i’d like to ask for some advice please. i was already set on giving away this one book to one of those take a book, leave a book shelves, when i opened it and realized it was a birthday gift from my parents, with a note on the front page. i decided i still wanted to give it away, but my mom made me doubt my decision. should i follow through, or should i keep it instead? i don’t read it anymore and have already read it more than twice over. it’s a not very well known children’s book that i think is just so full of fun and whimsy, and i would like to share it with others too.
I think your first impulse was the right one and I think you know it was, given that you still want to give it away. And it’s refreshing that you want to share the fun you got from reading it by passing it on to others. Don’t let your mother guilt you out of doing what you intended; you might stifle any further objection with something like, ‘But mom, I loved it so much it seemed unfair to keep it for myself’. If she still objects, wait until your back is turned to her before rolling your eyes unless she’s carping outright.