Book as gifts, good idea?

Or GREAT idea?

For people who love books, sure, no brainer. But what about other people? What are your thoughts about giving books as gifts to people who aren't avid readers?

On the one hand, they seem like a safe bet. You don't have to worry about figuring out sizes or colors. No allergies to contend with. There are a billion types of books, so there's going to be something out there they'll likely enjoy. And books are great, so what's the problem?

Then again, I like books, so I think getting books is great. I like having books and I like reading books. But it seems a bit selfish for me to give someone a gift because I like it. Even if I mean well and I think they'll really enjoy it. It can still be a bit like I gave them a bowling ball with my name engraved on it.*

What if the person sees getting a book like getting homework? Or they have a super minimalistic home and having books laying around would ruin the aesthetic? Or if they just don't like reading? Because everyone is super busy and I want to spend downtime reading, but maybe you want to play video games or knit or watch TV or play piano or train for a marathon or any other million things people do with their downtime.

I've been going back and forth on this the holiday season (also, I'm clearly terrible and planning gift giving and just getting to this now) on books as gifts and I think I've landed that, unless the person is a big reader, maybe books aren't the right way to go. But what do you think?

In other news, I finally started listening to Hamilton and shit. You're all right. It's amazing. But why must tickets be so expensive (last time I looked, $800 for the crappy seats, $1600 for nice seats and it's sold out till the summer anyway. You know, in case I win the lotto or something.)

*Can we make the term "Homer ball" mean a gift you give to someone else, but you really mean it for yourself? Yes, we're all agreed on that? Excellent.