I always feel weird telling people what book I'm reading. It feels so intimate and I immediately feel judged. Although I care less now than before about being judged, I still care with regards to certain people. I suppose it's those people whose opinions are less often bestowed but when done so, matter to me, or those people whom I feel only know me one-dimensionally and I'm afraid they'll see behind my wall before I'm ready to let them inside.
Admittedly, walls or not, there's just something intimate with books. If I were given an unsolicited book by a person, it means he or she thought about me, or what I might like to read, with enough care and compassion to actually go through with that gifting. It's not like a vacuum where any one will do. It's not like a TV, a watch, or even a pair of sunglasses. It required thought!
And likewise, if I purchase a book for someone, I don't want to get just any book. I want to get one that I care about (or I think the reader will care about and ideally both things happen). I know that whatever the reader thinks about the book could be reflected onto me. Yet another level of intimacy!
Anyway, if you find yourself here reading, I'm curious...what book would you get for someone?
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