Buy your friend a book

I’m a workaholic. That causes me to not spend as much time as I want to with my friends. And I feel shitty about that from time to time. Life’s busy, staying close can be hard.

A few months ago, in a slightly guilty mood, I decided to buy a little gift for a friend or two. It had to be something personal, something that I know about. So what do I know about? Well, mostly these two things: whisky and books. The latter being the more generally appreciated of the two, I decided to find books for some friends that would fit with their personality, where they are at in live, and how I felt about them. I didn’t include any note. I was pretty sure that if they received a book they didn’t order themselves, they would soon figure out it came from me.

The response was very positive. It’s a small gesture (I bought paperbacks, not expensive hard covers!), but it shows people that you know them and that you’re thinking of them.

I’ve started to make it a habit. Every month or so I pick two or three books to send to friends that I haven’t talked to for a while. I try to make it books that are relatively short and easy to read; I don’t want to make people feel like they suddenly have to read this thing only because I sent it to them, especially if they’re not really avid readers usually.