It’s hard to describe the unbridled joy I get from sending an out-of-the-blue book to a friend when it’s one I’m fairly sure they will utterly disdain. We are talking laugh-out-loud funny to picture them (or their spouse!) opening the package to find… wait, what?! You imagine them struggling to explain to their kids, or to a nosy neighbor, how it is they came to be in possession of Kenny G’s autobiography. Do they read it, hide it, or dump it in a panic? Maybe all three!!
But I want to emphasize that if you partake of this alt-curated book gifting game, that is all the joy that need come of it. And the gift, for the most part, is actually to yourself. The positive energy thus derived has three components. First, any thoughtful gift is its own reward. It feels good to make others happy. Second, the frisson of surprise. This isn’t their birthday or Christmastime but some odd Thursday when the package arrives, and they had no idea it was coming. Who doesn’t love an unexpected present? And third, the grins and giggles that are specific to the book selection. As is the case with any inside joke, it is the sense of knowing someone and being known that closes the circuit and reinforces the connection. Joy is exchanged and another memory is created ( = future joy!).
Of course, it doesn’t have to end there. There are many possible outcomes in this choose-your-own-adventure project. The bonus for you is the surprise of their reaction. Your friend may actually like the book and send back some of their favorite quotes, which would perhaps be the best kind of failure. They may respond in kind with some outlandish book for you to digest (a prison cookbook, for example, signed by the author). You might get a response poem, a drawing, a recorded song, or a back-story prequel they wrote based on your original gift. Or they may come back with an off-speed pitch, like a pair of used hemp underwear from Belarus. All the better. And by my calculation, that’s a damn good bargain for the price of one (silly) book…
THE GAME:
“Don’t hate the player,
forgive them the game,
but do read the book
that honors their name.
Often revealed
in things we eschew,
are the facets of self
lying hidden from view.“
Great Exudations 