Secret Santa gift exchange! discussion

Say hello to your fellow participants and talk a little bit about what kind of books you like and what you might be interested in trying!

Hello Goodreads friends. My third year. Nice to chat again.

I am from the Netherlands and discovered GR when searching the web for gay fantasy. Something not available in my own language.
I love M/M stories with a Happy Ever After. Sometimes I read historical romance but am easily annoyed by the depicting of women.
Recently, I studied Art Education and am in between jobs, at the moment.

Hi everyone, and thank you to Heather for brightening our holidays every year!! It is most appreciated xo!

I read LGBTQ romances (mainly), and I've been loving historicals lately. I enjoy a good mystery, and even a heartwrencher, from time to time.

The weather's getting colder here in New York. Thanksgiving decorations are popping up in the stores, and I even bought some Halloween candy at Target this week. I hid it in my basement, so hopefully I don't find it again till October 31st!

Thank you Heather so much for organizing this again! Last year was my first SS ever and I'm so excited for this year!!!

I'm from Greece but I currently live and work in Cyprus (although I'm planning to return to Greece after RARE22EDINBURGH!!!).

I'm exclusively reading M/M romances for the past decade +/- a couple of years (although it's more than a decade if you count yaoi manga obsession) and I'm toying with the idea of starting a M/M romance Bookstagram in GREEK! I'm currently stressing too much over starting it!

Since we don't celebrate anything between summer and Xmas here, Xmas decorations are starting to popup xD

Howdy! Did this last year and had so much fun :D Excited for this year!

I read M/M romance and pretty much anything so long as it isn't pitch black dark.

Nice to meet everyone!

Welcome, everyone! I'm just as excited as everyone else to get this party started!! :)

Hi y'all! I'm Richard, or Mudge, either is fine. I'm Heather's grouchiest fanboy. (I adore her, but it makes me *nuts* how many times she's taken out her literary AR-15 and sprayed me with book bullets.)

I celebrate with the hashtag #Booksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving in the US through the 24th of December is my time to blog reviews of books I really encourage people to read and/or gift to their loved ones.

My blog post, which I can't link to anymore but is on my profile, will explain more to any interested parties.

A hearty, joy-filled thank-you to our Preceptress, Heather, for making and running this annual Holiday celebration. I'll say it early, and often: Happy Yule! May all your Yuletide desires be met.

*smooches* to one and all

Richard wrote: "Hi y'all! I'm Richard, or Mudge, either is fine. I'm Heather's grouchiest fanboy. (I adore her, but it makes me *nuts* how many times she's taken out her literary AR-15 and sprayed me with book bul..."

xoxoxo!

Helloooo lovely peeps!

This is my favourite time of year. I'm Louise, I'm a Yorkshire gal, single mum of one 13-year-old boy.

A bout of Swine Flu in 2014 nearly killed me twice and left me paralysed from the neck down for six months (no longer paralysed, just lots of mobility/joint and movement issues), so I read a lot 😁

Massive fan of MM of most types except I don't read horror or psychological thrillers, although I love a good suspense (think Layla Reyne, Aimee Nicole Walker etc).

I also love historical biographies and am a big fan of Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

My Elfster wishlist will be the most up to date, but I'll try keep a Goodreads one going too.

I've been doing this a few years now and it always makes my heart happy with how generous everyone is.

Thanks as ever Heather for this wonderful event 💗

Chukma! Hi, hello! Wulf here, indigenous, two spirit poet and writer-of-things. My wonderful fiance (hi honey!) introduced me to this group and I am SO EXCITED to participate again.....especially since I feel like I sorta know what I'm doing now.

I'm a graduate student (doctoral program in Organizational Leadership in Education) and a journalist, for now at least. I will always be an "English major" at heart. I am a sucker for a good story, especially if it's queer, indigenous and/or dog related in some way. Okay, pretty much any non-gory animal involvement will get me. And I like horror, but like, can everything not have John Wick dog issues? thanks.

What was I talking about? Oh right.

Books. I have a list. I'm also in the market for anything that brings cultural discussion to the table, heart-rending poetry or prose.....essays and literary fiction are something I want to have time for but....those require energy and focus that is different from devouring an entire romance or YA series in a weekend. That's not a no....just a make it good.

So, yeah. I love dogs and my family, and reading and writing (not arithmetic) and I am learning to not be scared of my sewing machine.

I'm ready. Stoodis.

Hi! I'm Kristy. This is my third year with the group and I'm always excited to see all the cheerful elves running around. I love reading (of course), gardening and hiking. Hoping to retire to the mountains someday. In the meantime, I'll just read about it and vacation as much as possible. I enjoy reading romance (esp MM), mystery and some adventure. I'm also a 13 year breast cancer survivor and happy for each and every new day.

Hi everyone Angela or Angie this is my 6 or 7 year here I love this time of the year. I live in Highland California with my husband and daughter and granddaughter. I read all types of genres right now I am loving m/m omegaverse and bikers.

Hi everyone! I live in a NYC suburb, and this is my 9th (!!!) year running the event! I can't even believe it. We'll have to do something special for the 10th year next year. I like romance-y romance books. I love anything queer romance related, but I have varied tastes. I love historical romance and paranormal romance also. I have an unlimited Audible subscription so no audiobooks as gifts for me, though I LOVE listening to audiobooks. I don't like horror, suspense, and mystery. I'm SO happy you all are joining me again!!

My first exchange was 2015... how is that even possible?! You're amazing Heather!

Trio wrote: "My first exchange was 2015... how is that even possible?! You're amazing Heather!"

xoxo!

Last year was my first and I loved it! I'm a sheep farmer in Alabama and boy-mom of one 9-year-old. I have 4 giant dogs that run the farm and one tiny house cat that is my reading buddy. My favorite genres are historical mystery, historical fantasy, and steampunk (extreme delight if a book has all 3!) I have a hard time finding books that have all 3 in them so I'm always hunting!

Wow 🤩 time has certainly flown by, hard to believe it’s that time of year and what a year it has been, I hope that everyone has been staying safe 😷 and sound in these trying times. Hugs to all!

Hello 👋 everyone, new and old to our secret Santa exchange, my name is Chad and this is my 6th year joining in this wonderful exchange. Last year was another success, I enjoyed giving and certainly loved watching so many people receive gifts 🎁 and as with last year , I was blown away by the overall thoughtfulness, gratitude and generousness of every participant and those super generous elves that come along as the exchange goes on, it always makes my heart soar and the holidays so much more brighter, cheerier and that much more special!

I have always loved reading books 📚 since I could learn to read and my mom took me and gave me the best gift ever, my library card and the rest is history, reading now has become more relaxing for me as I’ve now become my mother’s caregiver, my mom was diagnosed with dementia 5 years ago and is still going strong, some days are better than ever, thank goodness for books, eBooks and umm oh yeah audible audiobooks too 😂 I have been listening to a ton since lockdown and beyond, as they let me escape into uncharted stories by authors I’ve loved and many new ones that I’m always finding on goodreads.

I enjoy reading MM romance and gay romance, I do also enjoy all other genres except for true crime, I’m escaping reality not diving into it even deeper 😜 My preferred vendor is Amazon.


🎅🏻 Chad 🎄

Hi Everyone - I'm from Melbourne Australia and this is my 3rd year doing this gift exchange.

I'm a single girl who is mum to a number of fur babies that love to sit on the couch with me and read, if they can get in-between me and iPad even better 😉

I read mostly romance, paranormal, fantasy, actually pretty anything goes except true stories for some reason.

Christmas is my favourite time of year, helps it's summer time. Looking forward to chatting with you all and making some new friends along the way

Hi everybody! I'm so happy to have been invited to participate for the first time this year.

In case you're wondering about the name, I decided I needed a little something to distinguish myself from all the other Jenn, Jen, Jennifer, Jenny, etc. profiles here on Goodreads. To give you another hint, I'm married to not James, mother to not Harry and not Beatrix. And yes, of course we all know our Houses -- two Ravenclaws, one Griffyndor, and one Hufflepuff.

After living in sunny SoCal for 27 years, my daughter and I moved to Minneapolis just over three years ago. My husband needed to stay working in LA until we could get settled here, but that time was extended due to all the lovely complications of the past two years. Happily, he's finally moved here, which will make this the best holiday season for us all in quite some time, especially since our son has also been able to relocate nearby with his job. This will be the first time we've all been able to be together since July 2018.

I've been a life-long reader since the age of 4, although my tastes have changed quite a bit. I discovered MM romance at a reading weekend away with a friend in the summer of 2017 and have rarely looked back. Although I'm not a fan of horror or dark stories, I love a good mystery or serial killer (I'm looking at you, Seven of Spades!). Most of the things I'm not interested in reading are on my hell-to-the-no shelf, but I'm pretty flexible as long as there's an HFN.

I can't wait to meet those of you I don't already know. Happy reading to you all, and publishers bless us, every one!

Thank you for another invite, Heather. I got so excited when I got the email.
This exchange gets me amped for the start of the holidays.

Hey to everyone who is both new and a veteran of the holiday exchange. My name is Shari and this is my 6th year participating. Besides all the gift giving, trying to figure out who is behind Elf names is my fav. I was not a good investigator last year but I've been honing my skills by reading more Mysteries. I'm definitely on the case this year.

Hello everyone, my name is Mary and this is my FIRST year in the group. Thank you so much for the invite I am so happy to participate this year!

I am a mom to my fur baby ferret Narcissa. She is very supportive of my reading hobby and likes to stay by my side while I am with the book 😂

I like anything fantasy or anything fantasy related and mm romance.

Christmas is such a wonderful holiday

Hi! I’m Kacey, this is officially my third year (I can’t believe it!) I haven’t been reading as much this year due to health issues and life stress in general, but I wouldn’t miss this exchange for anything 🥰 thank you Heather for doing this every year.

I read such a wide variety of books but I’m primarily into romance and fantasy. I can’t wait to get started gifting this year ❤️ it brings me so much joy!

Happy reading everyone!

Hello everyone! I'm thrilled to join this year's secret book gifts. I read all genres, however, I recently got an tense interest in finance books - not technical finance though, I mean books on money management, investing, financial planning---you get the point. I am currently reading finance books on Clubhouse, few pages everyday. My current reads are; "Happy Ever After: Financial Freedom Isn't A Fairy Tale" (2021) by The Seven Dollar and "The Millionaire Next Door" (1996) by Thomas Stanley and William Danko

Hello!
My name is Renée and this is my second year participating in the group exchange. I live in Seattle and grew up in the PNW.

Last year was so much fun and such a nice pool of people trading stories, books, and highlights from their days. It really made my winter extra special and fun.

I read all sorts of books, my favorites being science fiction of all kinds and romance. Really I can like any genre if it's a good or interesting book to me, although I shy away from dark stories or super sad angst, I'm too sad for that already. I'm currently more invested in the M/M side of things and I really like the investigative mystery sub-genre a lot right now.

Also hockey. I blame (THANK PROFUSELY) Heather for that. I'd read a hockey book or two before I noticed her talking about Heated Rivalry and it was all downhill after. In the very best way. So, yeah, I've been slowly wending my way through contemporary hockey, historical romances, investigative romances or any kind. Still reading the science fiction, classic, contemporary, romance crossover...etc.

My favorite trick is finding someone with similar taste and then sampling from their favorites. Pretty much how I've exclusively used goodreads since I got it. My profile is private just to keep my privacy as I wasn't anonymous and coworkers don't need to know everything about me, but I'm totally up for friending anyone who is interested in poking around my page.

I'm bad about writing reviews. I am prone to writing reviews of books I do not like. I rate about half of the books I do read. I'm mostly trying to keep track of books read and when and when I have the energy to post up a review or rating. I'll totally throw down an opinion if anyone directly asks me though. Provided I remember what it's about. I read a lot.

I look forward to meeting more of you as we progress and it's nice to see some familiar names back again.

Renée wrote: "Hello!
My name is Renée and this is my second year participating in the group exchange. I live in Seattle and grew up in the PNW.

Last year was so much fun and such a nice pool of people trading ..."

Happy to be your enabler with the hockey books! :)

Hello everyone!
I'm so excited about being part of this again. I had tons of fun last year. I had so much fun with the elf names.

I'm Gustaf. I'm 26 and I live in Stockholm, Sweden with my husband and our whippet boy Toby. When I'm not reading I work with glasses and styling of glasses, which is a lot of fun.

I've been on GR since 2017. You'll probably find me in different groups doing team challenges since I'm quite obsessed with them. I read pretty much only M/M romances but at times something different gets in there as well.

Can't wait to get to chatting!

Hi everyone!! 👋

First of all, thank you so much Heather, for inviting me yet again for this AMAZING event (which is one of my most awaited GR events, ever!). I had so much fun every year, being able to receive gifts and send gifts to people across the world, spreading cheers and blessings.

This is my ninth year participating, right, Heather? And yes, I can't wait to see what you will have for our 10th celebration 😆

My name is Ami - I'm 40+ woman (she/her) living in Indonesia. I enjoy reading since I can remember. I read mostly romance now, although I also LOVE urban fantasy/paranormal (with a dose of romance) as well as good murder/mystery/thriller.

My two Kindles are my treasure as I read solely e-books nowadays. I think I've switched to e-books for the past decade!

That's it for now... looking forward to more chatting and more squeeing 😃

Hi everyone! I’m Emily, this is my 3rd year and I’m very excited! I like all kinds of books but lately easy read chic lit, or psychological thrillers. I’m open to trying something new though! Im 37, live in Vermont, have dogs, and work as a children’s mental health counselor. Looking forward to learning more about all of you!!

Great to be back! time to think up my elf name!

Ami wrote: "Hi everyone!! 👋

First of all, thank you so much Heather, for inviting me yet again for this AMAZING event (which is one of my most awaited GR events, ever!). I had so much fun every year, being ab..."

That's right! 9 years!! You are one of the OGs ;)

Hi all!

I have been part of the exchange since 2014.

I love reading, but there are few genres I hate. I HATE anything mystery, cop, murder, etc. It is so rare that I find a book that involves anything like that that I like. The same for fantasy. It takes a LOT for me to like anything fantasy. Not the biggest fan of poetry either. I keep trying to like it, but I just really don't.

I am a huge fan of horror, YA, and really niche things like bizzaro. So I like weird things. I am open to trying things that aren't weird.

I am aroace, trans, and will slowly work up the nerve to friend all the fellow queers in the exchange!

Hi Everyone!

I'm so excited for this fun, festive exchange again this year! I looked back and I've been a part of this great group since 2013!
I read mostly Contemporary romance with a splash of PNR and Historical thrown in.
Thank you Heather for inviting me and for running this exchange, a definite bright spot in the year :)

Hi! I'm Zuzu - aka Barb. This is my 2nd time to participate. I did the exchange in 2019, skipped last year, and am back this year! I'm looking forward to all the fun.

I read MM and MM Historical. I occasionally read MF Historical. I also love a good Mystery of any genre.

HEATHER, Thanks so much for running this again.

Hello everyone! I’m Daniel and I’m excited to be here again! This is my third year participating and seeing all the gift giving and cheer is a much needed serotonin boost. I enjoy reading a wide variety of genres (urban fantasy, high fantasy, paranormal, mystery, true crime, horror, science fiction, science fact, mythology, and more!) . Im pretty much asexual, so while I do read MM, it’s mostly for the LGBT lead story. I’m not a prude but I find books that spend more time on sex scenes that plot tedious and eye-roll worthy.

Can’t wait to see what this year brings!

Hi all, this is my fifth ? Or sixth year? Thank you Heather for running this awesome event . Thank you. So many great people here every year.

Hello!! So excited to be back here again.
I'm Kendra from Connecticut. I think I've been here since the beginning?? Elfster says 2013. Dang how time flies! Heather does such an awesome job with this that I decided to follow her lead and organize a Christmas in July exchange for the past few years. I love doing these things. It's always so great to have a little bit of joy surprise you in your inbox. :-)

I primarily read MM Romance. Occasionally I enjoy FF romance, but it's a super rarity (and only for my favorite authors) that I find myself reading MF romance at all. I like contemporary stories, but have been finding myself loving paranormal and mystery over the past few years.

Excited to start thinking of an elf name. This is always so tough because I never feel creative enough. Maybe something will strike me if I start thinking now. lol.

Fran wrote: "Hi Everyone!

I'm so excited for this fun, festive exchange again this year! I looked back and I've been a part of this great group since 2013!
I read mostly Contemporary romance with a splash of P..."

Woohooo! Time flies when you are having fun ;)

Kendra wrote: "Hello!! So excited to be back here again.
I'm Kendra from Connecticut. I think I've been here since the beginning?? Elfster says 2013. Dang how time flies! Heather does such an awesome job with thi..."

Welcome back!

Isaiah wrote: "Hi all!

I have been part of the exchange since 2014.

I love reading, but there are few genres I hate. I HATE anything mystery, cop, murder, etc. It is so rare that I find a book that involves an..."

Love having you in the exchange, xoxo!

Zuzu wrote: "Hi! I'm Zuzu - aka Barb. This is my 2nd time to participate. I did the exchange in 2019, skipped last year, and am back this year! I'm looking forward to all the fun.

I read MM and MM Historical. ..."

Happy to have you here again :)

Welcome to all newbies and welcome back to those who are returning again!! I was replying to people but then realized I'm clogging up the feed with meaningless comments, LOL. I'm happy to have all of you here!

Hi all! I'm Tj, married, mother of 2 and grandmother of 2. I've been in the exchange for many years. I am a quiet one here. I like romance, true crime, and paranormal, but mostly I read romance. Looking forward to the exchange.

Hi, nice to meet everyone!

I'm Lena & this is my second year doing the gift exchange.

I love reading romance, mostly MM (the hotter the better 🔥🔥) Contemporary, Fantasy & Paranormal, NA & YA - it all depends on my mood.

Heather, thank you so much for organizing & running this again.❤️❤️
I'm looking forward to all the fun, making new friends & discovering new books 🤩

according to Elfster, I have been here doing the gift exchange since 2015.

Hey everyone, I'm Alicia and I'm so excited to be back doing the gift exchange again this year! I've been doing the exchange for several years, and I have to say it just keeps getting better every year. I can't wait to get started!

Thank you Heather for putting it all together again this year! 😊💖

Hi Everyone!
Gosh, I can’t believe it’s already time for this amazing gift exchange! I have no idea how many times I’ve participated, but it’s been many years! And I have enjoyed each and every time. I truly love spreading kindness to other readers during this time of year.

I’m liz, and I live in the middle of nowhere in NC. I am an avid reader of many genres, but my heart lies in darker erotica books. I definitely like to push my boundaries with fiction! :)

Id like to give a huge thankful shout out to Heather, who always does such a phenomenal job with this. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!💖💖💖

Hi all!

I'm Paige and I'm new this year. I live with my husband and 13 houseplants in Ohio. I read tons of romance -- mostly historical and contemporary, with occasional forays into dark and SFF. I'm not wild about New Adult or Reverse Harem. Open to any pairings, but I mostly read MF and MM.

I'm excited for this, and thank you so much Heather for setting it up!

Hi Everyone, I'm Nadine and I live in a NYC suburb just like Heather.

Heather, thank you for organizing this again. I truly love this group and have been participating since 2016, I have a great elf name that no one has figured out yet so I'll be using it again this year.

I read pretty much anything, the smuttier the better 😉

I have four children, my youngest just graduated college, and one grandson. I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2013 and beat it.

Happy Gifting and Happy Reading everyone

Hello, hello! This is my first year in this Secret Santa group and I’m so excited!!

After finishing my graduate degree last year, I have been enjoying more time to read. Recently, MM romance has become my jam but I feel very late to the party. The great news is that I have a ton of amazing books to read to catch up. I have a Kindle Unlimited membership so I wouldn’t want any books that are free with my subscription. Also, since I’m new to the genre, I’m open to suggestions or any books that might not be on my wish list.

Happy Reading!

Hello dear friends and all wonderful people! :D

I live in New England with my hubby, my teenage twin daughters and three cats. Our oldest is in college and often visits with her lovely girlfriend 🌈 😃

My favorite books are M/M, and bromance.

Erotica, menage, M/F romance and zombies (he-he) is a turn off for me. Give me adventure, mystery, suspense, gay space pirates and wicked gay elves! I will also take gay weres and vampires (just not the sparkly kind), maybe even a ghost here and there. As long as MCs are gay, I'll read anything! 😃

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Heather, you are awesome! Thank you for putting this together again 🥰