My son bought me two books this Christmas:
“The Living Mountain” by Nan Shepherd”
The Looking Glass: Essential Stories” by Machado de Addis
He bought The Living Mountain because he knows I love first-person literary narratives about nature and excellent writing. We are both fans of Macfarlane, who is a fan of Nan Shepherd, and who understands that words about nature are unique words. My son could have bought a biography of John Muir or somesuch that would have been thoughtful but a miss. Instead, he understood that I like reading about people who deeply seek the right words for their experience when the barrier between themselves and their environment is weak.
He bought the Machado de Assis book because he loved “The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas” and wanted me to read both. Slightly obscure, but on point (which I am). Main point is that neither is a mainstream bestseller though both are very high-quality and oddly modern for their publishing date. We both like the idea that people don’t change as much as we think they do over time.
What book(s) did you receive that was “perfect for you”? Why was it? Was it serendipity, or did they understand something deeper about your personality?
Note: The books were purchased at “Typewronger,” a tiny bookstore in Edinburgh that is just a slice of awesome!
by archbid