/lit/ - Literature

how do you gift books for xmas? or gift books generally?

how do you strike a balance between your taste and their taste?

i think gifting one of your own favorite books can come off as self aggrandizing if the person you are gifting it to reads as much as you. this might be ok if the person is already closely bonded to you - if they are, say, a parent, a sibling, or a spouse. or, i think if they are a non-reader, the notion of gifting a favorite comes off more favorably, as your guidance in taste is not challenging their own. is it acceptable to gift a book you have not read? i think that comes off flippant, unless it is esoteric enough in catering to their taste. i think merely buying someone a book by an author they have merely told you they are interested in might come across as thoughtless.