Holiday Gift Giving (of Books), Part 4: Know Thy Reader

Ilana Guttin, City of Gaithersburg

As an English teacher, I gave countless books as presents. Specifically, I guess I tried to force Gatsby on at least a dozen teenagers and some responded better than others. Luckily, I had better results when I went to a bookstore thinking, “What would a smartass, sarcastic, hilarious teenage boy from the Bronx like?” This line of thinking led me to the perfect book for Poche: “I Am America (And So Can You)” by Steven Colbert. My student totally understood the satirical overtones and he appreciated the hilarious stickers and visual diagrams added throughout the pages of text. The book never made its way back to my classroom library and kids were reading it together during advisory. I think this gift was a hit because I tried to think about the recipient’s personality, sense of humor, political leanings and taste when purchasing it.

Typically, I have hated books I have been given as gifts because I’m a picky reader. When I became a Bat Mitzvah at 13I was given some huge, hardcover edition of a book about Jewish women complete with portraits and verbose biographies. Some caring member of the temple’s sisterhood purchased that for me! I still have a little bit of guilt to this day but, at the time, it might as well have been titled, “Door Stop: A Book That Will Forever Dwell on the Floor Collecting Dust.” Later, as an 18-year-old, my boyfriend at the time gave me a book about Iran’s rich history because that reflected his culture and he wanted me to learn about it. I read his sweet inscription and never got around to the book! I have less guilt about this one, probably because I ended up with someone else. However, as a 25-year-old woman, I grabbed a used copy of “The White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga when my friend was moving to Texas. Not only did I lighten her load, but I acquired one of the best books I ever read! Books cannot be forced upon us, but must either fall into our laps or be given by someone who really gets us.

Just today I bought my mom Mary Kay Zuravleff’s “Man Alive!: A Novel” for her Kindle. She hates depressing or literarily cryptic books. I think she will be amused by this story about a guy who gets struck by lighting and decides he should spend all of his time barbequing. Then, if she likes it, she can meet Mary Kay at GBF.

Reading is the gift that keeps on giving!