Did you get any books for the holidays?

Tell Auntie Valli all about them so she'll know who to be extra nice to now. Whoever got the biggest gift card can move up a spot on my favorite buddy list. Doesn't that sound nice?

:-D

I didn't get any (except for my Secret Santa gifts).  And no gift cards either.  I did get cash though!

Well, in addition to my Secret Santa spoiling, I got The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.  I also got a cookbook that I'm thinking of exchanging for some fiction (shhhhhhh)

Echo in the Bone!! Woohoo, I have been waiting for Xmas to get it because I hate paying for hardcovers. I am only about 200 pages in but so far so good -It is like like catching up with old friends!  I got a crochet book too, but not really one I am interested in - wish I could exchange it but it would hurt hubby's feelings...lol

I received cash, which I used to buy some books. Plus my Secret Santa novel, The Storyteller.

What about you, Valli? Did you get any books?

I got two bread machine cookbooks ( I love my bread machine) and a gift card to  Target ( always have new best sellers).

Alice

Well (for Chanukah) my aunt and uncle gave me these three neat versions of Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and Henry V, with production notes and all this other cool stuff. (I'm a theatre major, and I love Shakespeare.) However, I already have King Lear and Romeo and Juliet, so I might keep the versions I was given and put the other two on PBS...

Genie, I got a gift card which is actually what inspired this thread...I can't decide what to buy! I think I'm going to buy some of the books that have been on my wishlist since 2007. That makes the most sense. ;-)

I edited my OP because people got gifts for holidays other than Christmas, of course. Sorry about that! I had a one-track mind when I originally posted and was totally focused on that gift card, lol.

My buddy Letty, (Jerelyn H from Minnesota), sent me Bond of Blood by Roberta Gellis. Then when I told her I had found Prince of Darkness by Sharon Penman, she loaned me the other books in the series in order to read it in the proper order.

What a sweetheart.

Josie

Well I got cash and of course I bought books with it!  I got We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill, The Virgin's Daughters by Jeanne Westin, The French Mistress by Susan Holloway Scott, Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman, The Queen's Dollmaker by Christine Trent, The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan and The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick.

And surprisingly I still have money left!

I got Pirate Latitudes, White Rose Rebel, Below the Salt, and I got a G.C. for Amazon and one for Albiris, and from a PBS buddy I got a massive cookbook collection she no longer used or wanted. (I love church and community cookbooks), My DH, SIL'S and Foster Son built in a new book shelf off the pantry for my cookbooks.

Josie, I hope you like Justin's story

I got Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott. I also picked up a stack of books for myself the week before Christmas at Books A Million. Between my discount card, their sales and a coupon, I got 10 books for $21. I had originally gone in there for gifts for my daughters. But the deals were too good to pass up, even my DH agreed. lol.

I picked up a book for my daughter called the Legend of Holly Clause by Brittney Ryan. It looked really cute. 544 pages, but written on an easier level.

Well, I got some wonderful books from my Secret Santa (Jeanne - thanks again!!) and some credits from her too!  Ahh, the gift that keeps on giving!  So cool!  I also bought myself quite a few books at the bookcloseouts sale, and I threw one in my cart each time I placed an order through Amazon for Christmas gifts (and DH was none the wiser!).   For Christmas I got a fitness gift I've been wanting, so considering all those things, I'm cool with not actually getting any books from my family for Christmas. 

My in-laws gave me a book on the Kennedy family and a GC to Target.  While at their house for Thanksgiving, I was thumbing through my MIL's copy of Ted Kennedy's autobiography, and I guess that's why they chose a book on the Kennedys.  My sons each got a GC to Barnes & Noble from DH's Aunt and Uncle.

I received a Crockpot cookbook, but no books other than that.  When my husband saw my Secret Santa gift he said "She knows you better than I do....I'm not getting you any books!"  Lol.  I've picked up so many books over the last 2 years through PBS that I'm also happy with all the OTHER gifts I received......things I wouldn't have likely bought for myself!

This is a kinda cute story. I took my 14yo son to WalMart to do his Christmas shopping.  He had saved up his allowance so he was shopping with his own money.  I gave him a list of people he needed to buy for, including me.  He asked me what I wanted and I told him he could get me a book.  I said, "You know the little section of Christian Fiction books that I always look at every time we are here?  Get me anything from there."  We got home and he went to his room to wrap the presents he bought.  I got a little worried when I saw that the Mom present was MMPB size and I know that all of the CF at WalMart is trade size.  I was pretty sure that he just walked up to the book section and randomly picked up a book.  I opened it on Christmas morning and found that is was Pop Goes the Weasel, the 5th book in James Patterson's Alex Cross series.   Have I read the first four books in the series?  Of course not!  But I will get them and read them this year so I can read the book my sweet boy "picked out" for me.  He never confessed whether he picked it up randomly or actually looked at the books.  Oh well....I like Patterson's Women's Murder Club series, so I'm sure I'll like Alex Cross too.  I'm just glad it was wasn't a vampire book. 

I got eight leatherbound multi-book volumes--actually, only six were "gifts" (in parenthesis because I chose them); the first two I purchased prior to Christmas.  Loved the series, so hubby "gifted" me with six more.  They are from Barnes & Nobles Leatherbound Classics series:

The Divine Comedy

The Illiad and The Odyssey

Jane Austen: Seven Novels (several single books will post to PBS shortly)

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe

HG Wells: Seven Novels (several more singles to post to PBS)

Complete Fairy Tales and Stories: Hans Christian Andersen

Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales

The Chronicles of Narnia (again, more to post)

No books for the holidays (except those from my Secret Santa -- again, a big thanks to Alice).

I'm certain that my family is tired of having to navigate around stacks of books and has collectively decided not to enable my book collecting tendencies anymore. But that's ok -- I managed to pick up yet a few more books this week from the library's used book shelves, including Mr. Timothy by Bayard, The Fool's Tale by Galland, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemmingway, Those Who Save Us by Blum (which I already read but want my daughter to read and didn't realize I already have, so will be posting after my mom reads it), and The English Patient by Ondaatje (yet another book that I already read but thought I might re-read and didn't realize I already have). I guess this is why I need a data base -- so I stop buying books I already have! No wonder my family refuses to indulge me further....

I finally finished making my choices at Amazon late last night, but when I was checking out, it didn't give me a chance to add in my gift card. Everything was charged to my debit card; guess I forgot to clear it out the last time I shopped there. Aargh. I changed the payment choice to the gift card for the new books that are coming from AZN, but didn't bother doing it for all of the used books I chose from individual sellers. So, now I still have half of my gift card left. I guess I'll buy gas or groceries with it since I spent my own money on the books, lol.

Actually, I'm not even sure if the books I bought from AZN are going to get put on the gift card because I'm not sure if I entered the information correctly. I'm usually quite adept at using gift cards, but I think I somehow managed to thoroughly screw this entire order up. Maybe I need to lay off the cold medicine a bit or just go back to bed and buy books when I'm well again. ;-)

Jeez......  I just hope I bought books I really want to read instead of stuff that sounded good while I was on that Nyquil high. :-D

it didn't give me a chance to add in my gift card

To the right of the checkout page, in the middle of the page, you'll find a gift certificate/coupon entry box. Believe me, I know this one well. :)

So, now I still have half of my gift card left.

Gee, Valli, that's tough.

I got 2 B&N gift cards and 1 for Amazon, but my favorite was from my 6 year old grandson.  Every year my oldest daughter takes the kids (her nieces & nephews) to the 99 cent store to buy gifts for everyone.  Well, little Josh, knowing that Grandma likes books, picked out Your Heiress Diary by Paris Hilton. http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780743287142-Your+Heiress+Diary+Confess+It+All+to+Me  Of course I told him I loved it, but my daughters & I laughed till we nearly cried.

That's awesome, Donna!

I got Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger and Wishin'and Hopin' by Wally Lamb from my DH. I gave him a list of four books that I would like and he picked out these two---which were the two that I wanted the most! 

Genie, I actually have ALL of my gift card left! It won't accept my card! I finally added it in as a regular VISA and will just see what happens. I know there is plenty of money on the gift card and I know it's activated, dunno why AZN has an issue with it when BCO didn't. I guess the order will be canceled if the card doesn't go through???

If it is canceled, I'll just buy the stupid books with my debit and use the whole gift card on a bill or something. I don't usually have any trouble with Visa gift cards. Weird.

I'm trying to buy Clavell's Asian series in the new trade paperback editions; Shogun, Gaijin, Noble House, and Taipan.

I also got The Needle in the Blood by Sarah Bower, The King of Corsica by Michael Kleeberg, The Fool's Path by Nancy Attwell, The Queen's Necklace by Frances Mossiker, Godiva by Nerys Jones, and White Rose Rebel by Janet Paisley. These have all been on my WL for a very long time.

I received another one in the Master and Commander series that I am still trying to get all in one cover type.  It was Desolation Island,  #5 in the set by Patrick O'Brian.  I also got all those great books from my Secret Santa, Kat.