Book Spotlight: The Books They Gave Me: True Stories of Life, Love, and Lit by Jen Adams

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (November 6, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 1451688792
• Source: Publisher

Using her Tumblr blog, Jen Adams started collecting stories in 2011 about the books people have received as gifts and the impact those books made on their lives. The stories range from the humorous to the romantic, stories of books given as gives to daughters by fathers, wives by husbands, etc.

My own personal story: my uncle, a pastor, understanding my love of horror, gave me a copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s collected works when I was a teen. While I was skeptical at first, I devoured it, my first true taste of classic literary horror. It truly had an impact on my teen life and the books I chose to read after. My uncle has since passed, losing a battle to pancreatic cancer years ago. Still, whenever I read anything written by Poe, I think of him, and the gorgeous collected works he gave me over twenty years ago.

Reading these stories, I fell in love again when reading of books I’ve read before, experiencing how they affected the recipient.  Ultimately, that IS the power of books: many of us read the same titles, but the impact they make on our lives are as unique as we are as individuals. Additionally, I was introduced to a host of “new to me” titles, as well as books that I’ve overlooked completely on the shelves of bookstores and libraries.

Books as gifts can be challenging, never knowing just what book is the right one to gift, or if the recipient has it already.  I’ll make it easy for you; give The Books They Gave Me , a book guaranteed to delight any lover of books.