Gifting Books, A #XMasGiveaway Blog Hop!

#XmasGIVEAWAY

Gifting Books Christmas hop was organized by Reading Romances!

Welcome to Pagan Spirits book blog, my little corner of the book blogiverse! 

What was the most special book you've ever gifted or received?

I wish I had one great book that I received for a Christmas or Hanukkah present that was really meaningful to me personally. I don't, as far as I can remember. One year, my parents gave me Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, and I love those. They're fun books, but I wouldn't really describe them as "special." In fact, my original paperbacks got water-damaged and I ended up having to replace them.

One year I really, really wanted a new novel that was a sequel to The Scarlet Letter, and I got that, but it wasn't very good (or at least I didn't think so at the time). I can't remember the name of the book now, or the author's name, although I think it was a male author. This was probably in the late 1990s, shortly after I read The Scarlet Letter as a high school assignment. Wikipedia is pretty clueless about the Scarlet Letter sequels, so if anyone's a rabid Hawthorne fan and they want to get on that, please do so.

(Update: I mean Hester by Christopher Bigsby, which is a prequel. It says in my diary that I got it on December 25, 1994.)



Come to think of it, the real reason I never got a "special" book for the holidays as a kid was probably that if I wanted a book bad enough, my parents would get it for me right when I wanted it. They taught me that books are never a waste of money, so when I want one badly enough, I just go get it.

I love to give books as gifts. This year my Percy Jackson-obsessed older niece is getting two books about Greek and Roman myths for Christmas. (Niece #2 is currently obsessed with Captain Underpants, but I hear  that Santa Claus will be bringing her the books in that series that she doesn't have yet.) Last year I gave my grandma The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. (Then after she read it, she got my mom to read it, too - that and Shanghai Girls by Lisa See are our three-generation books.)

The only one who won't accept a book as a gift is my hubby, Mr. Elingtin. He does not read - I read to him. (It's not that he can't read - it's just that he gets bored very easily. He's very visual and needs the free space in his head to imagine.)

What's the greatest book YOU ever got as a gift? Comment for a chance to win!

What you can win here: The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss (paperback). If Alexandre Dumas' classic The Count of Monte Cristo is one of your favorites, you'll love the true story of Dumas' father, a general in the Napoleonic army. Held captive by the Kingdom of Naples, the real-life Edmond Dantes suffered many trials before he was able to return to his wife and children. 

Number of winners: One lucky winner

Open to (INT, US or US/CAN): U.S. only (sorry!)

How to enter: Leave a blog post comment, and make sure I can get in touch with you if you win. If I can find your e-mail address by clicking on your name, then all you have to do is comment. If not, leave your e-mail address in a "name AT Webhost DOT com" format within the comment. Being a follower of this blog is not necessary to win, but I would really appreciate it!