December RandomCat: Our Gifts

Gift giving may be one of the oldest human activities. The tradition of giving gifts is often associated with religious or cultural activities that take place at the end or beginning of a year.

For this year end RandomCat we're going to think about favorite gifts we have received and read a book that relates in some way to that gift. What the gift was doesn't matter, it just needs to have been something special to you. In fact, it doesn't have to even be a tangible gift. For instance, you may have been blessed with a talent that has brought you joy.

I talked this idea over with my f2f club in October and they decided they wanted to play along. For examples, here are some of their favorite gifts and planned reading:

Heather was an only child and her parents worked long hours at their small business. She would go to their office after school where they had a room set up for her to play. She longed for company though and when she was given a goofy black lab puppy for her ninth birthday he became the perfect friend. She is going to read What The Dog Knows.

Mary Ann graduated from law school at 42. She worked very hard as legal counsel to colleges and didn't really have any hobbies. After she retired a friend offered to give her quilring lessons. Those lessons have reaped about 40 quilts so far! She even designs her own and has won or placed in several competitions! Mary Ann is going to read The Union Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini.

Leah grew up in Dallas and loves the energy of a city. Her husband didn't and doesn't. They live in a small town and Roger's favorite activity is to go to the lake and race his speedboat. Leah was so amazed last Christmas when she learned he had been secretly saving money so that he could send Leah and her sister on a two week vacation to New York. She's going to read a book she bought at The Strand bookstore while she was there.

Now, you choose. Although you don't have to tell the story behind your choice we'd love to hear it.

When I was preschool age my mother gave me a small tea set for my birthday. Two little cups and saucers and a teapot. I loved those and the dog and I had many happy tea parties. My little set had a blue willow pattern on them and a little book was tucked into the box that told a story about the pattern. I loved that little tea set and book! For my challenge I'm going to read a TBR of Japanese folktales.

When I travel I always have an eye out for a special teapot. I have over 40 in my collection.

I love this challenge! What a lovely way to end the RandomCat year!

Oh this is such a fun topic. I have chosen The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith to read as it was a gift from my brother. We have a bet on as to who can read the most books from the 1,001 List of Books and he is ahead of me and intends to stay that way. He gave me this book because he has already read it. He tells me that I will never win as he will always read at least one more book than I will! He is a stubborn man and I suspect he is right, but I will give it the old college try!

I'm going to think on this before announcing my choice, but I really like this challenge. I've been mostly absent from the challenges this year, but this one grabbed me.

What a lovely idea! But it will require some thought before deciding on a book.

I love this idea, and I'm already enjoying the resulting stories :) It took me some thought after I first saw the thread, but the gift I'm basing my book around is a teddy bear that a good friend gave me after we graduated high school.

I was a tech in theater, and one of two girls who worked backstage constantly with a few dozen guys--which resulted in me having two dozen big brothers, essentially, we spent so much time together. One of the closest friends was Rasheed, and he's the one who gave me the teddy bear. After we all graduated in '99, he decided to join the Marines, telling all of us after the fact. Another friend (Mike) and I planned a going away party for him, and I remember the weekend before he left incredibly clearly. After Rasheed left, the next time I went over to Mike's house, there was a teddy bear waiting for me that Rasheed had bought and left for me. He couldn't bring it to my house--probably partly because he didn't want to say goodbye again, and partly because his family wasn't thrilled about him having any female friends (Saudi Arabian family, Rasheed being a first generation American), but he'd picked it up on the day before he left and asked Mike to get it to me.

Needless to say, I've had this teddy bear since '99, and he's lived in four different states with me. He's been a reminder of not just Rasheed, who sort of disappeared from our separating circle after the years he spent in the military, but also of that whole family I had in high school. In honor of that friendship and those friends, though, I'm going to plan on reading The Marines of Autumn.

Hmm, I'll have to give this some thought. I first thought of finally getting around to reading All the Pretty Horses, which my brother gave to me because it's by his favorite author.

A non-book gift, though? I'll have to think about that.

A gift which means the world to me was given by my son last spring - a vacation in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. One of the many highlights of my trip was the Markt Square in the various cities where we stayed. In the Markt Square in Bruges is a statue of two of the heroes of the Battle of the Golden Spurs. There was something compelling about this story, and I determined to read up on it. So, my book for this challenge will be one which covers this story, The Lion of Flanders by Hendrik Conscience.

This is an awesome idea! I will have a think and come back with my selection.

Hmmm, I can't think of a specific gift, but something I like that my family and I have done for a few years now (no kids to worry about or disappoint) is to give a donation on behalf of each other to a charity that the other person might choose.

Donation gifts in my name are always for animal charities, so I just might choose an animal book of some kind for this one. We'll see.

One possibility is something by Jorge Luis Borges. The gift was a T-shirt with his famous quote, "I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." To me, the gift was a demonstration that someone I'd been romantically involved with was still thinking of me and although we were not going to be a romantic item any longer we would still be (and are) best friends.

Coming up with a gift that wasn't an actual book was challenging but there were a few options. For our five year anniversary, my husband surprised me with a beautiful pearl necklace which I adore. It made me feel so classy and grown up. The book I'll probably read is called After I Do.

After looking through my TBRs I have decided on Happy Alchemy, an essay collection by Robertson Davies. My uncle gave me an omnibus edition of The Cornish Trilogy when I was in high school, and it has proven to be an "investment" gift -- I may have taken over a decade to get around to it, but I am so glad he had the foresight to pick it out for me to have on hand whenever the right time came along.

Also, I think "happy alchemy" is a great way to describe the feeling you get when you pick the perfect gift for somebody ;)

So - I've spent some time thinking about this and looking over my books and I've decided to read The Christmas Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini. One year my husband gave me a flat iron for Christmas which everybody asked me if I had hit him with it when he did, but since I'm a quilter, a really good iron is a wonderful gift.

My husband and I have been together for over 40 years and through them all we have one constant - my stuffed furry friends. The first Christmas we were together he arrived with this huge stuffed dog with a big red bow and said "Here, I didn't know how to wrap it." So now every year i get a stuffed animal - unwrapped no matter whether big or small. However, my most prized "furry friend" is Bear.

Bear is 2½' high and came to me over 20 years ago arriving at my office in a box decorated like a crate marked "CAUTION, LIVE ANIMAL" When I opened it up, I found my friend I was thrilled because he is so darn cute and he came for my birthday. When I took him home, I had to put a seat belt on him because if I didn't the car kept beeping. Over the years, Bear has been through a lot, he goes on trips with us, is nuzzled by the grandkids but most of all, at a time when my husband needed support for an injury to his arm, Bear took on that job and did it quite well.
When I retired, Bear became my daily companion so that while hubby was at work I wouldn't feel lonely. We watch baseball games, basketball, listen to audiobooks together. Something my husband would never do. He definitely keeps me from feeling lonely.

In his honor I plan to read The Lonely Teddy Bear

My "gift" is that I have had the privilege of living in a country that is relatively stable with a relatively stable democracy, where I have many personal freedoms, and people seemed to be making real progress accepting people of all religions, ethnicities and sexual orientations. The recent US Presidental election has me worried that my country is heading in a very different direction. For my category challenge in 2017 I'll be reading several books that predicted the rise of Fascism in America. For this challenge I'll be reading Night by Elie Wiesel.

I am thankful for the gift of the love of reading that my mother gave to me at a very young age. Her favorite authors were Jane Austen, Charles Dickens & Anthony Trollope. So to honor her gift & memory I'll be reading a Dickens I haven't read yet, probably Barnaby Rudge.

I have to commend you all. This topic has brought about some lovely stories. Hats off to clue for a great idea!

I've thought about this for a while, and finally decided to go with Still Midnight by Denise Mina. This Christmas, my boyfriend and I will not buy any fancy gifts for each other, but will put the time and money into a few days in Glasgow for New Year's Eve. This means a lot to me, because this year we haven't travelled much together and there haven't been many quiet weekends for us. Plus I'm longing to go back to th UK, to meet friends, drink tea and beer, buy books and clothes. I have been in Glasgow a few times, while he has never been there. I look forward to showing him around, introducing him to people and places. So yes, a book set in the country we're travelling to sounds about right to me.

>20 Chrischi_HH: very nice. :)

Inspired by my cousin's homework assignment to create a family tree, her father, my uncle, took the assignment further and after years of research he produced a family history complete with photos of the individuals, their cars, houses and so on. Most of our large family got loose pages that applied specifically to their branch, but because my son and I are too far away to share in conversations on the topic, I got the full bound edition! It is one of our most treasured books and the anecdotes about my grandparents, great-grandparents and my parent's generation never fail to entertain and enlighten. For this challenge, I'll be reading Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson.

>22 VivienneR: what a wonderful project, and gift to you!

And I loved Miss Buncle's Book...

My family and I, for the past few years, exchange donations. I always ask that the donations in my name be for an animal charity, so my reading this month for RandomCAT will focus on animals. I will likely fit in a few.

Leaping Beauty and Other Animal Fairy Tales / Gregory Maguire
3 stars

This is a collection of eight fairy tales that Maguire has retold with animal characters. The stories include Rumplesnakeskin, Goldiefox and the Three Chickens, Hamster and Gerbil, etc.

It was ok. Like with most short stories, if/when my mind wanders, the story is too short to really be able to catch up (well) with what I’ve missed, but with these, it helps that I know the stories already. It’s a quick read. Maybe kids would enjoy it a bit more.

The Koala of Death / Betty Webb
4 stars

In the 2nd book in the series, zookeeper Theodora (Teddy) finds the body of a fellow zookeeper floating in the water beside her houseboat. “Koala Kate” has been murdered. Teddy is asked to take over many of Kate’s responsibilities, including tv spots and PR stuff - not Teddy’s forte. Teddy’s boyfriend, Joe, is the local sheriff, trying to figure out who killed Kate.

I really enjoyed this. I love all the extra animal info that is shared throughout the book! I think I was actually more interested in things other than solving the mystery in this book, but I still really enjoyed it!

Finished my choice: Happy Alchemy, by Robertson Davies. Very enjoyable. Sufficiently repetitive that it might work better for dipping into occasionally than reading straight through, but nevertheless a very good collection.

>25 LibraryCin:, I'm going to have to look up that series--thanks for your review!

>27 whitewavedarling: No problem! The first one is called The Anteater of Death. It appears that there are currently only 4 books in the series. I'm not sure if the series is still going or if that is all of them? I suspect it's still going, as the one I just read was not published all that long ago.

I just realized as I was reading this thread that I forgot to post that I finished The Christmas Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini for this month. Now I need to go update the wiki.

duplicate - sorry

I have completed The Talented Mr. Ripley and absolutely loved it.

>28 LibraryCin:, I ordered it last night :) I'm not usually so fast to jump onto book bullets, but my mom loves animals just as much as I do--I want to get it and read it in time to potentially get it to her when I visit at Christmas!

>32 whitewavedarling: Good idea! I hope you like it (and your mom, too!).

>33 LibraryCin: :) I hope so, too, but I'm betting I will...

Meanwhile, I finished The Marines of Autumn, which I'm glad to have finally picked up. Funny that picking it up came from the gift of a teddy bear, I suppose, but I'm glad to have finally read it, and to have been thinking about old friends this month while my bear sits on his shelf. Full review written.

Leaving Time / Jodi Picoult
4 stars

Jenna is 13-years old and lives with her grandmother. Her parents ran an elephant sanctuary and on the night one of the keepers was found trampled (when Jenna was only 3-years old), her mother was also injured, then she disappeared. Jenna is now old enough to try, on her own, to find out what happened to her mother.

The story is told in alternating points of view, mostly from Jenna’s or her mother’s POV. Alice’s story starts with her elephant research on grief in Africa and there is so much interesting elephant research in these chapters. I loved learning about them. (There is an author’s note at the end that the elephant research is based on real research and real elephants, as I suspected.) The rest of the story was from Jenna’s POV, plus POVs of the two people she had helping her find her mother, a private investigator and a psychic. There is a big twist at the end

The Three Snow Bears / Jan Brett
3.5 stars

This is an Inuit retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but in this case, it’s a little Inuit girl, Aloo-ki, who is looking for her dogs who floated away on a piece of ice and she stumbles upon the igloo where three snow bears live. She goes inside to investigate, while the bears are out.

3 stars for the story, 4 stars for the artwork. It’s a cute story, but one that’s been told. But, the pictures in the book are amazing. The Inuit setting is a nice change and it makes for beautiful pictures. It reminded me of some graphic novels where there is a border. The pictures in the border were following the dogs and the bears, while the main story with text followed Aloo-ki. I read my first picture book by this author last year and I am reminded of the wonderful pictures with her stories.

meant to post elsewhere - sorry

I read Unsere Hochzeiten for the Woman BingoPUP and realised that it would also fit here. The author is Israelian with Persian roots, and it tells the story of a woman and her daughters, three of which all get married in the same year and whose marriages all fail.
It reminded me how grateful I am to my parents that they did not consider marriage as a woman's only destiny in life.

ETA

Dinosaur Lake / Kathryn Meyer Griffith
4 stars

Henry is the Chief Park Ranger at Crater Lake, which sits atop a volcano. There has been no volcanic activity in anyone’s memory and earthquakes are rare and mild. Near the start of the book, some dinosaur bones are found when a small earthquake reveals them. When Henry learns that people have seen a “monster” in the lake, including one of his best friends/one of the other rangers, he doesn’t really believe them until he sees it himself. Things go from bad to worse as people start to disappear...

This was really good. Lots of suspense and I was often on-the-edge-of-my-seat with a pounding heart. There was a range of characters and motivations; some of the characters I liked, some not so much! At first, the book had me thinking of similarities to Jurassic Park, then Jaws (Henry gets to a point where he wants to close the lake, but no one believes that there is a problem), and some Loch Ness Monster (monster in a lake) and Bigfoot (no one believes it) thrown in there. This is part of a series, and I do hope to continue.

I have finished The Maiden of the Blue Willow and other Japanese Folktales by Hema Pande. The author received The Twelve Books of Knowledge collection as a child. It included folktales from around the world and she has been interested in folktales since then. The collections she writes are told for the enjoyment of both adults and children so this is a good book for a family to share.

The Birds / Daphne du Maurier
5 stars

I listened to the BBC audio dramatization of du Maurier’s The Birds (the same one Hitchcock based his movie on). It follows a family of three who have moved from London to the country. It takes place in England, it seems to be just after the war (WWII, I am assuming, as it was written in 1952). They notice birds congregating outside their home and becoming more and more aggressive.

I really liked this. Boy, that ending was creepy!!! I did see the movie years ago, and now I’d be interested in seeing it again. As I look at other reviews, it seems the movie is quite different. I’m not sure how close the dramatization is, but I thought this BBC version was done very well!

Finished Miss Buncle's book by D.E. Stevenson. It was absolutely charming!

An Unexpected Grace / Kristin von Kreisler
3.5 stars

Lila was injured in a shooting at her workplace. She is invited to a friend’s place to help her heal, but her friend has also just taken in an abused dog until she (and her friend and fellow rescuer, Adam) find a home for Grace. Lila is terrified of dogs as a result of a bite when she was a child. Even worse is when Lila’s friend has to go away for a few months and Lila is left to take care of Grace until Adam can find her a home. She is also obsessed with finding out why the shooter did what he did.

I didn’t like Lila at all. Her attitude toward Grace was awful. I also didn’t like that her friend and Adam trusted her with the dog when she obviously hated dogs and had no idea how to take care of her! I thought there was no need for the romance in the book, either. However, I loved Grace! What a poor, sweet dog. I picked up the book because of the beautiful dog on the cover and I still love the cover, as well.

Charlotte's Web / E.B. White
4.5 stars

Wilbur is a pig and was the runt of his litter. When the farmer wants to kill him, his 8-year old daughter, Fern, won’t let him. She insists she’ll raise him. When Wilbur gets older, though, he is sent to Fern’s uncle’s barn, where Fern visits daily. Wilbut makes friends with many of the other animals in the barn, and his closest friend becomes a spider, Charlotte. When the other animals warn that Wilbur won’t be alive come Christmas, Charlotte comes up with a plan to save Wilbur’s life.

I remember reading this and loving it when I was a kid, but I certainly don’t remember specifics. I do remember bawling at the end! I still love this story, and though I didn’t bawl like I did when I was a kid, I did cry. Maybe I’m rating it higher because of my memories of the book, as well, so the extra half star may be for that, but that’s ok. Part of it could also just be my love of animals, and I love how they are portrayed in the book. I believe I read the original edition of the book (and I’m sure it was the same edition I read when I was a kid), and the illustrations are very nice.

I've been enjoying the posts in this thread. What a great idea for a theme!

When I was a teenager, my two best friends, one a Sikh and one a Hindu, lived next to each other. Their families gave me many gifts of delicious food (samosas, curries, dahl, rotis) but I was mostly grateful for their willingness to share their rich culture with me, a Chinese Canadian girl who knew little about East Indians. Their best gift was showing me that people with strong religious and political differences could live in harmony. This was in the 80's, when there was much conflict between Sikh and Hindu groups. Even after the Air India terrorist attack of 1985, the families vowed to remain friends.

For this challenge, I finished the final book in Amitav Ghosh's Ibis trilogy, Flood of Fire, which covers a wide region from India to China and features a very diverse cast of characters from those and other countries. This trilogy is set during the First Opium War and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

>45 mathgirl40: What a wonderful story! When I first came to Canada from Northern Ireland there was a lot of conflict there at the time. I was so happy to be in a country that not only accepted but embraced other cultures.

The trilogy sounds like something I'd enjoy. I've already got the first, Sea of Poppies in my wishlist but based on your recommendation I will definitely seek out all three.

For this challenge, I read the original story, The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann, with my 8-year-old son. When I was little, my mother took me to see The Nutcracker ballet for Christmas almost every year, and it remains an extremely precious memory for me. I was happy to share the story with my son and I hope to take him to see the ballet next year.

As my Christmas gift to you all, here is the lovely cover of my edition of The Nutcracker, which is part of the Penguin Christmas Classics series:



Happy New Year to everyone!