One for you, and you, and you, and...
In this age of Kindles and iPads, e-reader this and mobile platform-that, one of the most enduring uses for good, old-fashioned paper books (how long before they’re called ‘offline reading systems?’) is as gifts. I can’t remember the last present I bought someone that wasn’t a book; and my favourite gifts to receive have pretty much all been books, too. The practice of giving just isn’t going to be the same electronically.
Call it monotonous if you like (and I’m sure some of my less literally inclined recipients may), but surely book-giving is exactly the opposite of repetitive? Every package is different; instant art, right there in your hands. And that’s before you’ve got on to the content. I may not be sure of my friends’ taste in clothing, or jewelry, or games; but it’s a pretty fair bet I can come up with something that matches her taste in terms of a little light reading material.
Some birthdays, though, all pretence of matching the book to the person are thrown out of the window. The books are just too obvious to miss. AA Milne’s Now We Are Six is the only possible option for anyone turning that critical age. The birthday girl/boy is usually astonished by the idea of a book made just for them, and it’s not a book that people seem to have just lying around, so there’s no fear of the child’s face crumpling as she tears off the gift wrap only to discover a duplicate of the 45 copies she already owns.
My biggest thanks of last year went to author David Nicholls, whose One Day solved an extra issue for me of what to buy my July 15th-born pal R. for his birthday (the book, for the three people left on the planet who haven’t read it), is centred around 20 years of meetings between two friends, always on, yep, July 15th).
And now, as we all creep into what we can only call (whisper it) middle age, another old classic is doing the rounds again. What better gift for someone turning 42 than a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy? Wrap it in a towel if you really want full geek points.
Any I’ve missed?
Anthea McTeirnan
Croí na Duibhlinn
Aoife Barry
Aoife McLysaght
Arlene Hunt
Attracta McCarthy-McKenna
clairehennessy
Ann Cronin
Amanda Brown
Eleanor Fitzsimons
Edel Coffey
Anna Carey
Lauren Murphy
Jennie Ridyard
Jude Leavy
Hazel Katherine Larkin
Léan Ní Chuilleanáin
Leigh
Lisa McInerney
Laura Slattery
Maman Poulet
Megan McGurk
Clare Kleinedler
Molly
Rosita Boland
Catherine Crichton
Sinéad Gleeson
sarahefranklin
siobhandowling
Susan Daly
theantiroom
Nuala Ní Chonchúir
Good idea. I like the 42 one.
There’s a book called 45 by Bill Drummond that’s an absolute gem. Whether you’re into Echo and the bunnymen or KLF is irellevant. He also wrote a book called 33 1/3 when he was of that age. Though I can’t vouch for the quality of that one. If you see the pattern here he should be writing another when he’s 78.
Actually I’ve a friend travelling who was delighted to wake up to the traditional bunch of birthday books thanks to kindle http://alex.leonard.ie/2010/12/09/the-digital-birthday/
Heh. It definitely made the Kindle feel less alien, especially as the Kindle thing was so new to me. Christmas was also a boon of kindle books as gifts.
Had I not had a Kindle, I’m fairly certain that birthday/Christmas would have been fairly devoid of presents as getting stuff to Cambodia from Ireland is slow, unreliable, and expensive.
I’m pretty close to 33 1/3 now, so perhaps I should read that, although it appears to be an 8 page pamphlet so I might find it hard to come across
‘Fifteen’ by Beverly Cleary comes to mind, though it suits the twelve-year-old reader much more than the newly-minted fifteen-year-old.
There are a couple of kids’ books set on February 29th, usually with titles like ‘Leap Year’…
Must go find someone who’s turning 42 soon!
You’re so right about Fifteen – it’s more suitable for today’s younger readers. And yesterday’s younger readers – I think I first read it when I was 12, and that was in 1987. And yet, at the same time, how cool would it be to get a book emblazoned with your age for your 15th birthday?
There’s a great line in I Capture the Castle when Cassandra says that she’s “seventeen – look younger, feel older”, which I loved when I read it first and which really seemed to sum up that stage of adolescence. I was 16 at the time, though…
What a lovely piece Sarah. Beautifully written. It is great to be reminded just how special the printed book is for gift-giving in particular.
Re Kindle: One of its main uses for parents of small babies is, you only need one hand, unlike with printed books, which need two for page-turning (unless you are extremely dextrous!). So I’m finding the Kindle ideal for keeping up with Skippy Dies during feeding sessions in the wee small hours.
I have a feeling your piece may trigger a wave of Hitchhiker gifts for this year’s 42-year-olds!!