Booking Through Thursday: Book Presents

What, if any, memorable or special book have you ever gotten as a present? Birthday or otherwise. What made it so notable? The person who gave it? The book itself? The “gift aura?”

I am a huge Gone With the Wind fan, as indicated by my place of work and the various GWTW items I have around my house. My mother made me a hoop skirt when I was 7 because I just had to be Scarlet O'Hara. After being swept away by the movie, I thought I'd try the book, which I did when I was in 3rd grade. I didn't get all of it, but one thing I did understand was that the characters were far different in the novel than in the movie and the movie couldn't really be compared that much to the book, except of course for the love triangle bit.

So. Back to the meme: When I graduated from high school my parents gave me the first edition red cover of Gone With the Wind, which isn't the first FIRST edition - that's incredibly TOO expensive - but it is the first edition of the second jacket design. Very cool. GWTW was such an integral part of my childhood that it was incredibly significant to receive it as a send-off gift to college.

Now, I keep it in my living room at home next to my history of Scotland, also an old, beautiful book with color pictures and a faded blue cover, the Riverside Shakespeare that my mom used in college and that I also used in college, my small book of Shakespeare sonnets, an illustrated copy of Anne of Green Gables, and last, but not least, my beautiful copy of Wilma Cather's O Pioneers!, the first novel to ever make me cry. The rest of my books are waiting on the third floor for a proper, organized home on decent built-in shelves, but these books are my treasured favorites, and they get the place of honor on the leather-topped table in the living room.

Comments

  1. How wonderful to get a treasured copy of what you love!

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  2. That's awesome. Gone With the Wind is one of my favorite books!

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  3. You have many special titles. Happy Booking Through Thursday. I'm giving away a couple of books. See my sidebar if you're interested.
    http://bookcritiques.blogspot.com/

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  4. I have a copy of a GWTW movie poster in French that I really love. I'm also a big fan of both book and movie.

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