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The Gifts of Reading
With contributions William Boyd, Candice Carty-Williams, Imtiaz Dharker, Roddy Doyle, Pico Iyer, Robert Macfarlane, Andy Miller, Jackie Morris, Jan Morris, Sisonke Msimang, Dina Nayeri, Chigozie Obioma, Michael Ondaatje, David Pilling, Max Porter, Philip Pullman, Alice Pung, Jancis Robinson, S.F.Said, Madeleine Thien, Salley Vickers, John Wood and Markus Zusak
'This story, like so many stories, begins with a gift. The gift, like so many gifts, was a book...' So begins the essay by Robert Macfarlane that inspired this collection.
In this cornucopia of an anthology, you will find essays by some of the world's most beloved novelists, nonfiction writers, essayists and poets.
'You will see books taking flight in flocks, migrating around the world, landing in people's hearts and changing them for a day or a year or a lifetime.
'You will see books sparking wonder or anger; throwing open windows into other languages, other cultures, other minds; causing people to fall in love or to fight for what is right.
'And more than anything, over and over again, you will see books and words being given, received and read - and in turn prompting further generosity.'
Published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of global literacy non-profit, Room to Read, The Gifts of Reading forms inspiring, unforgettable, irresistible proof of the power and necessity of books and reading.
Inspired by Robert Macfarlane
Curated by Jennie Orchard
'This story, like so many stories, begins with a gift. The gift, like so many gifts, was a book...' So begins the essay by Robert Macfarlane that inspired this collection.
In this cornucopia of an anthology, you will find essays by some of the world's most beloved novelists, nonfiction writers, essayists and poets.
'You will see books taking flight in flocks, migrating around the world, landing in people's hearts and changing them for a day or a year or a lifetime.
'You will see books sparking wonder or anger; throwing open windows into other languages, other cultures, other minds; causing people to fall in love or to fight for what is right.
'And more than anything, over and over again, you will see books and words being given, received and read - and in turn prompting further generosity.'
Published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of global literacy non-profit, Room to Read, The Gifts of Reading forms inspiring, unforgettable, irresistible proof of the power and necessity of books and reading.
Inspired by Robert Macfarlane
Curated by Jennie Orchard
352 pages, Paperback
First published June 16, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 465 reviews
August 19, 2021
The way I was introduced to this lovely brief essay on friendship and the art of gifting – and of gifting books in particular - now feels the only right way: it was given to me by a fellow book loving friend. Nothing would illustrate the meaning of this essay more eloquently than the act of passing it on to another book lover.
Robert Macfarlane ‘s approach is one of generosity and modesty. Reflecting on what it might mean to give without expectation of recompense he put books in the limelight which have been significant to him rather than pitching his own work. He mentions five books he has been giving away again and again, one of which I have read (Lolita) and two books I now consider reading as they have become classics in the genre: The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd and A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor. Having little experience with the Literature of Walking (the closest I came were Robert Walser’s The Walk and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Reveries of the Solitary Walker, the whining of the latter bored me stiff) I profoundly appreciate Macfarlane’s guidance - and thank my thoughtful friend for the enriching gift.
The Gifts of Reading is a delicacy to bestow on anyone who likely would agree that among the important things in life are books and friendship, and the knowledge how to connect both in the art of giving. Reading might in this respect resemble art as it ’enlarges our repertoire for being, it further enables a giving onwards of that enriched utterance, that broadened perception’. As readers it is up to us to keep this gift moving, to give it onwards.
The trompe d’oeuil picture was another gift, sent to me by a brother-in-law from Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Robert Macfarlane ‘s approach is one of generosity and modesty. Reflecting on what it might mean to give without expectation of recompense he put books in the limelight which have been significant to him rather than pitching his own work. He mentions five books he has been giving away again and again, one of which I have read (Lolita) and two books I now consider reading as they have become classics in the genre: The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd and A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor. Having little experience with the Literature of Walking (the closest I came were Robert Walser’s The Walk and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Reveries of the Solitary Walker, the whining of the latter bored me stiff) I profoundly appreciate Macfarlane’s guidance - and thank my thoughtful friend for the enriching gift.
The Gifts of Reading is a delicacy to bestow on anyone who likely would agree that among the important things in life are books and friendship, and the knowledge how to connect both in the art of giving. Reading might in this respect resemble art as it ’enlarges our repertoire for being, it further enables a giving onwards of that enriched utterance, that broadened perception’. As readers it is up to us to keep this gift moving, to give it onwards.
The trompe d’oeuil picture was another gift, sent to me by a brother-in-law from Boulogne-sur-Mer.
March 29, 2022
"Reading kept him alive right till the end"
Reading is a gift and words are a gift. We should never underestimate their power and we should never underestimate their ability to alter our lives. Reading is so vital, and I feel like this book understands this crucial point perfectly because reading can sustain us.
There's something extra special about a book given or received as a gift because they are the ones that truly stand out. I have books on my shelf given to me by people I care about. They are the ones that really matter and the ones that have their own separate stories and histories beyond simply purchasing it yourself. Those words are even more of a gift because they were given by someone else. They stay with us.
This brief essay so very firmly cements an idea that exists in the heart of every reader: books are life. We should never forget this. And we should always give them as gifts to our friends and loved ones.
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You can connect with me on social media via My Linktree.
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October 2, 2017
It’s taken me far too long to write a simple review for this short but enjoyable essay. It’s about the friendships we make through books and how books can transport us. It speaks about reading as a gift and there’s even a few good recommendations from the author.
Did it really have to take me that long to write that? Of course not! I was just overthinking it as usual! Anyway, I’d highly recommend anyone who likes to read (aka, you) to give this a go.
Did it really have to take me that long to write that? Of course not! I was just overthinking it as usual! Anyway, I’d highly recommend anyone who likes to read (aka, you) to give this a go.
October 7, 2022
I would try to find a free version of this long article as it is hardly a book.
That said, it will increase your TBR pile and hit on a few crucial ideas about gifts and ideas.
“Gifts give on, says Hyde, this is their logic. They are generous acts that incite generosity. He contrasts two kinds of ‘property’: the commodity and the gift. The commodity is acquired and then hoarded, or resold. But the gift is kept moving, given onwards in a new form.”
“…the act of giving encourages the onwards circulation of generosity.”
That said, it will increase your TBR pile and hit on a few crucial ideas about gifts and ideas.
“Gifts give on, says Hyde, this is their logic. They are generous acts that incite generosity. He contrasts two kinds of ‘property’: the commodity and the gift. The commodity is acquired and then hoarded, or resold. But the gift is kept moving, given onwards in a new form.”
“…the act of giving encourages the onwards circulation of generosity.”
December 31, 2018
This story, like so many stories, begins with a gift. The gift, like so many gifts, was a book...
I'm baffled at how quotable this tiny little book is!
I don't usually read essays. They're as far from my normal reading tastes as you can get. But my friend TS fired straight and couldn't have chosen a better initiation! :)
The act of giving encourages the onwards circulation of generosity.
This book was very special in more than one way and deeply moved me. For one, I received it (thank you TS!) at a time when I was struggling with reading and writing slumps and trying to find again the sparks of wonder and awe and pleasure I once found only between the pages of a book. This book talks about the impacts of book gifts, on both the giver and the receiver. For me, there are rarer pleasures than receiving books and than gifts freely given and the smile they put on the faces of those who receive them. You can say therefore that The Gifts of Reading was spot on!
July 11, 2021
Finished with this gorgeous book a week ago and felt such a rush of satisfaction. You know when you've read a really stimulating book with rich sentiments and the all the words have weight and gravitas! I found several essays in here that I absolutely fell in love with, and I can read them over and over. It's handy that they are bitesize and one can do that without needing to make time for it.
But it was the rereading that lead to me taking slightly longer getting through it, I prefer to take my time with each word/sentence /page with a book like this.
As its an anthology, every essay- which could be between 5 to 10 pages long - has been written by a world respected writer from diverse times and cultures. I got a real sense of their culture /voice/style from their pieces which is really what i enjoyed the most. They are obviously phenomenal at their craft and were able to deliver that with ease.
For example, Nigerian-born Booker-prize finalist, Chigozie Obioma wrote his essay titled 'The gift that cost me something' and listed a beautifully captured and deliver conversation between himself and a special lady in his life, completely with details and nuances that just lifted the conversation off the page (see an extract below) :
*****
'I like how you are writing inside the book. Look at all these, here' - she was thumping between the pages filled with pencilled notes, and the end pages on which I'd written favourite lines, new words,ideas of my own bracketed so I could identify them as mine, and even random things like what I wanted to eat on a certain evening so I didn't forget to cook it.
'I like it, you are brilliant, Chigoo'
I thanked her.
'OK, so, will you dash me the book?'
'Ah, dash you?'
'Yes, please jor. Please dash me naw, please'.
.. Then, because I could not resist her charm, I said, yes, that she could have it as a gift.
*****
Obioma talks about mourning the loss of books that he would annotate and scribble in describing it as 'something that was intricately connected to all that I had added to it, and was therefore not only a book, but an artefact.
After receiving a special book from a respected Pastor in an extremely kind gesture, Obioma said:
' Something had shifted in me and perhaps I had come to understand that I would not have lost too much if the book had gone or because the humility of Pastor Andrew's sacrificial giving had inspired in me and an unconscious zeal for replication.
Whenever I recall the day he gifted me the book and, what strikes me most of all is the trace of pain I had seen on his face as he gave it to me: the mark of a person whose gift had cost him something, but he had given me everything.
Sisonke Msimang, a South African Writer, names her essay 'The Solace of Sunday' and gives an account of her childhood and her mother back then as follows:
'Her need for independence and for breathing room was a gift. As she sought her own freedom, my mother pushed her girls towards books'
In terms of giving books away as gifts, Msimang writes:
'If I do not keep my books, my children will have nothing else of value to remember me by,even if I am no longer convinced that books will survive the decades to come..I will keep the books for them as a way of staying hopeful'.
'I keep my books - I hold on to them tightly because my mother pushed her girls towards books and I'm hopelessly nostalgic. I keep my books because if there is anything I have learned it is that nostalgia is the mother of posterity'
****
If you're a book lover that has struggled with giving your own books as gifts or indeed, relished in the same, then you'll appreciate the stories here
I no longer feel guilty about belonging to the former category, choosing to keep my favourites close by but preferring to gift new books always.
Personally I have only ever been gifted books twice in the last 20 years or so, once from my brother that knows me fairly well and once from a team member I didn't actually know very well.
As a Bibliophile I would have thought it was easiest thing for people to give me but having only ever been given a book gift twice I wonder if a gift actually says more about the gifter than the giftee. It depends a lot on what you deem worthy of presenting as a gift too.
I do think you have to truly love books yourself to think of them as a gift so I never expect to receive them from somebody that doesn't read.
Anyway, I think I will also keep this book, by my bedside, so I can revisit it when I want to read something heartwarming!
But it was the rereading that lead to me taking slightly longer getting through it, I prefer to take my time with each word/sentence /page with a book like this.
As its an anthology, every essay- which could be between 5 to 10 pages long - has been written by a world respected writer from diverse times and cultures. I got a real sense of their culture /voice/style from their pieces which is really what i enjoyed the most. They are obviously phenomenal at their craft and were able to deliver that with ease.
For example, Nigerian-born Booker-prize finalist, Chigozie Obioma wrote his essay titled 'The gift that cost me something' and listed a beautifully captured and deliver conversation between himself and a special lady in his life, completely with details and nuances that just lifted the conversation off the page (see an extract below) :
*****
'I like how you are writing inside the book. Look at all these, here' - she was thumping between the pages filled with pencilled notes, and the end pages on which I'd written favourite lines, new words,ideas of my own bracketed so I could identify them as mine, and even random things like what I wanted to eat on a certain evening so I didn't forget to cook it.
'I like it, you are brilliant, Chigoo'
I thanked her.
'OK, so, will you dash me the book?'
'Ah, dash you?'
'Yes, please jor. Please dash me naw, please'.
.. Then, because I could not resist her charm, I said, yes, that she could have it as a gift.
*****
Obioma talks about mourning the loss of books that he would annotate and scribble in describing it as 'something that was intricately connected to all that I had added to it, and was therefore not only a book, but an artefact.
After receiving a special book from a respected Pastor in an extremely kind gesture, Obioma said:
' Something had shifted in me and perhaps I had come to understand that I would not have lost too much if the book had gone or because the humility of Pastor Andrew's sacrificial giving had inspired in me and an unconscious zeal for replication.
Whenever I recall the day he gifted me the book and, what strikes me most of all is the trace of pain I had seen on his face as he gave it to me: the mark of a person whose gift had cost him something, but he had given me everything.
Sisonke Msimang, a South African Writer, names her essay 'The Solace of Sunday' and gives an account of her childhood and her mother back then as follows:
'Her need for independence and for breathing room was a gift. As she sought her own freedom, my mother pushed her girls towards books'
In terms of giving books away as gifts, Msimang writes:
'If I do not keep my books, my children will have nothing else of value to remember me by,even if I am no longer convinced that books will survive the decades to come..I will keep the books for them as a way of staying hopeful'.
'I keep my books - I hold on to them tightly because my mother pushed her girls towards books and I'm hopelessly nostalgic. I keep my books because if there is anything I have learned it is that nostalgia is the mother of posterity'
****
If you're a book lover that has struggled with giving your own books as gifts or indeed, relished in the same, then you'll appreciate the stories here
I no longer feel guilty about belonging to the former category, choosing to keep my favourites close by but preferring to gift new books always.
Personally I have only ever been gifted books twice in the last 20 years or so, once from my brother that knows me fairly well and once from a team member I didn't actually know very well.
As a Bibliophile I would have thought it was easiest thing for people to give me but having only ever been given a book gift twice I wonder if a gift actually says more about the gifter than the giftee. It depends a lot on what you deem worthy of presenting as a gift too.
I do think you have to truly love books yourself to think of them as a gift so I never expect to receive them from somebody that doesn't read.
Anyway, I think I will also keep this book, by my bedside, so I can revisit it when I want to read something heartwarming!
March 19, 2025
This book was a gift I made to myself to add to my books about books shelf. Essays by a variety of authors about books that had been gifted to them, or books they gave as gifts, or the intangible gifts afforded by reading a certain book, or by the act of reading itself. I found it a valuable resource as far as adding to my tbr (like I needed help) and the actual joy of reading these essays.
January 12, 2019
Very short essay. About the value of gifts, especially when it comes to books about walking. I did not know Robert Macfarlane, but when I noticed that he was a walking fanatic, I immediately put his other works on my To-read list. This book just is a charming, short read.
October 17, 2017
This brief essay was printed as a stand-alone pamphlet in aid of the Migrant Offshore Aid Station. Macfarlane begins by remembering Don, a fellow English teacher he met in China in 2000 who plied him with books by some of the authors who would later serve as models for his own lyrical nature/travel writing, including Annie Dillard and Patrick Leigh Fermor. Fermor’s
A Time of Gifts
is now one of the five books he gives most often as presents. Don’s friendship, the love of literature they shared, and the books he passes on to students and the new generation of nature writers are the main themes of this compact and wholly pleasant piece of writing. Slip this in any reader’s Christmas stocking.
September 17, 2020
‘The gift that, when it comes, speaks commandingly to the soul and irresistibly moves us’.
Not what I expected. A tale of friendships, all over the giving and receiving of books.
As if I needed an excuse to give books :0)
Not what I expected. A tale of friendships, all over the giving and receiving of books.
As if I needed an excuse to give books :0)
March 29, 2019
A nice read, though low-impact. Mostly it's given me a few more suggestions to add to my TBR.
October 15, 2017
My daughter picked up this short and sweet essay when we visited the “Shakespeare and Company” bookstore in Paris.
It’s a small booklet that was sold near the cashier, the sort of booklet that you pick up on a whim. The beautiful cover artwork caught our eye as well. This touching book is something that almost any book lover already knows: how lovely it is to give books as gifts and to receive them also.
It’s a small booklet that was sold near the cashier, the sort of booklet that you pick up on a whim. The beautiful cover artwork caught our eye as well. This touching book is something that almost any book lover already knows: how lovely it is to give books as gifts and to receive them also.
September 30, 2021
In the spirit of the title, our amazing co-blogger TS decided to send all of us at Novel Notions a copy of The Gifts of Reading. The entire idea of this book is lovely. Here is a collection of essays about the joys of giving and receiving stories, written by those who craft stories for a living. In some cases, it’s about books or authors who had some sort of profound effect on the essayist. In all cases, it was lovely to see the magic of the written word through the eyes of others, and to see how much it means to this each individual making up this host of writers. The first essay is Robert Macfarlane’s eponymous “The Gifts of Reading.” Macfarlane has a truly beautiful way with words. It’s the only essay in the collection that I had read previously, and I can see how it inspired the idea behind this book.
William Boyd, in his essay “Some Observations on Giving Books,” says the following: “Books can help you endure the most dire and inhuman of circumstances…” The situations he used as examples were mostly of those imprisoned, but this is something I’ve found to be true time and again in my life, when I was going through difficult times. This entire essay resonated strongly with me, and is among my favorites in the collection. As much as it was about the joy of giving books, it was also about what books, especially fiction, give us back. And the following quote sounded like it came from my own mind:
“But of all the people I’ve given books to over the years there is one person who is the wholehearted, uncontested beneficiary of my book-giving largesse. Me. I give myself books all the time, almost every day, in moments of book-obsession, book-need. Let’s be honest: book-addiction.”
He ended the essay with this lovely sentiment: “When you give someone a book you are making a present of part of yourself.”
Another of my favorite essays in this collection is Jackie Morris’s “Intimate Relations,” in part of which she details her relationship with books as a child and the very different relationship with books she made sure to foster in her own children. I loved the way she detailed reading to and with her children, and how that fostered a love of reading on their own. But this essay was also about being profoundly touched by a poem, about using whatever creative arts you have to fight for important things, and about how one of those important things is the public library as an institution.
David Pilling’s entry, “The Man I Was,” might be my absolute favorite essay I’ve ever read. He housed his book-giving within the framework of some fictional apocalypse, when he was leaving his five favorite books out for someone to find, along with an explanation of why he loved them. This was assuming that the world lasted long enough for someone to find the hastily gift-wrapped stack of books next to his rotting corpse. The framework was equal parts sad and hilarious, but the messages inside that framework, about which books he loved enough to leave out for others and why he chose them, was thoughtful and profound. It was a perfect blend of humor and philosophical musings, and I thought it was positively brilliant.
I absolutely love what SF Said has to say about the importance of children’s books, and how subversive they can truly be if you look beneath the surface. In his essay, “The Best Gifts You Can Give,” he stated: “This is what children’s literature is all about. It can express the biggest ideas in forms so beautifully simple that anyone can not only grasp them, but come to live by them, because they take up residence at your very core.” I found this sentiment incredibly lovely, and true. And the books Said chose! Some of these are among my own favorites, and I loved hearing exactly how they had impacted this author’s life and work.
The final essay in the book, Markus Zusak’s “The Will of Stories,” was by far one of the shortest in the collection. It was one of the few, if not the only, essay to not drop book titles throughout. And yet, it was a delight to read. There’s something about his writing style that is beautifully unique, and even in the few short pages of this essay, that style shone.
This collection as a whole was lovely. I can’t say that I adored every single essay, but there were some that I loved deeply. And even those that didn’t resonate with me still provided food for thought. If you’re a lover of books, and believe that reading is a gift best enjoyed when shared with others, this collection of essays should be on your shelves. And on the shelves of those who have fostered that love in your life, or shared that love with you in any way. It makes a truly wonderful gift.
William Boyd, in his essay “Some Observations on Giving Books,” says the following: “Books can help you endure the most dire and inhuman of circumstances…” The situations he used as examples were mostly of those imprisoned, but this is something I’ve found to be true time and again in my life, when I was going through difficult times. This entire essay resonated strongly with me, and is among my favorites in the collection. As much as it was about the joy of giving books, it was also about what books, especially fiction, give us back. And the following quote sounded like it came from my own mind:
“But of all the people I’ve given books to over the years there is one person who is the wholehearted, uncontested beneficiary of my book-giving largesse. Me. I give myself books all the time, almost every day, in moments of book-obsession, book-need. Let’s be honest: book-addiction.”
He ended the essay with this lovely sentiment: “When you give someone a book you are making a present of part of yourself.”
Another of my favorite essays in this collection is Jackie Morris’s “Intimate Relations,” in part of which she details her relationship with books as a child and the very different relationship with books she made sure to foster in her own children. I loved the way she detailed reading to and with her children, and how that fostered a love of reading on their own. But this essay was also about being profoundly touched by a poem, about using whatever creative arts you have to fight for important things, and about how one of those important things is the public library as an institution.
David Pilling’s entry, “The Man I Was,” might be my absolute favorite essay I’ve ever read. He housed his book-giving within the framework of some fictional apocalypse, when he was leaving his five favorite books out for someone to find, along with an explanation of why he loved them. This was assuming that the world lasted long enough for someone to find the hastily gift-wrapped stack of books next to his rotting corpse. The framework was equal parts sad and hilarious, but the messages inside that framework, about which books he loved enough to leave out for others and why he chose them, was thoughtful and profound. It was a perfect blend of humor and philosophical musings, and I thought it was positively brilliant.
I absolutely love what SF Said has to say about the importance of children’s books, and how subversive they can truly be if you look beneath the surface. In his essay, “The Best Gifts You Can Give,” he stated: “This is what children’s literature is all about. It can express the biggest ideas in forms so beautifully simple that anyone can not only grasp them, but come to live by them, because they take up residence at your very core.” I found this sentiment incredibly lovely, and true. And the books Said chose! Some of these are among my own favorites, and I loved hearing exactly how they had impacted this author’s life and work.
The final essay in the book, Markus Zusak’s “The Will of Stories,” was by far one of the shortest in the collection. It was one of the few, if not the only, essay to not drop book titles throughout. And yet, it was a delight to read. There’s something about his writing style that is beautifully unique, and even in the few short pages of this essay, that style shone.
This collection as a whole was lovely. I can’t say that I adored every single essay, but there were some that I loved deeply. And even those that didn’t resonate with me still provided food for thought. If you’re a lover of books, and believe that reading is a gift best enjoyed when shared with others, this collection of essays should be on your shelves. And on the shelves of those who have fostered that love in your life, or shared that love with you in any way. It makes a truly wonderful gift.
October 19, 2019
"Reading kept him alive right till the end"
September 10, 2020
A wonderfully poignant essay about the importance of books and the natural world.
5 stars.
5 stars.
November 29, 2020
The Gift of Reading works on many levels — first as a reminder to never take literacy for granted, then as a gateway to the benefits of giving books, filled with the discovery of new books from new authors, and finally as a way to support the important work of Room to Read. Highly recommended.
June 15, 2021
This story, like so many stories, begins with a gift. That gift, like so many gifts, was a book…
Most people love receiving presents, but for me the best present to receive is a book. A well-chosen book opens up a world of possibilities, it is something that can be treasured for ages and can have a resonance between giver and receiver. In this essay, Macfarlane extolls the deep significance of giving and receiving books as he recalls receiving The Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor from Don, a close friend and past colleague. This simple gift of this book, was what drove him to walk the hills and mountains and in turn has given us, the reader, his own wonderful books.
This short, intense, espresso like book is a little gem that will continue to provide insight and delight every time I give or receive a book. This is only available from Independent Bookshops, and monies go towards Migrant Offshore Aid Station.
Most people love receiving presents, but for me the best present to receive is a book. A well-chosen book opens up a world of possibilities, it is something that can be treasured for ages and can have a resonance between giver and receiver. In this essay, Macfarlane extolls the deep significance of giving and receiving books as he recalls receiving The Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor from Don, a close friend and past colleague. This simple gift of this book, was what drove him to walk the hills and mountains and in turn has given us, the reader, his own wonderful books.
This short, intense, espresso like book is a little gem that will continue to provide insight and delight every time I give or receive a book. This is only available from Independent Bookshops, and monies go towards Migrant Offshore Aid Station.
July 22, 2018
Short and sweet, this essay will resonate with book lovers who have made friends through books, and who love to give and receive them. It also made me add A Time of Gifts and The Living Mountain into my want-to-read list.
October 18, 2018
This book is a little great gift. And now I have to go and buy some 20 of these to give out to some great people who love books and gifts, and especially - book gifts.
January 3, 2024
Found myself at the Turkish barbers today (not for me) with nothing to read but various men's magazines and a book on what we can learn from wolves. I remembered that a few weeks ago I slipped this thin little volume into my purse for this very kind of emergency. It took the length of two little boys' haircuts to read and kept me warmly engaged.
June 30, 2021
Although I love getting suggestions from friends (why I follow Goodreads), and am an obsessive scanner of bibliographies, I don’t particularly love getting books as gifts or giving books unless I’m very sure of the recipient. It can feel like pushing religious beliefs. I do love to hear what Goodreads friends think of books.
This book is full of suggested reads (I appreciate) and opinions by noted authors as to gifting books. Some hit the mark some didn’t really follow the suggested guidelines set by the collectors and some just plain prostelized.
Obviously, I’ve mixed feelings here.
This book is full of suggested reads (I appreciate) and opinions by noted authors as to gifting books. Some hit the mark some didn’t really follow the suggested guidelines set by the collectors and some just plain prostelized.
Obviously, I’ve mixed feelings here.
February 17, 2021
"...and it has almost always been the case that the gift which has spoken so ‘commandingly’ to my soul has been a printed book."
A moving and thoughtful essay on the pleasure and transformative power of reading and gifting books. Full of interesting reading suggestions (especially if you like poetry, travelogues and books on nature).
A moving and thoughtful essay on the pleasure and transformative power of reading and gifting books. Full of interesting reading suggestions (especially if you like poetry, travelogues and books on nature).
December 28, 2016
A lovely reflective read on reading. A homage to Patrick Leigh Fermor and in particular his book A Time of Gifts. An appreciation of the author's friend and mentor Don with whom he taught English Literature in Beijing, according to Mao. Thanks to Don, they survived to continue to enjoy reading and appreciate the gifts which books bring.
October 31, 2021
4.5 stars.
5-stars for the spirit and motivation behind this collection of essays. 4-stars for the content itself - most of the essays here are beautifully relatable, while a few missed the mark a bit for me. One thing's for sure though, these authors can write! And there are so many recommended titles that I've not even heard of which only made me want to read even more diversely.
5-stars for the spirit and motivation behind this collection of essays. 4-stars for the content itself - most of the essays here are beautifully relatable, while a few missed the mark a bit for me. One thing's for sure though, these authors can write! And there are so many recommended titles that I've not even heard of which only made me want to read even more diversely.
December 20, 2017
"This is a beautiful double-proposition: that art enlarges our repertoire for being, and that it further enables a giving onwards of that enriched utterance, that broadened perception"
Stunning lil pamphlet, made me feel so much! Reading is truly the most giving gift.
Stunning lil pamphlet, made me feel so much! Reading is truly the most giving gift.
January 9, 2018
small but lovely gift <3
August 25, 2021
A great essay about friendship, specifically between the writer and his friend Don who gifted him with a book that he’s cherished.. and whom he’s gifted with numerous books. It’s about their sharing of literature/reading.
It’s about reading and friendship and the sharing of books between folks.. which directly reminded me of the great people I’ve met on GR, whom I’ve shared numerous books with. It also reminded me of how the groups and book clubs that I’ve become apart of has improved my life through the tough times of this pandemic.
Don’s daughter eventually tells Robert how reading kept Don alive. It can never be overstated how much fun I’ve had reading and book clubbing through this pandemic. This essay was thoughtful and affirming.
It’s about reading and friendship and the sharing of books between folks.. which directly reminded me of the great people I’ve met on GR, whom I’ve shared numerous books with. It also reminded me of how the groups and book clubs that I’ve become apart of has improved my life through the tough times of this pandemic.
Don’s daughter eventually tells Robert how reading kept Don alive. It can never be overstated how much fun I’ve had reading and book clubbing through this pandemic. This essay was thoughtful and affirming.
July 28, 2026
Another winner from Macfarlane. The gift and curse is that he's one of those writers that mention five other books which you need to now read!!
But so inspiring. He has you looking up words and reading poems, investigating books and authors. Highly recommended. Only 35 pages long.
But so inspiring. He has you looking up words and reading poems, investigating books and authors. Highly recommended. Only 35 pages long.
June 2, 2018
This brief essay makes me rethink the acts of giving. I do think so hard when I want to give someone a book for (I hope) they’ll like it and stay forever with them. Such a lovely tiny book(let).
November 19, 2018
A simple but resonant anecdotal essay about the joy of books both given and received, and the power they have to inspire, transform, and perhaps even sustain lives.
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