If you are looking for a holiday gift that could be enjoyed for generations, give an inscribed book.
As a child I discovered this tradition while exploring my grandparents bookshelves. Inside the cover of many of the books, I found written in beautiful cursive one of my grandparent’s names, wishes for a happy birthday or a merry Christmas along with a sentiment of affection, a name or term of relationship, and a date.
As the youngest grandchild of my generation, my grandparents were well past retirement age when I was born. I knew little about their parents, but I knew my grandparents cherished these books they had received when they were young because they kept them on the shelves that were protected by glass doors.
I also knew my grandparents felt books make special gifts because they gave so many to me. I still treasure my copy of “Animals You Will Never Forget: 72 True Animal Stories from Reader’s Digest,” published in 1969, the year I was born. My grandparents gave it to me on my eighth birthday. When I shared the book with my own children, I enjoyed the look of awe in their eyes as they read the inscription. Of course, they made wisecracks about how the book could be considered an antique, but I remembered the special feeling I felt as a child when I felt their return of my side embrace as they each flipped through the pages. The joy of reading is often not just connected to the quality of the words in the book, but to the intimate moments shared by a parent or grandparent reading to their child.
In recent years my family has taken on the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod, the practice of sharing books on Christmas Eve along with a hot beverage and chocolates. Books became the preferred Christmas gift in Iceland during World War II when paper was one of the few items not rationed. As books on Christmas Eve became a tradition, Icelandic booksellers began distributing book catalogs in November to allow families to order their selections in time for the holiday.
I have caught myself saying numerous times how I don’t quite understand why American stores seem to move directly from Halloween to the winter holidays of Christmas and Huanakah, barely giving a nod to Thanksgiving, but I must bashfully admit that our family starts our holiday wish lists through a shared Google document early in November. As a book-loving group, the first and easiest place to start is listing the books we’d like to get for Christmas Eve. We actually encourage each other to list more than one, so there might be some surprise to what we will unwrap.
You can safely shop for books through sites of national vendors like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or you could support one of our regional independent bookstore’s websites, including The Frugal Frigate of Redlands, Cellar Door Books of Riverside, and Vroman’s of Pasadena. Inlandia Institute books may be purchased directly at inlandia-institute.square.site.
If you want some local chocolate to savor with your books, See’s Candies, which began in Los Angeles in 1921 is a longstanding California favorite. Parliament Chocolate of Redlands and Letterpress Chocolate of Los Angeles are two newer chocolate makers whose handcrafted products can be purchased online.
I accidentally wrapped one of our children’s books for Christmas Eve without inscribing it, but I will be sure to find a private moment with my wife to carefully unwrap it and choose the words we will write inside the cover because the inscription is one of the most important parts of the gift. I hope you, too, will find joy in giving an inscribed book this season.
David Stone is a poet who teaches English at Loma Linda Academy.
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December 04, 2020 at 11:00PM
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Take time to give the gift of an inscription this holiday season - Press-Enterprise
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