Paging the perfect gift? Make it a book.

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I always give books as gifts, but my method of delivery has moved into the 21st century. No more hard-cover tomes wrapped and tied in holiday cheer. Instead, I give gift certificates for my e-reading friends and family. I still love the real thing, but the practical side of me wants to give friends what they want, not what I think they should have. Most folks are favoring Kindle-type devices.

One exception is the grandkids. I hold out hope that they’ll fall in love with books the way we used to do, in a tactile way, cherishing not only the story, but the feel of the paper and the pleasure of turning pages. I still wonder what makes a child a lifelong reader. Some say it is reading to them, and I’m sure that’s true to some degree. But I think it’s more important for kids to see their own parents reading; we all know the little ones do what we do and not so much what we say.

What books am I giving this year? One friend who’s planning a trip to India will get “Flowers in the Blood” by Gay Courter. I fell upon — and into — this book a few months ago. It’s an Indian soap opera, but in a very good way. The story recounts the life of an extended Jewish family living in Calcutta at the turn of the century. Murder, sexual taboos, opium and family dysfunction; what can I say? The story grabs you and doesn’t let go.

Another friend is recovering from surgery, and I sent her an e-reader gift of “Euphoria” by Lily King. The book offers total immersion in an adventure/love story set in the jungles of Papua New Guinea in the 1930s. Based loosely on the life of Margaret Meade, it reads like a thriller. My present isn’t so much a holiday offering as a gift of pleasure in a time of pain and recovery. I know that for some hours and days, my buddy will be distracted by the mystery and joy of the story.

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