Books I would gift to my friends.

Hello :))

I’m anxious and it’s stupid. This week is my last week of uni before going home for Christmas and I’m so excited … but also stressed. I’m somehow more stressed about going home for three weeks then I was about literally moving to another country and starting uni in the first place.

It doesn’t make sense but I figured since I’m skipping my lecture today I’d ignore my anxiety by talking about books I’d gift my friends for Christmas if I had a lot of money, which sadly I dont 😦

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*My friends have been demoted to just their initials because it feels weird to “expose” their names and I’m not in the mood to make up fake names*

J – Simon Snow series by Rainbow Rowell

can’t be bothered to find the cover of the first book

I’ve already bought J’s gift. Come Christmas he will be the proud owner of a Shrek poster that says something along the lines of “this is my swamp now”. It’s part gag gift. We had a Shrek movie marathon before I moved for Uni and he got me a latex horse mask for my birthday so I had to repay the favour. Basically this poster made me laugh and I was like “yes. ordered”.

If I was going to get him a bookish gift though, I’d get him Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I recently finished the series and was sending him snippets of dialogue I found funny, and he seemed to like them.

While I’m not gifting him these books I do have my own copies. He lives right across the street, like he can literally see my parents balcony from his room. He’s also friendly with my mum and has told me he’s only coming to mine to watch Elf so he can see her and my dogs. So instead I’m just going to give him an open invitation to borrow this series when he wants to.

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S – Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

*sigh* My new friend from uni kept talking about how much she wanted to read this so I was planning on getting it for her for Christmas. But then she bought it one day when we were in town 😭

Am now struggling to think what I’m going to get her which is annoying because I only have tomorrow to get it. She’s currently reading Red, White and Royal Blue and enjoying it, so I’m gonna go for a similar vibe. I actually think I’m going to get her Carry On. It’s got similar comedy, hate-to-love romance.

I think stressing over this is part of the reason I’m so anxious to be honest. (Also she’s told me what she got me: The SEven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo … my aunt has also got me this. I feel I bad now for some reason. Really hoping I like this book haha).

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E – A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab

We became friends over him reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue which I’d already read thanks to an ARC. I wouldn’t say we have similar tastes in books so thinking what to get him was tricky.

I figured I’d go back to Schwab and get him a copy of A Darker Shade of Magic. While this isn’t my favourite I do think he’d enjoy it more then me. At least I hope so because I bought it for him yesterday.

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A – Lore by Alexandra Bracken

I am struggling with this boy!! We’ve been friends since we were like 11 and 12 so he should be the easiest but that’s not proving the case. I’m actually guilty for getting him hooked on Percy Jackson but Riordan has no new books out in that world this year. (yes there’s the new Daughter of the Deep book, but that’s middle grade and he’s 20 so I’m not sure how much he’d enjoy that without the nostalgia)

I’m going to take a couple of the books I’ve read since being at uni, back home and keep them on my shelves there. One of them being Lore by Alexandra Bracken. I am going to get him an actual gift, not just fob off my read books to him, but I think I’ll wrap this up for him too. My thought process here is: greek mythology.

If anyone knows what to get a 20 year old who’s just moved in to his first apartment, please let me know. I’m struggling.

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Is (I tried calling her “I” in this post. It got confusing) – The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven.

You ever meet someone who’s just on the same wave length as you? That’s me and Is. We’ve only known each other since moving in together in late September but we’ve become really good friends. Like “say the same thing at the same time” kind of friends.

The Exact Opposite of Okay is one of my favourite books and I think Is would enjoy it too. That’s legit my only reason. Maybe it’s a good job I got her something else.

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H – You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner

I struggled thinking for H. Again it’s a good that I didn’t get a book. Well, technically I did get a book, just not a reading book. If I was going to get her a fiction book I’ve decided I’d go with You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner.

I’m not trying to put people in boxes based soley off what they’re studying at uni but … that’s what I’ve done with H. She’s studying illustration, hence the art book I’ve got her and the hypothetical book which is about a deaf girl who likes graffiti.

So those are the books I have/would have got my friends. I’d love to know if you’re gifting people books this year. Thanks for reading :))

Elli xx