18 Ideas for Gifting Books

At times, friends and relatives can be hard to buy for. Some seem to have everything. Due to age or illness, others may be less mobile than in years past. Some don’t really want much. Families scatter across this huge country and selecting a gift, packaging, and shipping can be a chore.

A book is a perfect gift ... and a great way to avoid the crowds. Books provide a great entertainment value, delivering hour upon hour of pleasure. Reading fiction is like taking a mini vacation without leaving home. An engrossing story makes worries fade away. Reading nonfiction can also entertain while learning how-to tips, gaining perspective, adding to knowledge, or finding enlightenment.

If you take the time to match the recipient’s taste in fiction or nonfiction, your thoughtfulness becomes part of the gift. Whether your relatives or friends are interested in the Civil War, literature, romance novels, photography, westerns, paranormal fiction, fishing, railroads, guns, cooking, collecting old comic books, antique automobiles, politics or anything else, there's always a book that will bring a smile to their face.

Top Tips for Book Gift Giving

1. Write a personal message on the title page that won't get tossed out like last year's Christmas card.
2. Write surprise messages in the margin of random pages.
3. There are books about every hobby and interest in the world. Picking a book that fits you’re your recipient’s interests shows you care.
4. Search out an author signing for your recipient’s favorite author.
5. Gift an entire series, like a complete set of Harry Potter books.
6. Gift a collector’s version of the recipient’s favorite book. (I’d like a First Edition of The Virginian.)
7. Shop at an independent or specialty bookstore to get professional help selecting your book.
8. With Amazon Prime, gift wrapping and shipping is free and the book can be sent direct to the recipient.
9. Mail early to take advantage of media class at the Post Office.
10. Give a book as a piece of art, like a fine print book, unique coffee table book, favorite book as a child, or collectible cover art. (I like early 20^th Century Westerns with period cover art.)
11. Make a highly personal photo book with ShutterFly or Mimeo.
12. Give a bookseller gift card for e-book and audio book enthusiasts.
13. Give a new model Kindle or a nice cover to an e-book enthusiast.
14. College students appreciate gift cards for their campus bookstore. (For fun, I put it inside a trashy novel for them to read on Spring break.)
15. As a bookmark, tuck in crisp currency.
16. If your friend or relative already owns piles of books, give a unique set of book ends to hold them in their proper place.
17. Children's books are great gifts. We search for autographed storybooks for our grandkids. The icing on the cake is that when we visit, we read these books to them.
18. Coloring books now come for every age.

If you choose to gift one of my books, thank you.  I appreciate it.

Famous Last Words

The Washington Post has an article on “The 23 most unforgettable last sentences in fiction.” Many critics and readers focus on the first sentence, but the last sentence is the one that leaves the final impression. Here are a few of my favorites.

“I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it. I been there before.”
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

“It’s funny. Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

“He was soon borne away by the waves, and lost in darkness and distance.”
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

“After all, tomorrow is another day.”
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

“He loved Big Brother.”
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

I can't resist. Here are a couple of my favorites from my own books.

“I kept my head and Chestnut facing east.”
The Shopkeeper by James D. Best
(I didn’t want my hero to ride off into the sunset.)

“And then he was gone.”
Tempest at Dawn by James D. Best
(James Madison, an old man had left the room, but he soon after left the stage as our last remaining Founding Father.)

In truth, neither the first nor last sentence can make a good story. The entire narrative has to pull the reader forward until they read the last sentence. A story told properly will cause the reader to seek out another book by the same author.

True West Magazine--April Issue

The Steve Dancy Tales will be featured in a full-page ad in the April edition of True West Magazine.
Look for it in your mail box or local newsstand.

Back from a vacation of surfing and writing

I took a break from social media for about four months. Fatigue, I guess. I wanted to write, enjoy my family, and surf.  The writing and family went great. The surfing so, so. I still get rides, and occasionally good rides, but embarrassments are less occasional.  I’m with Hobson in the movie Arthur. On his death bed, Arthur asks, “Do you want anything?” and Hobson replies, “I want to be younger.” My birthday is coming up, but asking for youth as a birthday gift seems contradictory.

John Gielgud as Hobson in Arthur

The first draft of Deluge is complete at long last. Actually, the second draft, but who's counting? This is a disaster story and since I had never lived through a disaster, I had to do a lot of research. It was a fun book to write, and I'm confident you'll enjoy it. Unfortunately, it will be many months before it makes it through the remaining steps to publication. 

In the meantime, Crossing the Animas is now available from Center Point Publishing in a hard cover, large print edition. Libraries are the primary market for this format, but it would make a dandy gift for some of us older guys who like our print large and our stories larger.

Now in large print, library binding

The Steve Dancy Tales
Honest westerns filled with dishonest characters

I'll return sooner next time. Have a great 2018!