Receiving a book as a gift is possibly one of the loveliest things to experience as a reader. As a child, the books given to us as presents influence our reading tastes for years to come, shaping our literary journeys one suggestion at a time. As adults, we can often forget how special a well-considered bookish gift can be. It's a portable message of love and care, from a person who has taken the time and thought to select a title especially with you in mind.
Bookish presents don't need to be ostentatious or loud. They can be as simple as a ' I saw this and thought of you' type gift. And sometimes the most special books of all, are the ones you wouldn't have even considered picking up yourself.
The Willoughby team has been discussing some of the most special and memorable books they have received over the years, from cookbooks and subscriptions, to boxsets and weighty books of facts and trivia. As different as we all are, so are all the titles, showing just how much our books make us who we are!
Marianne
The thing about having been a bookseller for so long, is that not many people give me books as gifts. I was, however, given the gift of a subscription (which shall remain unnamed!) for my 40th, which was an amazing selection of books, all of which have been read, re-read, lent to others and generally very well loved. It was such a treat to have a parcel arriving each month and knowing that it was dedicated 'put the feet up with a good book' time!
Books make such great gifts, small enough to be affordable, easy to wrap, and can express so much.
I love receiving books: I like battered copies, brand new copies with thoughtful inscriptions, charity shop copies that show you've thought of. Really all books are welcome! The problem is finding time to do all the reading that I'd love to do. I'll have to think of it as embracing 'tsundoku', the art of buying books that pile up unread. As Umberto Eco is alleged to have said, 'the more you know, the bigger the library of unread books'.
Alisha
The best books I have received as gifts would have to be The Chronicles of Narnia boxset my parents gave to me on my eleventh birthday. I still have the same boxset today (the books are pretty tattered now) and it is still one of the best things that I've ever been gifted!
When I was younger, I had an illustrated edition of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and flicked through it quite often, and would excitedly watch the film on the telly when it came on over Christmas. I have always loved all things magical, so the world of Narnia absolutely fascinated me. I was also known as the bookworm in my family, so this must’ve been a very easy gift to decide on for my mum and dad.
I’ve read the series multiple times and I don’t think I’ll ever tire of them, or the lovely illustrations by Pauline Baynes. My favourite of the seven books is The Voyage of The Dawn Treader, a mysterious adventure on a boat and returning characters that I love.
Olivia
I must have been nine or ten when I received the ‘Junior Chronicle of the 20th Century’ by Simon Adams for Christmas. It was a big hardback tome, a visual history, full of thick, shiny pages detailing everything significant that had occurred over the last hundred years.
I was a precocious kid, obsessed with facts, dates, and trivia, so I was inevitably captivated by it! I’d carry it around with me, take it to peoples’ houses when we were visiting as a family, gazing at the images contained within it. I was learning about history year by year and I vividly remember reading about the sinking of the Titanic, the rise of the Beatles and the Swinging Sixties, Nelson Mandela, The World Wars, and countless other topics I found completely riveting. Similarly to my bookish preferences as an adult, I loved nothing more than having my eyes opened to worlds different to my own and it’s something I’ve carried throughout my life as a reader to this day.
I have received some truly memorable books over the years; those that I can remember exactly where I was when I read them. Arcadia by Lauren Groff, for instance, was bought for me on the boardwalk of Venice Beach in Los Angeles and has since then been an absolute favourite of mine, bringing to mind the sunshine and fun, lazy vibes of California when I was lucky enough to spend time there. I even have the bookmark from the shop still tucked in its bleached pages. It's one of those books that makes you wonder why more people haven't read it yet, especially with the popularity of Groff's other books, like Matrix and Fates & Furies. It has everything I love in a book: an intriguing premise, a compelling protagonist, and some of the most beautifully observant writing I have had the pleasure of reading. I hope to re-visit it one day and re-live the magic of those long and languorous days.
Nic
I came to reading books for pleasure as an adult and it was the lovely The Offing by Benjamin Myers that truly started my new reading journey. It was gifted to me by a Willoughby colleague after they read and loved it, so I knew I was in safe hands. I absolutely loved the author's depiction of friendship, the beautiful descriptions of the north Yorkshire coast, and the gentle, heartfelt storyline. Since then, I've been slowly making my way through Myers' backlist. I even visited Robin Hood's Bay this summer, where The Offing is set, keen to revisit the unforgettable characters of Dulcie and Robert once again.
Aishah
I've always received books as gifts over the years, with some being more accurate to my tastes than others! A couple of years ago, one of my brothers gifted me Where Cooking Begins by Carla Lalli. I had been previously enjoying Carla Lalli's recipes on the 'Bon Appetit Test Kitchen' Youtube channel and so this was a perfect pick for me! Coincidentally I was also gifted a second cookbook at the same time: Binging With Babish by Andrew Rea, another of my Youtube favourites, who specialises in cooking food from film and TV. Since then, there's been no stopping me in the kitchen! I've been adding to my roster of recipes and my kitchen is now full of various bits of cooking equipment and unusual ingredients!
Cookbooks are the ultimate gift. Larger and more expensive than your average book, they're a real treat and can lead you down some really interesting avenues of culinary discovery.
