This always puzzles me
Question demanding the answer 'Yer WOT?!'
Every Saturday in the Guardian Saturday Review there is a feature The Books That Made Me.
There is a set of the same questions to each writer.
One of which is The book I give as a gift.
I depose:
a) Unless you're a scientologist or something of the sort, would you give the same book to absolutely everybody?
b) I'm deeply sceptical generally on the concept of giving books as gifts anyway.
If the book is one that you think is 'Absolutely [Person]', is it not possible they already have it?
As recipient, there is something a bit twitchy about being given book by someone with the subtext that this is book they love and think is absolutely you, and really, maybe not? (Or even worse, book that will reveal the deep inwardness of their soul to you...)
I will make provisos here for: the giver knows you are great fan of [writer] and has located [obscure/long out of print] work by same/you have mentioned work of great interest to you published by ridiculously over-priced academic press/you have actually given them a wish-list up front.
Am I over-thinking this?
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