Is it “okay” to read a bookish present you bought for someone else?
One of my friends has recently decided she likes books (swayed by the Mortal Instruments, thank you Cassandra Clare!) Of course, you can believe my excitement.
YIPPEE! Someone else to discuss and share books with!
So, smart ol’ me decided to buy her a book for Christmas to celebrate.
But.
Not-so smart me decided to buy her book that I have not read yet. Idiot.
Right now, at this very moment, this book is sitting on my shelf, calling my name. Teasing me. Taunting. It WANTS me to read it.
I am trying SO HARD not to open it. Not to break the spine and crease the pages.
I keep thinking – if someone bought me a book as a present, and decided to read it before they gave it to me, I’d be okay with it. But I’m a pretty chill person, and stuff like that doesn’t bother me. And, ah well, I don’t think it proper etiquette.
Today I think I’m just going to wrap it. I’m going to wrap it so well that I won’t want to ruin the pretty wrapping by opening it. Yup. That’s what I’m gonna do.
What would you do in this situation?
Would you be offended if someone gave you a second hand book?
Breezy Reads 
My boyfriend buys his dad books from charity shops for Christmas, his dad actually encourages it, depends on the person I think. I think I’d be offended if it was not not someone that close, but a good friend or family member I’d be okay with. Which book is it? Unless your friend reads your blog of course lol.
That’s a great Idea actually! I know I would personally love to get books from places like that, it’s just hard when it comes to other people.
Oh no, internet life and real life are kept pretty separate for me.
It’s called The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Backen. I just took a little squiz at goodreads, and it has some awesome ratings. That just made things so much harder.
Haha, I think I’ll just have to borrow it off my friend when she has read it first.:P
Sounds like a plan, Never heard of it, hope it’s good 🙂
I’m in this same boat! A few of my book blogging friends are having secret santa, and I went out last night to browse and buy a few titles she might be interested in. But I felt like a child, not wanting to buy books that I haven’t read…but I decided to anyways. Now I feel like they’re just calling my name, and trying to lure me into opening the gift wrap and read them! Ugh, these are the tough problems us book worms just have to go through sometimes..
So good to see I’m not the only one! Haha. That is almost the exact same situation as me.:P
I live on second-hand books. 😉 But in all honesty, there’s NOTHING like being the first person to read a book. I would probably not read it, though I’d have to wrap it up and hide it straight away or risk…breaking.
(So, I’m pretty excited to be a new follower! Another Australian…woooot!!! I love finding new Aussie blogs.)
That is totally what I have done. It’s wrapped, with a pretty puppy-in-Santa-hat card, and stuck in one of those Christmas bags people use when they are to lazy to wrap, for extra protection.
Oh! An Aussie! I love finding Australian blogs too.Especially book blogs. (;
I had the same issue this Christmas! I bought a friend The Beginning of Everything, and I was so tempted to read it. But I figured it wouldn’t be good etiquette so I wrapped it up before I gave in.
And now I’m going to properly ask her to borrow it 😉
Seems I’m finding a few people with this problem. Haha.
Yup! That’s what I’ll be doing, too! 😛