READER'S ROCK LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE VOL 2 ISSUE 4 NOVEMBER 2014 VOL 2 ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2014 | Page 24

Books make great gifts
By: Anna Renault
As the holiday season arrives, we scurry around to
find just the right gift for each person on our list.
This year, make it easy on yourself. Give a gift
that keeps on giving… buy books.
Ok, I hear you saying “keeps on giving” – how is
that possible? Let me explain what I mean.
Once upon a time, as a child, I enjoyed reading. I
was often given a book as a gift for Christmas,
even birthdays and whenever I celebrated other
special events like my 'First Holy Communion'
and my Confirmation (Catholic Church
sacraments, milestones). I was always overjoyed
to see a book that I could enjoy reading and rereading. These books were also shared with my
friends and we would discuss them – their content,
the style of writing, the vocabulary and even the
individual characters. It was also fun to discuss
'what if' something in the plot had changed. My
friends and I often came up with different endings
or additional characters that added to the 'what if'
scenarios.
Now, a half century later, I'm sharing this message
with family, friends and even strangers like
someone who might be reading this article – give
books for Christmas or other holiday gifts. You
may be surprised at how those books keep on
giving.
Way back when, I learned a valuable lesson after
receiving books as gifts. It was a lesson about
book writing, dreaming up plots, changing the
plot, naming characters and so much more –

lessons that have come in very handy as I write
books for readers of all ages. Who knew those
early days of reading would be so helpful now.
Another great benefit of receiving that book/gift is
the information you learn from it. You can
virtually travel the world between the covers of
books. I can remember doing an end-of-year
school project, researching Greece after having
read a book that told about Greek shipping as well
as their grape vineyards and the importance of
both on their economy. You might be surprised to
learn it was a book of romance! However, the
project was submitted to both my English teacher
as well as my math teacher – accomplishing two
tasks with one effort and it was guided by much of
the info I learned in that Harlequin Romance
novel!
Now there is also the opportunity to give books
about leadership, business operations, and
personal growth – lessons that will come back to