This holiday, in between shopping for presents, I began reading an amazing book, The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World by Lewis Hyde. It is, in part, about the cultural meaning of gift exchange, and though my timing in reading it during Christmas was coincidental, the resonances were very welcome. By day, I would buy gifts and experience a familiar twinned pleasure and guilt at all the consumption. By night, I would read The Gift and find myself getting to the source of that dual emotion.

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'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.' (from Alice and Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll)

Remember when summer stretched out endlessly before you, and kind people fixed you snacks while you sprawled on the floor in impossibly limber positions reading to your heart's content? Well I do, and even though I haven't taken a real summer vacation in my entire adult life, I still compile my reading list as if I'm heading off for a month-long sprawl in the Hamptons. With 23 books on my "shortlist" for this already-waning summer, even if I got on the Jitney right now I'd never finish them by Labor Day. Woe is me, woe to all of us readers who still race into a bookstore with the breathless hope of school children on holiday. Because I remember what it feels like to turn the last page under the same setting sun that rose that morning, and nothing can replace the feeling of being completely immersed in a story from beginning to end.

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My book-loving friend Martin and I have a recurring conversation that usually starts with, "I'm going on vacation and can't figure out which book to take."  It's an interesting conundrum, and for us book addicts, a critically important decision that we begin pondering weeks before we actually leave town.

I suppose it partially depends on the type of vacation on which you're taking this treasured companion (and by that I'm referring to your book and not your spouse).  If your intent is a relaxing week at the beach, for example, you might pick something light and fun, perhaps romantic; the latest from Ann Brashares or Jude Devereaux might be your choice.  Those seeking to rekindle that special spark (and this time, I am talking about your spouse) might look for a steamier option, like Anne Rice's Beauty series or something by Jamie Denton (or perhaps no book at all!).   Still others may prefer perusing a longer or more complex book while on vacation, since it's rare for them to have a large block of time in which to read.

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Davina Morgan-Witts, BookBrowse editor

Booklovers - mark your calendars for the impending arrival of the first novel by a masterful storyteller! Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese will be published in the USA by Knopf in February 3, 2009 and in the UK by Chatto & Windus in April. 

I was fortunate to be given a copy of Cutting For Stone last month and gorged myself on all 534 pages in less than two days.  Since then, I have passed my copy on to two friends (a difficult feat as it took some wrestling to separate the book from the first friend in order to pass it to the second!)

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Davina Morgan-Witts, BookBrowse editor

At this time of year, 'best of year' lists start popping up all over the place. Any number of products that can be measured against easily defined and relatively objective criteria lend themselves comfortably to 'best in class' lists. Considering this, it's somewhat ironic that more 'best of year lists' are devoted to books than any other product that I can think of - ironic because it's difficult to imagine a more subjective topic than what defines a good book. Added to which, while it's quite possible for one person to test every toaster on the market, it's impossible for even the most prolific of readers to read more than a tiny fraction of the books published in a year - so are any of us in a position to opine on which are the best?

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Davina Morgan-Witts, BookBrowse editor

Our household is one of many pets - the dog, the hamster, a dozen or so fish, and an indeterminate number of worms.

The worms moved up the familial totem pole from organic waste disposal unit & free mulch-makers to family pets a couple of years back when husband refused to give up a handful for fishing purposes, claiming that worms were friends not food. With his close affection for our invertebrate friends it was a sad day last week when we lifted the lid of the worm bin to deposit a bowl of potato peelings, to find that the worms were no more - the delicate balance of moisture needed to keep them in health and happiness (wet enough to keep them slithering but not so wet that they drown) had gone awry and the whole bunch had shuffled off their mortal coils.

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