Who enjoys being filmed?
No one, right? Certainly not me… the moment a camera is pointed in my direction I’m likely to bolt in the other direction. However, when I was contacted by my friends over at Quercus and Jo Fletcher Books about their The greatest gift is the passion for reading Christmas Campaign, I couldn’t help but be intrigued.
Their plan was to invite as many readers, bloggers, Book Tubers and bookshops to share their passion for books during December using the hashtag #GreatestGift as they possibly could.
The idea was that each of those invited would record a video on why we think that books are the greatest books to give for Christmas. Fantasy-Faction was invited, which was a huge honour: the catch, however, being in the word ‘record a video’.
That said, Jo Fletcher & Quercus told me that if I was to take part in the Christmas Campaign that one of our lucky Fantasy-Factioners would be entitled to pick up a special Christmas bundle of books… so I decided to stop being a wimp and earn you guys some books!
All you have to do to be in with a chance to win is Tweet us (@FantasyFaction) with the hashtag #GreatestGift or leave a comment here 🙂
Anyway, here’s my thoughts on why books make the best gift:
So yes, although my nervousness shields somewhat what I am trying to say: I feel that to give a book or novel as a gift for Christmas is not only giving someone an incredible reading experience, but also the key to a very exclusive club. Should they chose to use this key to access local and online communities they will find hundreds, maybe thousands of people who are excited to hear their ideas about what came before the novel, what came after the novel, what wasn’t said in the novel and just generally share their love and appreciation of it. I can’t tell you how many friends I have made because of books and fantasy novels, but I know it is in the hundreds. The opportunity to talk with any of them about a book or to meet a new person who has read the book I am given is truly a special gift.
Thanks again to Jo Fletcher and Quercus Books for the opportunity to embarrass myself live on the Internetz, I hope I didn’t let you down 😉 Make sure you check out the other guys that Jo Fletcher and Quercus have picked out to take part in their Christmas Campaign who are as follows:
Monday 1 December: Reader Dad http://readerdad.co.uk/
Tuesday 2 December: Book Addict Shaun http://www.bookaddictshaun.co.uk/
Wednesday 3 December: Liz Loves Books http://lizlovesbooks.com/
Thursday 4 December: Chick Lit Pad http://chicklitpad.blogspot.co.uk/
Friday 5 December: Bumbling Bibliophile https://www.youtube.com/user/bumblingbibliophile
Monday 8 December: Raven Crime Reads http://ravencrimereads.wordpress.com/
Tuesday 9 December: Fantasy Faction http://fantasy-faction.com/
Wednesday 10 December: Wondorous Reads http://www.wondrousreads.com/
Thursday 11 December: The Mile Long Bookshelf http://www.themilelongbookshelf.com/
Friday 12 December: Destiny Lover https://aloverofbooks.wordpress.com/
Monday 15 December: Parmenion Books http://parmenionbooks.wordpress.com/
Tuesday 16 December: Novelicious http://www.novelicious.com/
Wednesday 17 December: Civilian Reader https://civilianreader.wordpress.com/
Thursday 18 December: Love of a Good Book http://theloveofagoodbook.wordpress.com/
Friday 19 December: Franny and Perks https://frannyandperks.wordpress.com/
Jennie Ivins
Richard Marpole
Of course books are the best gift, they’re all I ask from people nowadays (actually, I ask for book vouchers since they don’t know what I like or what I already have!), and I’m always giving books to my niece who’s 2 (train them young!)
To quote Neil Gaiman (I saw this the other day and just jumped and said YES) “books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside of them. And it’s much cheaper to buy somebody a book than it is to buy them the whole world.”
And Marc, you look very cute with your dragon 🙂
Haha – that’s like me… It’s a real challenge to get me a book I haven’t read / got.
That is one beautiful quote.
Thanks, Bea ^_o
Why are books the greates gift? How else can you enter so many amazing worlds, and meet so many different people, without leaving a room?
Books are a superb present. It’s a gift of hopes and dreams, drama and despair, pain and anger, laughter and excitement, and of course ideas. Nothing draws you in like a good book.
I give my 4 grandchildren annuals each year. So far, the two oldest have asked me for “specific” books which I have bought for them – very happy that they’re asking for them! The two youngest are getting the idea. They know I read all the time, and love my books (I have a bookshop, after all 🙂 )
And I know I’ve encouraged some ‘doubters’ to read something 🙂 That’s the joy – introducing fun, entertainment, joy, angst, amazement, into people’s minds!
Books are social for me too, now that I’ve found an online community to discuss them with. And picking out a book for someone with similar reading taste is actually quite a bit of fun.
I love how at near the start of the video the beardy moves from one shoulder to the next. He flew! Seriously though, books are an easy and great gift. They don’t require specialized expensive hardware like video games. No batteries are needed if it is just a regular old book. It can provide endless hours of entertainment. They are easily stored. I’m rambling, but yes books are awesome.
If you look carefully, he changes position 3 times… it wasn’t a mistake 😉
haha well done on the video 😉 my family has always been a reading family so books quite naturally make the greatest gifts. i remember the last couple christmases that i was a bit disappointed that i didn’t get more books hahaha what i love about books is that they are an escape. you enter worlds that are created via words on a page and brought to life in your own mind. they invoke feelings of nostalgia, sorrow, joy, anger, and mirth. you make friends with the characters and feel sadness when their story comes to an end. books are incredible.
Books are the greatest gift because you don’t only give them something physical, you share the emotions you felt while reading the book with them too.
Books aren’t just a gift for someone else, they’re a gift to share. There’s nothing better than sharing a story.
Nice video. You’re a good looking, intelligent young man. Not a reason in the world to be shy of cameras.
My daughter is 15 months old and being read to is her favorite activity. When I get home from work one of the first things she will do is pick up and book and come sit in my lap and have me read to her. As soon as we get that book done then she’ll get up, grab another one, and sit back down. The process usually keeps repeating until we have read every book that she has out at which point she starts picking through our done pile and has me re-read several of those books. I’m sure she doesn’t quite understand the words and is just mostly looking at the pictures (although I did find her last week trying to pick up my Words of Radiance copy, which I admire the ambition but she’s probably just a few years away from that yet) but she absolutely loves it. I enjoy seeing her reaction when she sees a new book that we picked up for her for the first time and I’m always wondering where it’s going to fall in her favorite book scale. For Christmas we have asked everyone to get her at least one book so I’m looking forward even longer reading sessions. Hopefully as she gets older she retains her current love of reading and I’ll be able to introduce her to all of the wonderful worlds that I have spent my life reading about (and who knows, maybe she’ll introduce me to something new as well).