What I got from my bookish Secret Santa!

Hello, lovelies! As some of you may know, I’m a moderator in the Facebook group Bibliosphere: A Group for Everything Bookish. This year, the modmins and I decided to set up a holiday book swap for members of the group…with a twist. Like any secret gift exchange, people were assigned anonymously to their recipients, and since we are a book group, the gift to be sent was to be a book. But, to help keep our spending to a minimum (and prevent our shelves from further overflowing), the catch was this: the book you sent had to be one you already owned. Of course, if your recipient was international or something, you could send something from a site like Book Depository since their international shipping is good, but for most of us, the goal was to pass on a book you loved and/or thought your recipient would love.

For my part, I was paired with someone who is a teacher for (I think) later elementary students. Her favorite authors were Jane Austen and Jenny Lawson, and her Goodreads shelves–especially her favorites–had a lot of Rick Riordan. So…I decided to gift her two books.

First, I chose the first book in The 39 Clues. I bought a bunch of Rick Riordan books from someone on Facebook Marketplace over the summer, because–shamefully–I have never read the Percy Jackson books. She included this one as well, and while it wasn’t one I particularly wanted to read, it was in brand new condition and seemed like it would be a great addition to the collection of someone who loves the author’s other books. Plus, her students might like it.

The second one, I’m quite proud of: a dirty Jane Austen satire entitled Pride and Promiscuity that purports to contain “the lost sex scenes of Jane Austen.” I picked it up on clearance at Half Price Books a while ago and, after reading pieces of it myself, decided to stash it until I had the right person to give it to. It is silly and steamy and utterly hilarious, which seemed perfect for someone who likes both the classic author and more contemporary humorists. The book contains gems like this one, from the back cover:

Transcription:
“I hope the weather has not been too wet for you while at Rosings, Mr. Darcy?” The warm breath of each of Elizabeth’s words was felt upon his lips.
“No, I am rather partial to all things wet, Miss Bennet. It makes going inside all the more pleasant.”

All that is to say, super funny book, if often cringey. Jane would probably be turning in her grave if she knew about it, but hey–hopefully my recipient gets some chuckles from it.

For good measure, I tossed in two packets of hot cider mix and a couple of those white chocolate peppermint Hershey kisses, because what goes better with books than a warm beverage and some seasonal treats?

As for me? My person absolutely NAILED my taste in books. The book was wrapped up all nice and cute, and she included a card, where she said this book was the first urban fantasy she ever read and that she really loved it and thought more people should know about it (and its author):

Ignore my obnoxious quilt in the background

On the back of the card, she included a postscript listing three awesome things about the book that–impressively–are three of my favorite things to hear about a book:

• Strong female kick-butt character
• Great world building
• 1st in a nice, long series

And what, pray tell, is this magical book? Drumroll, please (and apologies for the poor photo quality)…

Rosemary and Rue, by Seanan McGuire! I absolutely love Seanan’s Wayward Children series, and earlier this year I devoured her short story collection, Laughter at the Academy, and I’m so happy to be able to start another one of her series now!! Thank you so, so much to my gift-er.

That’s all for now, folks. Sorry again for such long delays between posts–following my super busy weekend, I got pretty sick, missed a day of work because of it and was basically out of commission for four or five days, but I’m getting back on track now. Just submitted my first two law school applications yesterday and am in the middle of three separate books right now, so you can expect at least a couple reviews later this week: one YA contemporary, one sci-fi, and it might be time for another audiobook review blitz? So you’ve got that to look forward to!

Until next time,

Kathryn (“K-Specks”)