Say it with a book

‘Say, do you have some money left?’ asked my sister.

I, at that particular time, was staggering under the weight of various Mary Higgins Clarks and Jeffrey Archers, while hunting down the shelves for more books by the same authors. This was a book stall at the Expo and I was determined to make the most of it.

‘I have to buy all these novels. But why do you need money so quickly?’ I asked, protectively holding on to the books, lest I was asked to put some of them back.

She sighed. ‘I think we have just bought half of this expo already. There are all these relatives visiting from abroad, family weddings and numerous other occasions, where gifts have to be given. Mom thought it would be better if we bought all the books here. So put some of those novels back.’

The argument which followed the last statement is another story altogether. But giving books as presents is something which has become almost a family tradition in our case. Interestingly and quite unfortunately, very few people consider books as something worth giving as gifts.

Quite often, it is a matter of mindset. In some cases, the last thing which crosses people’s minds while deciding what to gift is a book. In other cases, where the recipient of the gift is an avid reader, it is generally assumed that it is too risky to give him/her another book, as there is a possibility that it might already be gracing the shelf of the person concerned.

However, giving books as gifts can be quite a hectic task. Most of the time, you have to give a very lengthy explanation to your social circle for your choice of gift. And there is very little chance that the person to whom you are explaining why books make lovely gifts is going to be convinced.

I came in the line of fire recently as I chose to give books as wedding presents to two of my friends who are avid readers and book lovers.

‘Books! Don’t tell me,’ groaned an incredulous gentleman when he heard of my plans. ‘I understand if you give books as a birthday present. But you don’t give books as a wedding present. This is just not done.’


I think we have just bought half of this expo already. There are all these relatives visiting from abroad, family weddings and numerous other occasions, where gifts have to be given. Mom thought it would be better if we bought all the books here.


Apparently, it can be done, as I have discovered over the years while I have watched books being bought and gifted to anyone and everyone, irrespective of the occasion. And sometimes, those who were gifted a particular book, actually ensured that they gave feedback as to whether they liked it — so you could always tell that the book was read and hence, your effort was not wasted.

Buying books for those who are avid readers is a difficult task indeed — but it is not impossible. If you are one of those people who wish to gift books to your book-lover friends and can’t figure out how, there are only a few things you need to do beforehand.

First and foremost, make sure you know what authors your friend likes to read. This will narrow down your search to books written only by those particular authors. Sometimes, it is quite possible that the person for whom you are buying the gift hasn’t had a chance to purchase the latest book of their favourite author.

Secondly, you can always plan an informal trip to the bookstore with the person concerned, and make sure you make a mental note of which books he/she purchases. This will also give you an idea of the type of books the person reads.

The third possibility is probably the easiest option available. Call up the person, ask him/her what books he/she was planning to purchase, and then tell them you’d get those very books as presents. But unfortunately, many people are so caught up in the formalities of giving gifts that they consider it quite preposterous to actually ask the concerned person what he/she really wants. What does it matter if your friend found out in advance what you were gifting? At the end of the day it is well worth it.

The aforementioned steps worked wonderfully in my own case. One of my friends is a die-hard fan of Bill Bryson. As I knew which of his books were already in her possession, it was quite a simple task to buy two others. As for the other friend, well, she and I went to the expo together. The rest, as they say, is history.

Irrespective of the weird gift-giving norm which dominates our society, it is always a wonderful feeling to give someone what they really want and if that something happens to be a book, then so much the better.