I hate getting books for Christmas in general because I’m such a mood reader, and I’ve plastered a fake smile on my face many a time and repeated internally ‘Its the thought that counts.’ as I unwrap a book I will not read.

But the worst one by far, given to me by my own Mother , who I know loves me, when I was fourteen years old! was >!Men are from Mars Women are from Venus.!< I am sitting there horrified thinking what is she trying to tell me? As my sisters are flat on the floor laughing to the point of puking. We eventually came to the conclusion she just saw an attractive cover on a bestseller table and grabbed it. Love to know your terrible gift stories.

  • Pretty-Mycologist-17@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    My family knows not to gift me books unless I specifically ask for it, but a family member gifted me the box set of V.C. Andrews Flowers in the Attic series when I was like 11-12. That series is just awful, and I read it at such an impressionable age I still don’t know what they were thinking (or why I read all 4 of them)

    • jonashvillenc@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      That’s terrible. They’re all about incest. I guess my complaint of my mother giving me Nicholas Sparks books isn’t too valid.

      • MarieReading@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        Early Millennial and I totally read my mom’s copy. I’m pretty sure my friends did as well. Those got around for at least a decade! 😂

        • Silverpeony@alien.topBEnglish
          1·
          10 months ago

          For a certain generation of girls born between 1975-1985, V.C. Andrews was a tween-age rite of passage.

          • Waussie@alien.topBEnglish
            1·
            10 months ago

            It started much, much earlier than that. Flowers was published in 1979. I remember all of us girls freaking out in 9th grade Spanish class one day (1984) because the class clown was casually giving out spoilers to Seeds of Yesterday. (IYKYK)

      • Logical_Cherry_Red@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        I read them for school free reading aged 8. I absolutely shouldn’t have and thankfully I was too young and innocent to get most of the really bad incesty stuff.

      • Charliesmum97@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        Exactly what I was going to say! Weird rite of passage.

        I think we were all issued ‘Pink Floyd’s The Wall’ too.

    • changort@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Everyone I know read those books in 6th and 7th grade. They were the talk of recess. Core memory right there.

    • Confident_Progress85@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I was just at an Airbnb where the entire flowers in the attic series and 50 shades of grey were the only books on display… interesting vibes