatt's The Children's Book. And, until just this moment, I didn't think about the fact that those two are sisters – a bit of a strange coincidence, hmmm?

Haven't started reading either book yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to both of them. Of course, the Byatt book is four thousand pages long (just kidding, although it really is a chunkster), and since I find her books can be a little hard to get through anyway, it looks like that one may be a year-long project for me.

How about you? Did Santa or anyone else bring you any good books this year?

Like, Merry Christmas, Man!

Tuesday Thingers: SantaThing

Tuesday Thingers is hosted every week by Wendi of Wendi's Book Corner (thanks, Wendi!), and this week her question is about LibraryThing's Christmas gift-giving feature, SantaThing: "Have you ever participated in SantaThing (it is in its third year)? If so, what did you like? Dislike? Are you planning to participate this year?"

I remember SantaThing from last year, but haven't participated. Don't know that I will this year, either. I never really feel very confident about buying books for others, unless I know the other person really well. I don't hesitate to recommend books, but I'm more reluctant to engage in the actual thrusting-upon routine.

And Christmas gift-giving in general can be very traumatic for me – I tend to obsess about finding the perfect gift until the whole activity becomes more of a chore than a pleasure. (OK, I'm neurotic. I admit it.) I'm still considering, but right now I'm thinking that SantaThing might turn into PressureThing, and that's not really something I want to take on!

Happy Holidays!

Tuesday Thingers: Holiday Gift-Giving

So this might or might not be the last gathering of the Tuesday Thingers – well, it has been a little like a weekly gathering, hasn't it? And I know we're all grateful to Marie for hosting it all this time – she's managed to keep it going much, much longer than I thought it would at first. It's been fun, but a lot of work, I know. And I'm not really sure how many more changes can be rung on the theme of Library Thing features. It seems to me we've covered just about everything!

Anyway, time for this week's topic: Holiday gift-giving. Do you give books for the holidays? Did you participate in LT's SantaThing, either this year or last, or in other blogging gift exchanges? Were you happy with what you received?

I suppose my answer to the first question would be a qualified yes. I do give books as gifts. I love to receive them and I love to give them, too. But in recent years, for one reason or another, we've started giving mostly gift cards. And some of those are usually bookstore gift cards. But not all – as I've said a couple of times lately, I do believe in matching the gift to the receiver, so if my giftee is not a reader, I'll probably look around for something else he'd like.

About the LT SantaThing. Actually, I didn't even know about the SantaThing until it was nearly over. If I'd found out about it sooner, I might have participated – I love choosing books, and checking out the libraries of other LTers, and getting books in the mail (well, who doesn't love that?), so it sounds like it might have been just my cuppa tea. (Ah, the things that might have been!) It's a cute idea, and I hope LT does it again next year.

So, that's that. One more thank you to Marie for all her hard work all these months. And a Merry Christmas to all. And Happy Reading in 2009!

Musing Mondays: Christmas Book Buying

The MM topic for this week is, appropriately enough, about giving and receiving books at Christmas:

In these last few days before Christmas, I’m sure there are plenty of us scrambling to get our last minute shopping done. Are you buying any books for friends or family (or even yourself)? Do you expect to receive any bookish gifts from others - books, or book-related?

Just answered a similar question for Booking Through Thursday last week, so this might be a little repetitious. In the past, I've frequently given books as Christmas gifts – especially to our nieces and nephews and little cousins. I think it's important for kids to receive books at Christmas, and isn't that exactly what aunts and uncles are for?

But we live far away from most of our family now. And long-distance gift-giving was making me so frazzled every year, I finally made the switch to gift cards last Christmas. Yes, I know – that's the coward's way out, but it saved what's left of my sanity, so I think it's probably the way of the future around here. And, actually, most of the gifts we receive from friends and family this year will probably be in the form of gift cards, too – which allows me to feel a little less humbuggy.

On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas. . .

Poof! It's gone. The holiday season doesn't live at our house anymore. Or I should say, at our condo. Gathered up all the decorations, folded up the tiny tree and stuck it back in the box until next year. Put all the plants and lamps back where they belong.

M. took down the wreaths, and the lights on the balcony, and put the screen back on the sliding doors. I think the lights will be the one thing I'll really miss – when they go every year, it really seems like winter's darkness had descended on the land.

And this year we were a little more melancholy than usual, I think. M. will be retiring after this year. He's already given up his "extra" job on the adjunct faculty at the U of MD, and now he's down to counting the days, hours, and minutes. Soon we'll have to start getting serious about looking for a new home in Texas, and leaving the Washington DC area behind. Mixed emotions, obviously – but I'm trying to look at it as an adventure and not a reason to tear my hair and sob.

So, the holidays are over and the new year is well started. New experiences await, and spring is just around the corner – so they tell me, anyway.

There's just one vestige of Christmas left in the apartment – my big white Kringle Bear, a Christmas gift from M. way back in 1987. Since 2007 was his 20th birthday, I decided to let him hang around a little longer. I think he's happy about it, too. Doesn't that look like a smile on his fuzzy puss?

Christmas Eve 2007