I was doing some perusing on Etsy and thought I’d share my finds with you! I love looking at bookish things, and with the holidays coming up, maybe you’ll see the perfect something for someone!

Sold by JunqueInTheTrunque, this pillow has the page from a mid-1900s cloth book. You can also convo her to request something specific, and she’ll see what she can find!

I love Icelandic Poppies, and poppies on a reading pillow?! Sold! Sold by susanskeepsake.

Aren’t these bookends adorable? Nextdoortoheaven makes them.

I just love this. Found it at hilariagalleries’ shop.

Zombie Limericks??!! Can we say WINNER for a stocking stuffer?!

A Gotta Read necklace! So cute! There’s also one for Word Nerd. LOL.

How can you go wrong with these for $1.75? Sold by beanforest.

Ahahaha!! So awesome. Bookity, I love you.

An upcycled necklace by RespectYourMother.

There’s also a really cool bookmark that I’m buying for a friend who reads this so I can’t show it to you yet. I’ll show it to you once I’ve given it to her, though!

This week’s Booking Through Thursday question is:

What is the best book you ever bought for yourself?

And, why? What made it the best? What made it so special?

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Do you give books as gifts?

To everyone? Or only to select people?

How do you feel about receiving books as gifts?

Two sets of questions were posted today, and I’m sure it was an error but I’ll go ahead and answer both.

The first few questions are hard. I’ve bought so many books that it would be hard to pick The Best Book [I] Ever Bought. At that point we’re getting into what books are my favorite. I’ve never (until now, really) spent money on hardbacks, so my books aren’t particularly special in a physical way, but they’re obviously important to me on an emotional level.

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb, which was actually a gift, though I would have bought it myself, is my prized possession now as it’s personally inscribed by the author.

Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis is particularly special because I picked it up at the book store based on the cover, having never heard anything about it. It’s now one of my favorite books.

Do you have a favorite book that you bought?

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I definitely give books as gifts, but I have to be (relatively) sure the person will like it and read it. There’s nothing sadder than books that languish at a non- or quasi-reader’s house.

I haven’t received too many books as gifts, and when I have, they’ve been books I’ve specifically requested. I’d be leery of anyone buying me a book because I have so many books, they’d be lucky if they didn’t buy me one I already own.

What I think is completely underrated is the bookstore gift card. My ex-boyfriend’s family, the one year I spent Christmas with them, almost everyone gave me a Border’s gift card, whether as the actual gift or a little stocking stuffer. No one else has quite understood how happy I can be with a little money to spend at the bookstore. Even my friends who know I read all. the. time. rarely get me a gift card as a gift. *sigh* If they only knew how easy I really am.

Do you get bookstore gift cards very often as a gift?

This leads me to something I’ve been meaning to ask you: Are you buying gifts for the holidays? I did for about half my people. I was pretty pleased with that.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a signed copy of The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein! Contest ends December 29th.

I went to the Post Office today to mail out the last of the Christmas gifts being sent to family. We got off rather easy this year because my fiancé and I just got our engagement pictures back, so we picked out pictures we thought certain people would like, bought some nice frames, and voila! Christmas is done.

I’ve been going to the same post office fairly regularly (2-4 times a week) for about six months. I’ve gotten to know the people who work there: there’s this guy who loves to tell jokes (many of them not very funny) and is rather slow when dealing with customers; this other guy who has a wife and kids and is very involved in his church and moved out here from the East Coast a couple of years ago; and this girl who’s a single mom, works and goes to school, quick when dealing with customers, and always very friendly to me.

When I got in line today, the two people working are both people I really like. The girl ended up helping me and since I had four packages to send out, we got to chatting while she was weighing the packages and putting postage on them. The guy who loves to tell jokes hadn’t yet shown up for work and they had been very busy this morning. Somehow Christmas came up, and she said she wasn’t doing anything for Christmas, that she’ll be alone. I said, “Oh, so the kids will be with their dad?” “Yeah, for the first time in eight years!” She was so glum when talking about Christmas; I told her I would invite her to my house, but it’ll just be me and my fiancé…if we were doing the whole family thing like we did last year, I’d totally invite her over. She doesn’t seem to have any family in the area…for Thanksgiving, it was just her and her kids.

It’s so horrible to be alone for Christmas; believe me, I know. Since I can’t invite her over to my house (I’m good at making people not feel like a third wheel, but I’m not that good), I thought I’d be a Secret Santa and get her something that she can open on Christmas. Here are some ideas:

• Gift certificate to a spa (manicure, pedicure, whatever) – I nixed this idea because I’d be willing to bet that since she works, goes to school, and takes care of her kids, she doesn’t have much time for something like this.
• A Visa gift card – since I don’t really know her hobbies or where she likes to shop, this would give her freedom to do or get something she wanted.

Those are my ideas. If you have other ideas, please share them, but share them quickly.

Have you ever secretly done something for someone?

PS After telling my fiance about this, he said I could definitely invite her over for lunch and then to go see a movie (probably I Am Legend)…isn’t he a nice guy?